Academic Coaching Techniques for College Professionals

Presented by: Charity Romano, M.A.,

Director of Student Success

California College of the Arts

NASPA/ CCPA Drive-In Conference

January 2011

memories

•  Think back to your College, High School or even Little League days… Did you have a coach? What do you remember most about your coach?

•  Common characteristics of coaches, in general...

Possible video

•  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJBoz0pI2Dw

•  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0FUnmDWT-o&feature=related

define Coaching Academic coaching is an interactive process that focuses on the personal relationship created between the student and the coach. The coach challenges the student to think about his or her personal and/or professional goals in order to relate them to his or her academic/educational goals. In this learning process, it is important for the coach to encourage the student to become more self-aware by understanding his or her strengths, values, interests, purpose, and passion. This process should also focus on the student developing necessary skills to be responsible for his or her actions and decisions. Through this learning and growing process, the coach should provide the student with resources to enhance academic success and personal development, as well as developing action plans that holds him or her accountable for the results. Academic coaching is designed to help student produce fulfilling results, improve their performance, and enhance the quality of their lives! NACADA Interest Group on Academic Coaching

define Coaching Academic coaching is an interactive process that focuses on the personal relationship created between the student and the coach. The coach challenges the student to think about his or her personal and/or professional goals in order to relate them to his or her academic/educational goals. In this learning process, it is important for the coach to encourage the student to become more self-aware by understanding his or her strengths, values, interests, purpose, and passion. This process should also focus on the student developing necessary skills to be responsible for his or her actions and decisions. Through this learning and growing process, the coach should provide the student with resources to enhance academic success and personal development, as well as developing action plans that holds him or her accountable for the results. Academic coaching is designed to help student produce fulfilling results, improve their performance, and enhance the quality of their lives!

trademarks of coaching •  EMPOWER

•  Focus on GOALS

•  Create a PLAN

•  Take ACTION

•  RELATIONSHIP

•  Create ACCOUNTABILITY

•  MOTIVATE

•  HOLISTIC view (personal, career, academic)

connection to theory & research •  EMPOWER

•  Focus on GOALS

•  Create a PLAN

•  Self-REFLECTION

•  Take ACTION

•  RELATIONSHIP

•  Create ACCOUNTABILITY

•  MOTIVATE

•  HOLISTIC view (personal, career, academic)

Kolb’s Experiential Theory

Vincent Tinto’s Research on retention & persistence

(Self-motivation for academic attainment: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal-setting. American Educational Research Journal, 29, 663-676.)

“goals increase people’s cognitive and affective reactions to performance outcomes because goals specify the

requirements for personal success”

(Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pones, Self-motivation for academic attainment: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal-setting. American Educational Research Journal, 29, 663-676.1992, p. 664).

style / approach

•  Communication style •  Leadership style •  Management style •  Counseling style •  Training style •  Approach to student development

Coaching Strategies: Ask Powerful Questions

• What do you want?

• What’s stopping you?

• What are you going to do about it? (and What can I do to help?)

Coaching Strategies: Ask Powerful Questions (cont.)

•  Personal: Who am I? (Personal) •  Purposeful: Why am I here (on this earth)? •  Passionate: What excited and inspires me? •  No Failure: If you couldn’t fail, what would you do? •  24 Hours: What could you do in the next 24 hours? •  Scale 1-10: How important is…?, How committed are you

to this?, How would you rate yourself in…? •  Miracle: What would happen if overnight a miracle

occurred and you achieved your goal/ solved your problem?

•  Perspective: How does this particular challenge/goal link to your larger life dreams/goals?

Coaching Strategies: Talk about values and personal mission

Why: 76% of college students are trying to find more purpose/meaning in life*.

Coaching Strategy: •  Use Values Cards -- sort out top 10 values •  Then fill in this sentence “I absolutely love my life when

I…” (use 3 things) •  Then write a Personal Mission Statement

Above strategy combination from William Johnson (NACADA Conference 2007, Academic Coaching Session

* UCLA study

Values + Mission

Coaching Strategies: Ask Powerful Questions

(Action & Accountability)

•  What can I ask you in a week or month that would help you check in on your progress of your goal?

•  What’s your plan of action? •  What steps do you need to take to get to your goal?

–  What is something you want to do this week, something you want do in the next 3 weeks and something you want to do by the end of the semester?

•  What would be the most helpful question for me to ask you in a month to check-in on your progress or our goal?

Coaching Strategies: Activities/Tools

Goals Action Steps

Plan of action

Action Steps

1 2 3

Coaching Strategies: Activities/Tools

Motivation, Coping,

Etc.

Coaching through the challenge of CHANGE

1. Why do you fear change? 2. Why do you resist change? 3. Why do you welcome change? 4. Define a major change in your life and why you

resist it, fear it, welcome it 5. What works for you in terms of dealing successfully with the change? 6. For the change described in #4, describe positive steps to adapt to it and achieve the goals you seek. 7. Describe ways you have helped others overcome resistance to change.

from article by Roger Swanson, Noel Levitz

your ideas •  What are some of the things you

already do with students that fit the coaching model?

•  Have you come up with any ideas for how you might use or adapt some of the things we’ve talked about today?

THANK YOU! •  Questions?

•  Contact Info: Charity Romano California College of the Arts cromano@cca.edu

•  Feel free to download materials…

http://collegestudentsuccess.wordpress.com/