Coaching skills for teachers, school and adult education stuff: a week of growth and transformation

The role of a teacher is to transfer knowledge to their students and to help them develop certain skills and abilities. On the other hand, a coach has to support and motivate its pupils by listening, asking questions and challenging them. Although these roles seem different, what if a teacher applied the rules of coaching into the classroom and became a motivator as well?

This concept was fundamental during the new edition of the course “Emotional intelligence and coaching inside the school and educational context” that took place in Bologna from 16/06/2024  to 22/06/2024. The participants came from all across Europe, with Mariska and Tanja from RGO Middelharnis in The Netherlands, Esther, Gervasio, Antonio and Joaquin from CEPER VALLE DE LECRIN in Spain, Marília, Cristina Maria, Cláudia, Soraia and Patrícia from Sicó Formação, SA in Portugal and participants coming from three different german schools: Julia and Claudia from Albert Einstein Gymnasium, Stefanie from Gymnasium am Europasportpark and Till from Gymnasium St. Raphael Heidelberg. 

The first topic discussed in the course was Emotional Intelligence. This term indicates the ability to recognize not only our own feelings but also other people’s emotions, in order to be aware of ourselves and our surroundings. A teacher that is emotionally intelligent is capable of understanding its students’ emotions and therefore create a connection with them and help them in managing their feelings.

Coaching means motivating and influencing someone else to be the best version of themselves. In order to improve our skills it is necessary to learn how to set a goal, specifically a SMART goal. Participants were asked to set SMART goals for themselves and follow the guidelines of them being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bounded.

​Another coaching skill essential in every workplace, including a classroom, is the ability to manage conflict. In this context, self-awareness and control of our own emotions are fundamental to prevent a conflict from escalating. Conflicts don't have to be negative; on the contrary, they can lead to growth and positive outcomes. A coach must help their students create a dialogue and support them in finding a solution to the problem. It is important to remember, however, that the coach's role is not to suggest a solution but to guide the analysis of the conflict, the decision-making process, and the evaluation of their behavior.

Another topic tackled during this course was the power of questions. Questions can promote thinking and self-reflection, create constructive answers, motivate actions, and develop ideas. This is why participants explored the concept of building learning-focused questions by starting with an invitation to engage, proposing content to think about, and highlighting a cognitive focus for thinking and elaborating. The “Solution Focused Brief Coaching” model was also analyzed to promote a solution-based mindset in their students.

​This training week allowed the participants to share their common experiences and to learn from their different cultural backgrounds, while also improving their coaching skills and learning how to apply them in their classrooms. 

Discover more about this course here.