Interesting reading this article by Beverly Showers and Bruce Joyce on The Evolution of Peer Coaching from 2005 that I came across today.
Showers and Joyce have been working on how peer coaching programs can enhance the implementation of learning when educators attend training programs.
Regular Coaching sessions enable implementation
Maybe no surprise to us coaches out there, they came to the conclusion that "implementation rose dramactically, whether experts or participants conducted the sessions"
What I find key here is that their focus was on coaching for implementation. They had a clear focus of what the coaching sessions were for, to improve the effectiveness of the training that the educators had attended. More importantly, they were focused on the end goal - the end improvement that this would have on student learning. By creating more effective teachers through staff development, there would be an uplift in the transfer of knowledge from teacher to student.
It's not just about the individual learner, it's about the system you work in
Before 1980, they point out, "the organisation of the schools did not support the intensive training efforts that occured in summer institutes or workshops during the year however. Initial diagnoses attributed the failure to flaws in the motivation, effort and attitudes of the teachers, rathr than to the state of the organisation, or the design for training.
For me, this is a useful reminder for us as coaches, when we consider how we approach our own coach training. Ever started training, and then got frustrated, or bored, or just plain lost motivation? Maybe it's not just you, it's the kind of courses you are choosing for your training. Consider training which has this ongoing coachig and support element - a system which supports you learning, and more importantly, implementing what you learn. That's not just good for you- that's great for your clients.
It's not just about learning, it's about making it part of how you work.
I like the ethos they started from for their learning. "for the purposes of research, we distinguished between the initial development of a skil...and the classroom practice of that skill until it had become a part of that coaches repertoire"
Think about your own coach training. And the ICF description of coaches at different stages - Practiced Coach, Proven Coach, and Expert Coach (ACC, PCC and MCC respectively)
What we do as coaches, through continued focus on professional development, and by practicing our skills, and gaining experience, is this move from first learning the skills of coaching, to it becoming an integral part of who we are and how we work.
That to me, is why continuing to learn, practice, reflect and learn is so important. And having your own coach, and/ or your own supervisor, is a great way to give yourself that regular practice in your own that makes it part of your repertoire.
The Collective force of agreeing what you are working on, and working on it together
Another useful element of the research, was that the power came in this case from the school agreeing as a whole to use a coaching approach. To agree to be members of the scheme, and to practice the changes, and to support each other along with collecting information to measure the success of the changes.
As coaches we can learn from that. When we work with clients, there is more power and effectiveness when we work in partnership. When we follow the clients agenda. And when there is that shared sense that we are working together.
To feedback, or not feedback
Interestingly, Showers and Joyce found that for it to work peer to peer, it was necessary to remove the verbal feedback element of coaching. For me, this is removing the "mentor coach" element, where one person gives feedback to the other.
It feels more like an observation, with the power of the coaching relationships coming from the shared knowledge, learning and appreciation for learning new, best practice which can be put into implementation in the school.
This is a useful thing to consider for a coach. To feedback or not? I guess for me, it depends on the relationships you have built and the purpose of the work. For coaching peer to peer, it may be that the experience is best built on the shared learning of watching another coach in practice. For feedback, a supervisor or mentor may be appreciated.
