The Handbook for Learning and Development Professionals

Chapter 9 Teaching and Coaching Introduction Are teaching and coaching the same? I think we can agree teaching is providing instruction to enable another person to learn new knowledge or expand upon their present knowledge of a subject, and it could also be providing instruction on how to execute a skill. Coaching is also teaching, but it involves observation and feedback as well. Teaching does not necessarily include feedback and specific instruction based on the observation. It may, but this is not a requirement of teaching. So, coaching is teaching, but teaching is not necessarily coaching. This chapter will outline different approaches to teaching and coaching. Several to even all of these approaches may be applied in teaching a multiday course. Depending on the topic to be taught, the students, the location, and so on, all these elements play into what approach is the best choice. Having a good understanding of each approach leads to better course delivery, design and planning. Discovery-Based Approach to Instruction In this approach, the learning starts off by giving the students a problem to solve. The students then attempt to solve the problem, typically in small groups. This really allows the student to become engaged in the learning. They will solve some aspects, and struggle with others, but they will come to deeply discover what they need to learn in order to overcome the problem. Once the students have reached this point, the teacher then gives the chalk-and-talk teaching lesson. The students are then given the same type of problem but with different variables. Coaching is then used to help the student successfully conquer the problem. We’re starting to see this approach used in K-12 schools, where it has met with varying degrees of success. It certainly has its critics who feel that lecture and practice, or good old rote learning, is the only way. But I do think discovery-based learning is growing in acceptance. One of the keys to the discovery-based approach is having students who are keen to learn, and this is quite often a matter of how relevant they find the topic. With K-12 or adult learners, as I’ve stated several times in this book, it is vital to establish the relevance of the topic with the learners. If learners do not find the topic of any relevance to them their motivation will be low to zero. An example of this approach is when I worked at Dow Chemical, and plant operators learned how to weld as part of an operator maintenance program. Most of the students were excited to learn how to weld, and to be honest, most of them saw the relevance for their jobs but even more so for home projects or “government jobs” as they liked to call them. Lawrence was our instructor, and he was a very experienced journeyman welder. He started by teaching all the safety aspects. Then he taught the operators about the equipment required, then he showed them how to turn on the welder, how to hold the “stick,” and then he laid a short bead. Next he gave them pieces of metal and said go to your welders and weld these together. Sounds easy, right? Well it turns out there are temperature settings on welders, and if they’re not close to being set correctly, the welding process really doesn’t work. On top of that, striking an arc with the “stick” and knowing how to keep the arc, and also how to make a good weld takes knowledge and a lot of practice. Even if you knew how to adjust the temperature settings, if you’re not able to maintain an arc, there’s no bead to analyze in order to adjust the temperature. The operators would strike an arc and in less than a second the “stick” would stick to the metal. Not knowing if they were holding the “stick” the right distance away, or on the right angle, or how to move it were big problems. Not knowing if the welder settings were right in the first place was another problem. Suffice to say they all struggled for about half an hour. Then Lawrence taught the operators about temperature settings, how to strike the arc and what to look for, and then they went back with confidence they were on the right the track. Lawrence coached them along from that point. The discovery-based approach worked really well in this case. The discovery-based teaching approach is a very good technique if it’s used in the right situation, with the right (highly motivated) students, and if a wise choice is made for the initial problem. Recognizing when to use this approach and what problem to design comes from knowledge, experience, and practice applying it. Don’t be afraid to try it if you feel the topic is one your students will be highly motivated to master. Social Connection to Learning Learning is a social activity. Emotional and social dimensions related to online learning do have an influence on a student’s learning, according to Wosnitza and Volet (2005). Other research into distance learning discovered that learning at a distance can result in being disconnected socially, which is a hindrance to learning. Specifically, it can result in transactional distance which is the psychological distance that is created between the learner and the teacher. The gap is in communication and social connection, which leads to two-way miscommunication between student and teacher (Moore 2013). Whether the lesson is being taught at a distance or face-to-face, it’s important to understand the social connection. As an instructor, you’ll be more effective if you develop a social connection with your learners. A good way of developing this connection with learners is to always use their first names, as this recognizes the importance of each student’s individuality and will increase the effectiveness of your teaching. Another aspect of using first names is it shows respect and helps to build a positive relationship with the learners. It is important to make individual connections with the learners. You might be surprised how many times you skip by an opportunity to call a student by their name. I know a few of my university professors did. Student name plaques are a common sight. You walk into a workplace classroom session and there’s always name plaques and a marker for you to fill in your name. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I would recommend using the name cards to memorize the students’ names as quickly as possible, as there’s much less of an individual connection if the instructor looks down at the name card first, then calls the student by name. If early in a session the instructor doesn’t have to look at the name cards, this will build rapport, and do so sooner. Command Approach to Instruction All the various approaches differ in terms of student involvement with regard to decisions. The command approach to instruction is at the end of spectrum where the instructor makes all the decisions. The instructor determines how long each lesson will be, how long practice will be, who will sit where, who answers questions, what specific tasks are to be used for practice, for how long the lesson will last, asks questions to test for understanding, and so on. With this approach, the student’s role is to listen, take notes, follow the instructor’s instructions, and execute specific practice tasks within the time allowed. In a nutshell, the instructor provides the stimulus and the students provide the response. An example of where this type of approach is successfully applied is in first aid training. The instructor typically gives a short lecture about a topic, such as dealing with a broken wrist, then the instructor gives a demonstration of how to splint and immobilize a broken wrist. Next the instructor provides a certain amount of practice time for the students to practice on each other while the instructor moves from pair to pair to coach and advise the students on the quality of their work. With this type of lesson, and most safety courses are run this way, there is only one most correct way of executing the various tasks. For