Introduction to Coaching

Aims of the course

• To introduce the fundamental principles of coaching, including an understanding of ethical considerations.
• To present practical strategies and coaching techniques applicable across a variety of contexts.
• To enable participants to practise and reflect on their current and future coaching practice, whether this is formally defined as coaching or not.

Course content overview

This course provides an accessible introduction to coaching as a thoughtful, ethical, and relational practice that can be used in many personal and professional contexts. It is designed for those who may never have coached or studied coaching but who use or are interested in using coaching in their personal or professional life. Through studying on this course, participants will develop an understanding of coaching through practical experience, exploring both goal-focused and reflective approaches to coaching conversations. 

The course places strong emphasis on relationships and ethics, including coaching in complex and inter-generational contexts, and introduces creative methods as ways to support learning and development. Throughout the course, participants are encouraged to reflect on their practice and consider how coaching principles can be applied in their future work.

Target audience

The course is for anyone interested in the practice of coaching. It is an introductory course and, as such, is designed for parents, teachers, carers, and people working in any profession where dialogue and conversation are used to achieve goals. It is also suitable for those who already use coaching as part of their role but have not yet undertaken formal study in this area.

Welcome week: Week 0

Purpose:

• personal introductions
• introducing the course
• useful reading
• personal objectives

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, the students should have: 

• become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
• tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sort out any problems with the help of the Technology Enhanced Learning team
• learned how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
• contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they're interested in the course and what they hope to get out of their studies 

Teaching Week 1: Goal focused coaching, including the GROW model

Purpose:

This week will introduce the idea of coaching as a dialogic approach to achieving change by looking at the idea of designed conversations. We will focus on one established model but then use this to explore how coaching may be structured and what its purpose is. 

Learning outcomes

• To be able to link the principles of coaching with practice.
• To understand the design of goal focused coaching conversations.
• To have practised some aspects of the coaching process.

Teaching Week 2: Coaching for reflection

Purpose:

This week we will build on our understanding of coaching as a designed dialogic process but to develop this understanding by exploring coaching that is focused on reflection rather than on goals. To further develop our understanding of coaching through a range of practice-based and reflective tasks. 

Learning outcomes:

• To have further developed understanding of coaching as a shared dialogic process.
• To have an initial understand of coaching as a reflective process.
• To have further reflected through practice on coaching skills.

Teaching Week 3: Coaching: ethics and relationships

Purpose:

This week, we will explore how coaches build relationships with coaches that are positive, ethical and safe. To explore and discuss the complexities of coaching those we have a pre-existing relationship with, whether that be our children, students or colleagues. To use these discussions to explore more broadly the ethical aspects of coaching.  

Learning outcomes:

• Understand how coaches build positive, ethical, and safe relationships.
• Explore the challenges of coaching people within pre-existing relationships.
• Reflect on the ethical issues involved in coaching practice.

Teaching Week 4: Intergenerational coaching

Purpose:

This week, we explore the possibilities and challenges of inter-generational coaching. This session will focus on adult coaches working with children, including teenagers, up to 18 years old. However, it will also explore peer coaching between younger people and the possibility of other inter-generational scenarios. This session will involve further discussion of the ethics of coaching but within an inter-generational context. It will include a focus on children’s rights and on the work of Janusz Korczak.

Learning outcomes:

• Understand the opportunities and challenges of inter-generational coaching.
• Recognise key ethical issues, including children’s rights, in inter-generational coaching.
• Explore the relevance of Janusz Korczak’s ideas to coaching practice.

Teaching Week 5: Creativity, physicality and coaching

Purpose:

This week we will explore approaches to coaching that utilise creative and artistic methods and in parallel to explore coaching for artistic development and development in the sports and dance. This session looks at links between sports coaching and other forms of coaching. However, it is for everybody. It also looks at drawing, making and other creativity activities can focus a coaching conversation.  

Learning outcomes:

• Explore creative and artistic approaches to coaching.
• Understand links between sports coaching and other coaching contexts.Use creative activities to support and focus coaching conversations.

Week 6 - what next?

• assessment of student learning
• assessment of student satisfaction
• encouragement of further study

This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.   

Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.  

Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course.  

Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person.  

While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).  

Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).

Fees

The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes.

Concessions  

For more information, please see our concessions information page. 

Alison Fordham Bursary

University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses.

Application criteria:

• applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
• applicants who can demonstrate financial need  

For more information, please see our bursaries information page.

A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.