Implementing PE-based Coaching: The ROCK-SOLID Coaching Method

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Facilitator(s)

David Leasure, University of Maryland Global Campus

Overview

Faculty empower a mix of students to thrive in an evolving and challenging personal and professional environment and need new skills and mindsets to excel. The three most important competency sets are facilitation, evaluation, and coaching, the last of which is not common but essential for helping students develop to their fullest capabilities. In addition to enhancing academic knowledge and skills, coaching develops key personal attributes including confidence, efficacy, growth mindset, self-improvement, and problem-solving.

The University of Maryland Global Campus implemented coaching in its first-term courses and supports adjunct faculty to skillfully coach its diverse adult undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty learn the ROCK-SOLID Coaching Method through a short online course. A condensed version of this course addresses participants' discovery of where coaching fits in teaching, why it helps learning, retention, and persistence of all students, and how participants can use it to prepare welcome and impactful feedback.

Workshop participants will use the ROCK-SOLID mnemonic to remember the stages of academic coaching, apply concepts, and take-away materials so they may continue to practice at their institutions. Three contexts span most situations: developing relationships that foster coaching, coaching student assignments, and coaching personal problem-solving.

Learning Outcomes

• Prepare to coach with the ROCK steps.
• Create and deliver impactful feedback using the SOLID steps.
• Examine a model for implementing ROCK SOLID coaching across a program or college.

Plan

Before the session:

1. Review the overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GZcrHnpMas
2. Review the resource, Process Education Concepts in RSCM
3. Think through the following questions and be sure that you can answer them prior to the workshop:
1. What does ROCK SOLID stand for? Why is this a two part phrase?
2. Based on the video, what PE Concepts do you see embedded in ROCK SOLID Coaching?
3. What new growth/self-growth terminology associated with ROCK SOLID Coaching do you find attractive? Why?
4. What questions do you have about Rock Solid Coaching concepts that you would like clarified?

During the session:

Participants in this session will actively learn by interacting with peers, using tools, synchronous facilitation, including YouTube videos. Persistent access to tools and videos will sustain the learning.

1. Preparing to Coach with the ROCK steps:
   • R-how to build and maintain trusting relationships with students through validation, social connection, and personal contribution to a positive growth-community
   • O-define clear coaching objectives around strengthening student capacity to learn and perform personally and professionally (as defined by each learner)
   • C-create checklists that guide students’ execution quality and self-assessment while building learner ownership and confidence
   • K-know the facts, both concerning student capabilities and actual performances, especially when coaching personal problem-solving
2. Creating and delivering welcome and impactful feedback to strengthen future performance with the SOLID steps:
   • S-identifying the most important strengths to repeat in future performances
   • O-describing the most impactful opportunities to improve the quality of future performances
   • L-ensure a coach’s open learner’s mind by seeking to learn from a student’s performance and expressing gratitude for what one discovers
   • I-coaching a student’s learning implementation plan
   • D-setting expectations for future demonstrations of a student’s success in improving
3. Learn the basics of the language of coaching to surround all student-faculty interactions with positive, supportive language that contributes to trust, learning, and continuing self-belief.
4. Examine a model for implementing coaching across a program or college.
5. Practice a proven model of learning and continuously improving one’s coaching skills through mental contrasting and written implementation intentions.

Participants will have gained a working knowledge of the ROCK-SOLID Coaching Method sufficient to begin coaching others, gain perspective on the benefits of coaching for an institution, and they will have examined a model of implementing coaching at scale. They will leave with a set of coaching tools and resources and an understanding that their coaching will become increasingly personalized and incrementally improved.