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Mentoring and Coaching People in Education setting is not limited to schools and colleges. Workplaces have professional development mentoring programs.

Always wanted to be a workplace mentor or coach in education?  Read on to find out how! 

 

Coaches and Mentors can work with children, teenagers and adults in very different groups with different needs.  A mentor is someone who is experienced in a particular field and offers support to a client on how to improve in that field. They may work with individuals or small groups, encouraging the person to improve and develop in a particular area. 

In education specifically, coaches and mentors are teachers in educational establishments, others are coaches who offer tutoring to students. 

 

Scope of Work

Teachers may work in coaching schools, colleges or other educational establishments where their primary role is teaching coaching to students.

The type of work they do is: working out curriculum, preparing lessons, taking classes, setting assignments, marking coursework and exams, and helping students with any problems connected to their classwork.

Some of those who offer teaching or tutoring services are coaches first and foremost, and teaching is secondary to this role. They may:

  • Work in private practice coaching students in specialised fields e.g. sports
  • Run workshops - privately or in conjunction with educational establishments; giving demonstrations, role plays, instructing
  • Work face-to-face or by distance learning - planning & implementing learning programs
  • Write courses, books or articles in the area of coaching
  • Organise activities or events. Field trips, exhibitions, presentations or performances in relation to students’ work

What You Need to Learn

  • Specialist knowledge - proficiency in your area of tutoring/coaching
  • Communication skills - listening, attending, verbal & non-verbal language
  • Coaching skills - rapport building, focus on solutions, goal setting
  • Coaching theory - coaching behaviour therapy, SMART goals, wellness vision
  • Teaching skills – organising curriculum, presenting lectures, tutorials or workshops, writing lessons or seminars, assessing written work, interacting with students
  • Planning work – scheduling coursework, working out timetables, semesters  
  • Organisation skills – preparing lectures, management, goal setting, working to deadlines
  • Research - understanding your subject material, keeping up-to-date with new findings,
  • Technical skills - understanding IT, computers and software, teaching aids e.g. presentation software, social media

Starting a Career

Some of those who teach coaching start out by training in teaching, or they may come from different fields but take teacher training programs and specialise in coaching.

For others a career teaching may begin differently. For example, they might start by joining a local sports club. They get involved as an assistant to a sports coach helping them organise training sessions. As they continue they gain more experience and take on greater responsibility, perhaps becoming an assistant coach before taking on a head coach role. From here they decide they want to get more involved in teaching what they have learnt to other budding sports coaches so maybe they apply for a position at an education provider or they offer a private training service.

Other ways to get involved include:

  • Volunteering to agencies (e.g. schools, jobs services) to train others in coaching
  • Getting involved in adult education services e.g. through councils, schools, community services
  • Joining coaching and education bodies

Progressing a Career

To progress a career in education, you'll need to learn techniques and methods for teaching and tutoring. Those who work face-to-face will need to have advanced communication skills and these can be honed through:

  • Taking workshops - role playing, taking part in demonstrations
  • Networking - in person at conferences, or remotely via social media


Most in this field will also need to develop special skills to help them write course content, developing curricula & learning aims, and deliver learning material. The best ways to advance these skills are through:

  • Taking courses - short or in-depth courses, distance learning and online courses
  • Further training - seminars and professional development courses

 

 


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