The Chronicle, No. 668, September 2015

11 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

approach trains teachers to ask the right questions so that pupils themselves are able to make appropriate decisions. It is a matter of guiding rather than instructing. It might mean asking things like: “How do you think we could approach this?”, and “How will we know we’re making progress?” – and “What steps will you have taken by the time we meet again next week?”. The pupil is obliged to give active thought as to what practical steps they need to take to work towards their goals. For me, one of the most important aspects of the coaching philosophy is the fact that it inspires growth. Our pupils are learning important skills for their later lives. Give me a real-life example. BS: A pupil came to me in House and said that she was feeling anxious about RS exams the following day. In the past, I might have said something cheery and general like: “You’ll be fine!” – which of course is no help at all to an anxious pupil. Instead, I sat down with the pupil and asked which aspects were causing anxiety and why – we gradually worked through the specifics and realised that in fact the pupil was as well prepared as she could be and that some exam nerves were inevitable. A far more constructive approach. GT: I had a conversation with a pupil who was not in a particularly good place – he really needed to pull his socks up on the work front. Instead of me simply making this point in a robust way, we talked about what he wanted to do in life; we then listed the things he needed to achieve in order to get there. We then looked at the very first step and broke it

Valentin Peiker (Gabriel-von-Seidl-Gymnasium) in a coaching session with Tutor Gavin Turner

What do teachers think about it? GT: At this stage, it’s their choice to opt into the training and the ethos. It has been hugely popular. It allows staff to have much more engaging and effective conversations with pupils. Every training session offered by Matt (Albrighton, Deputy Head Academic) has been oversubscribed. There’s a genuine surge of interest and enthusiasm. And in

the dominant member of the team and who are the most useful members? When I carried out this exercise with a group of pupils, we talked about their character traits – their strengths and weaknesses – as passengers in a car. Who should be driving, and who needs to take a back seat? They too found it riveting. In fact everyone could benefit from that level of self-knowledge. Different occasions or challenges will require different aspects of our character and knowing how best to deploy the skills in our armoury can make us more effective and – of course – more content. What do pupils think? BS: From their point of view, they won’t have experienced a sudden change. It’s an implicit rather than explicit approach – and many teachers have been using this approach for some time. There is anecdotal evidence from pupils that the feeling of being in control and setting their own targets can ease feelings of stress and anxiety. They are part of the planning process which can be hugely positive.

down: he needed to get better grades in order to get onto the course he wanted to study; he therefore needed each piece of prep to be good. We looked at his immediate work schedule and looked at some very practical steps he could take to make his next piece of work better. We continued in this vein – small, practical steps, with the suggestions and ideas coming from him.

fact coaching doesn’t just happen between

teachers, tutors and pupils. More

experienced teachers play an important role coaching their junior colleagues. BS: I personally found the training fascinating. On the Advanced Course, we talked about our character traits as an ‘inner team’ – who’s

Beth Steer