Educational Coaching Foundations Course

The Office of K-12 Outreach offers a fully online, self-paced learning opportunity for educators interested in extending their understanding of the fundamental knowledge, skills, and dispositions of effective coaching. Coaching is a process of change that results in the expansion of possibilities for the coachee’s exploration of self, intentions, thinking, action, and practice. The model of coaching we teach in this course is focused on the mediation of thinking. We chose this model because of the power it holds in improving practice. Improvements happen when educators have the opportunity to have deep conversations and reflection about their work. Mediation requires a keen understanding of effective coaching skills, their appropriate use, and the intended result for the coachee’s thinking. A highly developed coaching skillset supports a deeper level of mediation.

This course introduces a coaching process based on a mediational coaching model where coaches learn how to use specific skills and strategies for supporting educator development and improving practice through powerful coaching conversations. Effective coaching can help schools maintain lasting excellence for all educators.

Registration

Register for access to the Foundations of Coaching Module. Once your registration is complete, MSU will process your information and email you with instructions on how to access the modules.

This course in coaching fundamentals is intended as a foundational exploration for the following categories of individuals:

Educators who are just beginning to think about coaching as a tool to improve teaching and wish to assess their readiness for further study.
Experienced coaches who wish to review effective approaches to improving their skills in communication and mediating thinking.
School or district-level administrators responsible for determining the appropriate skill sets and mindsets of individuals who seek to be hired as instructional and leadership coaches.
School or district-level administrators who seek to standardize the practice of instructional and leadership coaches.

Building relational trust and rapport
Using active listening techniques
Posing effective questions
Knowing when and how to challenge assessments
Giving effective feedback

There will be short quizzes at the end of each module. Quizzes are designed to assess your knowledge of the fundamental concepts covered in each module. Participants will need to achieve 100% before moving on to the next module. At the end of the course, there will be a final assessment. Participants must achieve at least 90% to receive a certificate of completion for participating in the course.

State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs)

Participants will be awarded 7.5 State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs).

Cost

Participants will pay $100.00 to gain access to the online module series. The Foundations of Coaching course will lead you through a series of four coaching modules. View breakdown of each module, including the estimated time to complete each model.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:

Explain the role of the meditational coach and identify the mindset of a mediational coach.
Develop active listening skills as a fundamental coaching tool.
Define and demonstrate how the Pause, Paraphrase, Pose-a-Question pattern (PPP) is used during the coaching conversation.
Determine the appropriate types of questions to use during the coaching conversation.
Develop relationship-building skills that will improve the coaching conversation.
Provide useful feedback in a coaching situation to promote self-reflection.
Integrate the appropriate coaching tools to promote coaching practice.

Our Legacy of Educational Coaching

The Office of K-12 Outreach has decades of statewide experience developing educational coaches with the competence and skills necessary to promote school improvement. In this Foundations of Educational Coaching course, participants will learn how to use specific skills and strategies for supporting educator development and improving practice through powerful coaching conversations. Research and our own practical experience confirm that effective coaching sustains lasting excellence for all educators in schools.

*Portions of this coaching model were designed through past Michigan State University programming funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Education (MSU’s Coaching 101 program).

Contact

If you have questions, please contact Megan Papoi at mpapoi@msu.edu or Marcia Docks at docks@msu.edu