Life (and education) really is a journey

It is hard to believe that 9 weeks has gone by so quickly.    This week my Connected Coaching course (offered by Powerful Learning Practice) comes to an end.  Taking this course has been valuable for me.

The value in this course is twofold:  First I have found that this course has been affirming.

• The Connected Coach will always be a Connected Learner.  Personally, I will always think of myself as a learner first.
• The strength based appreciative inquiry model upon which Connected Coaching is based is one that resonated with me from the outset.   This course provided me with a framework to help me understand what I was trying to do intuitively.
• This course has also affirmed my passion for the role of technology as a tool for learning.   I have been committed to the use of technology in the classroom for many years.  The discussions within this course around TPACK and the modelling and opportunities to practice using a variety of technologies has been a hi-light of the course for me.

Secondly, this course has pushed me.  My return to this blog is just one of the many growing edges where I am being pushed out of my comfort zones.  I have also grown in my understanding that:

• The real focus of the Connected Coach is upon the learner and not just the learning.  The emphasis is upon the relationship: hearing the stories, building trust, listening deeply, and asking good questions.
• The responsibility for learning belongs to the learner.   For me, the challenge will be to resist the urge to do the thinking and learning for the learner.  For me the challenge will be to be patient so that the learner finds the solution.  The role of the Connected Coach is to encourage deep thought, reflection and support self-directed learning.

My next steps are clear:  I need to explore the contexts in which I can apply what I have learned and experienced from this course. On an informal level, this course has already changed how I perceive myself as one who provides professional development for educators within our Board.   I have already grown in both my online and in my face 2 face coaching relationships.

There will also be some formal opportunities.  Starting next school year, we will be working on implementing a program of professional development – developed in the context of my experience as a member of a PLP Year 2 team (I really am a PLPeep!) – where I will serve as a Connected Coach for a group of secondary teachers.  At this time, we are still formulating the structure of this new program.  I cannot wait to see it implemented next fall.

So while the course comes to an end, I know that my learning and growing as a Connected Coach is still just beginning.  I am glad that this is a journey that I have begun.  I am looking forward to  …

Feel the Wind – Harry