Lesson 7: How Documentation Can Extend the Learning Coaching Lesson 7: How Documentation Can Extend the Learning

Review: the 3 Steps to Powerful Interactions Coaching Step 1: Be Present to Coach Step 2: Connecting as a Coach Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning

Review of Coaching to Extend Learning See Video #27 “Diana on Using Questions to Lead to Problem Solving” From the field . . . Coaches may feel unsure of the right questions and prompts for a colleague. To support the principles of learning partnerships and individualizing, invite your coachee to think about questions and prompts you can ask that would engage him/her and support their thinking and learning. Some suggestions for questions/prompts: Do you feel validated? How? What are your strengths? Where do you want to grow in your practice? How can I help you? What are you passionate about? In life? In your work? What do you want to share with others? How and when can we follow up? Can you help me see this situation from your perspective? How can we work together to take these ideas deeper?

Review of Coaching to Extend Learning Quick Tips Periodically review your role and that of the coachee and restate that the coachee’s interests, needs, goals, and questions determine your shared agenda Work collaboratively with coachee to help him/her formulate measureable goals and state goals clearly Take notes during observations and use notes as a reference in providing feedback and discussion linked to the practitioner’s goals.

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Review: 4 interrelated Extend Learning Strategies to stretch a coachee’s learning: Focus on goals you set together Notice “moments of effectiveness” Use prompts/questions to encourage “thinking together” Document plans and progress together

Review of Strategy #1: Focus on goals you set together Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Review of Strategy #1: Focus on goals you set together Quick Tips: Make sure the steps to reach the goal are logical, clear, and “do-able” (work with your coachee to break down steps that are too large to reach in a reasonable timeframe) Look for moments of effectiveness that are small steps towards the goal Maintain “shared focus” on goals and ensure frequent communication around goals and follow up to discuss progress and next steps

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning 4 interrelated Extend Learning Strategies to stretch a coachee’s learning: Focus on goals you set together Notice “moments of effectiveness” Use prompts/questions to encourage “thinking together” Document plans and progress together

Review of Strategy #2: Notice “Moments of Effectiveness” Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Review of Strategy #2: Notice “Moments of Effectiveness” Quick Tips: Refresh yourself about the practitioner’s goals and focus on actions/practices that support his/her reaching the goal. Look for moments of effectiveness that are small steps towards the goal The more specific you are when you describe an effective practice, the more likely your colleague will be able to replicate it Write down your statement before offering it as feedback to ensure that you link the “what you saw” to “why it’s important”

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning 4 interrelated Extend Learning Strategies to stretch a coachee’s learning: Focus on goals you set together Notice “moments of effectiveness” Use prompts/questions to encourage “thinking together” Document plans and progress together

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Review of Strategy #3: Use prompts/questions to encourage “thinking together” Support, don’t “fix” – ask, don’t “tell” ASK if the coachee would like a suggestion – Sometimes a practitioner will say they’re not sure how to do something. That’s the coach’s que to ASK, “Would you be interested in hearing what I’ve seen other therapists try?” or “I have some ideas about that, if you’d like to hear them.” By doing this, the coach expresses respect for the colleague as a professional and as a learner and allows him/her to ask for ideas.

Coaching to Extend Learning: Quick Tips to Focus to encourage “thinking together” Invite back and forth conversation / reflection by using prompts and questions. Ask about practitioner’s decision-making – Demonstrate respect by inviting the professional you’re coaching to talk about his/her thinking and decision-making. You might start a conversation by noticing that the parent was engaged in joint problem-solving with the therapist. Ask the coachee to talk about the decisions he/she made to engage the parent effectively.

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning 4 interrelated Extend Learning Strategies to stretch a coachee’s learning: Focus on goals you set together Notice “moments of effectiveness” Use prompts/questions to encourage “thinking together” Document plans and progress together

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Review of Strategy #4: Document plans and progress together Documentation extends learning (step 3 of a Powerful Interaction). In the coach-coachee relationship, rather than simply relying on conversation and memory, the coach moves the learning ahead by using documentation to capture the story of your work together.

