Coaching and mentoring (C&M) is about encouraging and promoting professional development based on existing capacities. It taps into the skills already present in the organisation, and provides mechanisms for sharing good practice. These skills teaching skills are not C&M. To "tap" these skills we will need to be consciously develop the C&M capacities before the skilled practictioners can assume these roles. The impact of a new programme will take time.
By using C&M more explicitly SGS may be able to progress more rapidly in relation to our existing capacities. This would be be constrained only by the willingness and ability of colleagues to share their skills, and our leadership to identify what specific skills we need to put time into developing.
Also we need to find the necessary time (and money) to achieve it - without the necessary resources implementation will be less effective.
We need to be clear about what we want coaching and mentoring to achieve, and the model/s we want to adopt. Successful models of coaching and mentoring for and by teachers, would enhance collegiality, and could encourage discussions of teaching and learning practice.
It is important to recognise the range of forms of mentoring and coaching whether informal, expert, or collaborative; and self-directed learning in the form of critical reflective enquiry. Coaching and mentoring is not about making judgements, creating dependency, imposing others’ agendas and initiatives, nor confirming habit, routine or long-held prejudices. However, notes on aims and progress towards these are important.
To be most effective, there will be a need for initiatives to support classroom teachers to build their coaching and mentoring capacities - there are benefits both to coach and coachee, mentor and mentee. Mentors are used widely in other fields right into senior management, which could be considered as part of capacity development in SLT.
C&M needs to be used carefully and systematically, to give the process credibility. Additional time may need to be allocated for the purpose, rather than assuming we can do it in our existing time.
The value SLT put on this project will be seen in part, by the time they allocate to develop the system, and then to put it into practice, including evaluating it, and measures you take to make it work. Your strategic view would help us to identify what you want the Coaching and Mentoring programme to achieve,
For SGS to focus on C&M to do the following could work:
- To develop a structured professional dialogue
- Set personal and professional goals based on self-evaluation and self-direction
- Developing trust and a tolerance of different approaches to teaching
- Improving collaboration with colleagues
- Experimentation and observing
- If existing capacities are insufficient in target areas
- If there is lack of management support or direction
- If there are poor levels of existing collegiality, (a prerequisite for C&M)
- If there is a lack of time and resources;
- If the order of priorities is unclear
Conclusions
Coaching, mentoring and collaboration could be powerful tools in professional development. Howeve, C&M is not a panacea but part of a wider solution to raising the quality of teachin, and so enhance the sharing of capacities within a school.
Coaching, mentoring and collaboration could be powerful tools in professional development. Howeve, C&M is not a panacea but part of a wider solution to raising the quality of teachin, and so enhance the sharing of capacities within a school.
Potential benefits of coaching and mentoring to:
- Promote school and departmental improvement.
- Promote individual and collaborative professional development
- Promote critical reflection and self-evaluation.
- Promote professional dialogue.
- Increase professional confidence.
- Build leadership capacities across the school
- Improve the quality of learning and teaching
- Improve pupil motivation and learning.
