“Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be better.” Dylan Williams
Classroom observations are essential parts of teaching and learning and are most beneficial to both teachers and students when they are linked to both, the learning taking place during the lesson as well as the overall performance evaluation.
To discuss good practice and promote professional conversations amongst staff, some schools are putting in place mentoring and coaching sessions to identify good practice as well as areas for development.
A key aspect of coaching is to ask appropriate questions and listen to answers with an open mind. This will support and challenge colleagues to reflect and find solutions by themselves so they can deliver their best practice in the classroom. However, asking great questions is only one aspect of effective coaching, as having a great range of personal skills is also vital.
I have agreed with my school to be part of the coaching team for this academic year, consequently, I have been researching and reflecting about coaching and mentoring approaches, so I feel I am well-equipped to support colleagues effectively.
Effective mentoring and coaching in schools
Mentoring and coaching staff is a great tool that school leaders have available, in order to retain staff and make sure teachers are fully supported so they can develop and enhance their personal and professional skills. Coaching opportunities for new teachers boost their confidence and develop skills needed for a successful teaching career. At the same time, providing coaching for experienced teachers will motivate them and develop their practice further.
In short, mentoring and coaching opportunities should be offered to everyone in every school. They are great instruments for helping staff to learn new skills or to enhance current skills while increasing their confidence. It does not matter who the employee is, there is always something they can learn. As educationalist Dylan Williams has stated: “Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be better.”
Mentoring and coaching must be built on trust and respect. The focus should be directed to discuss and reflect about different strategies and aspects to improve teaching and learning and reach better outcomes. Therefore, having developed high levels of emotional intelligence is essential when it comes to coaching as our feelings affect our thinking and behaviour.
Coaching
and emotional intelligence
In 1995 Psychologist Daniel Goleman made popular the term ‘Emotional intelligence’ (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ). Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to express and control your own emotions, while communicating with others effectively and constructively, as well as the ability to understand and respond positively to the emotions of others.
Different studies suggest that emotional intelligence is a useful tool for navigating work life, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships, successful education and overall mental and physical well-being.
Hagen (Forbes 2019) on his article about, “Why coaching is all about emotional intelligence” points out that when the coach and the person being coached have a high degree of self-awareness and self-regulation, communication flows smoothly, and this allows coaching to be facilitated successfully. However, if one of the parties involved lacks self-awareness or self-regulation the process can be disruptive, resistant, and overall, less effective.
Components of emotional intelligence
The following diagram shows the 5 elements identified by Goleman in his module to explain emotional intelligence and which are valuable when coaching.
Self-Awareness:
It is the capacity to recognise and understand your own emotions, as well as the impact that they have on others. Self-awareness is vital as this allows individuals to recognise their own strengths and weaknesses and to understand how their feelings could affect their behaviour and interactions with others.
Self-Regulation:
This is the ability to manage your own emotions and impulses, being able to adapt feelings to changing circumstances. Self-regulation allows people to remain calm under pressure, make considered decisions and avoid impulsive behaviour that may have negative outcomes.
Motivation:
This is an internal process that desires a change, either in the self or the environment. Motivation allows individuals to set goals as well as to work towards achieving them and persist in the face of challenges. Motivation is the ability to use emotions to drive and direct behaviour.
Empathy:
This is the aptitude to recognise and understand the emotions displayed by others and to be able to respond appropriately. Showing empathy allows coaches to connect with others on an emotional level, and to build positive relationships.
Social skills:
This is the capacity to communicate effectively with others in order to build strong relationships and achieve positive outcomes. Social skills allow individuals to lead and support others, to work effectively in teams and to resolve conflicts appropriately.
Tips to improve emotional intelligence
It is said that some aspects of emotional intelligence may be genetic and closely related to personality type. However, different research suggest that emotional intelligence is not a fixed commodity but instead it is something that a person can learn and improve upon with training and by making small changes to their daily routines.
Marc Brackett, Psychologist and founder YCEI (Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence) has identified 5 skills and developed a system under the acronym R.U.L.E.R. This has been used in over 2,000 schools across the world to teach pupils how to develop emotional skills, but adults can also benefit from them.
Recognise:
This refers to paying attention to our feelings and not ignoring them. Recognising emotions are important as they take your energy, and they make you feel better or worse.
Understand:
It is important to understand the causes of your feelings so that you can address them. This means reflecting about why are you feeling in that particular way and what is making you feel like that.
Label:
Saying that you are feeling good or bad can be too general. Make a list of words to describe how you are feeling (sad, happy, anxious, depressed, angry, frustrated, jealous, disengaged, etc) then you can identify the best approach to work on improving them.
Express:
This relates to identifying the correct person and context in order to honestly express our feelings to avoid the situation getting worse.
Regulate:
Feelings have a great impact on people, so dealing with them effectively helps individuals to be more productive and more effective in meeting different goals.
To conclude, coaching is vital in different contexts to improve personal and professional duties and performance. However, effectively coaching should acknowledge emotions as we are dealing with human beings, with creatures with emotions. Being able to manage emotions effectively leads to more engagement and more productivity.
Bibliography
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/ie/basics/emotional-intelligence
- https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership
- https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/nov/03/emotional-intelligence-why-it-matters-and-how-to-teach-it
- https://www.brighthr.com/articles/training/coaching-mentoring/benefits-of-coaching-and-mentoring-in-the-workplace/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/12/20/why-coaching-is-all-about-emotional-intelligence/
- https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-emotional-intelligence-2795423
- https://jbam.scholasticahq.com/article/1161-emotional-versus-cognitive-intelligence-which-is-the-better-predictor-of-efficacy-for-working-in-teams
- https://blog.irisconnect.com/uk/blog/how-to-make-lesson-observations-most-effective
- Building Emotional Intelligence Isn't as Hard as You Think | Psychology Today Ireland
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/components-of-emotional-intelligence#five-components
- https://medicine.yale.edu/childstudy/services/community-and-schools-programs/center-for-emotional-intelligence/
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/ie/blog/supersurvivors/201911/building-emotional-intelligence-isnt-hard-you-think