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Review of Strategy #4: Document plans and progress together The process of documenting work together needs to address all three steps of a Powerful Interaction: Be present: (take a moment to look back over notes) Connect: (ongoing conversations, written communications, etc focused on the work together and building the relationship) Extend learning: (writing things down allows coach to step back and clarify thinking. Figure out together how to keep it going to support intentional goal setting)

Step 3: Coaching to Extend Learning Quick Tips to Focus to Document Plans and Progress Together Use your coaching stance and apply a strengths-based perspective by inviting the coachee to talk about something he/she feels confident about in his practice. Documentation helps a coach prevent going from one contact/visit to another without focus. Documentation allows the coach and coachee to look back and reflect on the story of your work together and the coachee’s changing practice.

Strategy #4: Document Plans and Progress Together Documentation is the process of recording the story of the coach and coachee’s work done in partnership in an individualized style that works for both, strengthens their relationship, and moves their work forward. Coaches’ Ideas from Lesson 6: What’s one idea you have for a simple, individualized way to document a coachee’s progress?

Strategy #4: Document Plans and Progress Together Why Document? Documentation sustains ongoing conversation Documentation keeps you focused on goals Documentation supports accountability and reciprocity Documentation reveals progress and change over time If it feels awkward at first, experiment until you find the right method for you. Keep it on your “to-do” list until it becomes a natural part of your coaching practice.

Strategy #4: Document Plans and Progress Together Documentation is intentional but not necessarily “formal” Whether it’s a journal entry, a photo and caption, or a collection of sticky notes, your documentation process includes: Identifying what happened / why it was important enough to document Describing how you felt about it Explaining what you learned from it Questions and things to continue to think about regarding what happened See the Powerful Interactions Facebook page for more examples and tips on documentation:

Strategy #4: Document Plans and Progress Together A Tip for Documenting Progress: Summarize conversations: in your feedback sessions after an observation, keep track of key ideas so that you can summarize the conversation for the teacher. Summarizing coaching conversations allows the coach to draw out strategies that the coachee is describing so that the coach can reflect the strategies the coachee generated back to him/her as wisdom.

Strategy #4: Document Plans and Progress Together A Tip for Documenting Progress: Use electronic communications: If you happen to catch a coachee in a moment of effectiveness outside of a regularly scheduled coaching observation, jot it down and send the “I notice” statement (and statement of why it was effective) in a text or email. Sending this observation takes just a few minutes but can have a big impact of your colleague’s sense of professionalism! See Video #30 “Michael and Dana talk about what it feels like to get an email from a coach supervisor”

Strategy #4: Document Plans and Progress Together More Tips to Document Progress: Keep it simple: Choose a sustainable, manageable method Individualize: Talk about methods to document progress that work for you both. Encourage coachee’s sharing: Support your colleague’s efforts to talk about their experiences in changing practice with their other professional colleagues -- at staff meetings, in a program newsletter, or presented at a meeting or local conference, etc.

Documentation Extends the Learning Discussion: What stood out to you and why? How can we use documentation to extend the learning of the person we’re coaching?

Putting It into Practice: Coaches’ Homework for Lesson 7: Create a free user account at http://www.powerfulinteractions.com/ Choose ONE of the following videos in the “member’s area” to watch: Video 25: “Michael on taking notes” Video 29: “Helena on documenting plans and progress” Video 26: “Diana on framing questions” Answer the following questions in the blog space on the team’s site: http://upcoaches.weebly.com/blog-spot prior to Lesson 8 to document your work and be accountable to the team! Which video did you watch? What is one aspect of coaching (from the video) that you could apply to your work as a “peer mentor”/coach to a colleague? What are some steps you might take to incorporate this aspect of coaching (identified in the previous question) in your daily work?