Support for Professional Learning
Engaging in a process of change creates the opportunity for us to break free from our usual habits and routines. As a Champion, your role is to support the Challenging Learning Process (CLP) in your school by supporting the vision, observing the current reality and taking actions to trial new approaches.
In essence, your role is to build a bridge between leadership and action learning. Along the way you will learn the skills of observation and reflection, encouraging staff to think critically about their pedagogy; setting targets, planning learning and reviewing progress, for the ultimate benefit of student learning.
On this page, we will provide tools and resources to support you, including tools for collecting data, trying new ideas in your classes and facilitating Action Learning Groups.
Impact Data Collection
“You see Watson, but you don’t observe” – Sherlock Holmes
In the first session we discussed the idea that it is better to get close to the action in the classroom and focus on impact on the learner, rather than trying to capture everything that is happening in the room. Have a single focus for your observation and observe the learning, rather than the teacher.
Between workshops, take a learning walk. Drop into 3 or 4 classrooms for 10 minutes each and talk to the students. Download the tools on this page to practice being an objective observer and collect data about student experiences.
Have a go at observing learning before the next workshop and consider how different this approach is to your usual experiences of classroom observation.
The GROW Model
The GROW model provides a clear structure for each coaching session, conversation and line of questioning, producing a clear psychological framework and support for the problem-solving process.
GROW is a process for getting things in the right order: Goal, Reality, Options and What Next? This allows the coach to support the coachee in designing a course of action.
This is a model for any coaching situation and can also be applied as a clear framework for all forms of communication.
The Coaching Charrette
The charrette is a protocol which allows someone to work through an issue, considering all possibilities and to get high quality feedback on the problem.
Central to the process is the skill of active listening and adopting a non-judgemental stance. This allows the issue to be explored from different perspectives while ensuring that the person still feels valued and listened to.
By considering factors that may not as yet, have been thought of, and by hearing a range of views, the coachee is more able to develop their own plan to address the problem.