Teaching and coaching have a great deal in common. They both seek to give knowledge about an area. They both want the students to become the best they can in that area of knowledge.
They differ in how they reach those goals. Teaching focuses on the mental. It seeks to delve into the depths of the mind and implant knowledge or understanding. Coaching focuses on the physically training the muscles to react as quickly as possible.
Simply put one teaches the mind and the other the body. However that is not true. Coaches teach their players how to study an opponent and seek out their weaknesses. They give them rulebooks and playbooks that they must study and learn. Those all involve complex mental processes. There is a connection.
This study takes a look at the power of coaching. Researchers found that participants who were faced with a coach that focused on their individual goals were more open to learning and better at it. Those faced with a coach that focused on what they were doing wrong “shut down”. Something I often see students do when they feel there is nothing they can do to improve their situation.
Powerful stuff. If we focus on the positive and what a student needs to do instead of what they have failed to do we might get a more positive reaction. If we ask them what they want to get from the class then we might understand them better or at least let them know that we care about them.
Application
We can apply this in the classroom at the beginning of the year, by interviewing students to find out what they want to get from the class. To see what blocks we need to break down. Teachers should encourage their students not tear them down. We should coach with compassion. By doing this we gain insight into our students. They will be more open to the things we try to teach them.
They differ in how they reach those goals. Teaching focuses on the mental. It seeks to delve into the depths of the mind and implant knowledge or understanding. Coaching focuses on the physically training the muscles to react as quickly as possible.
Simply put one teaches the mind and the other the body. However that is not true. Coaches teach their players how to study an opponent and seek out their weaknesses. They give them rulebooks and playbooks that they must study and learn. Those all involve complex mental processes. There is a connection.
This study takes a look at the power of coaching. Researchers found that participants who were faced with a coach that focused on their individual goals were more open to learning and better at it. Those faced with a coach that focused on what they were doing wrong “shut down”. Something I often see students do when they feel there is nothing they can do to improve their situation.
Powerful stuff. If we focus on the positive and what a student needs to do instead of what they have failed to do we might get a more positive reaction. If we ask them what they want to get from the class then we might understand them better or at least let them know that we care about them.
Application
We can apply this in the classroom at the beginning of the year, by interviewing students to find out what they want to get from the class. To see what blocks we need to break down. Teachers should encourage their students not tear them down. We should coach with compassion. By doing this we gain insight into our students. They will be more open to the things we try to teach them.
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