There is a growing recognition of coaching as a means of enhancing learning. Coaching is currently used as a means of enhancing educational leadership and teaching. While coaching is utilised as a leadership and/or self-preservation tool for school principals, it is also used as a means of facilitating teachers’ professional development.

In particular, Cognitive Coaching is frequently used to assist teachers in delving into the thinking behind their practices, helping them to self-monitor, self-analyse and self-evaluate their teaching practices and thereby maximise student learning. In fact, using coaching as a tool for ongoing professional development for teachers, in the aim of improving student learning, can be seen in increasing references to school-based coaching programs.

Furthermore, there is a rapidly accelerating trend in schools to re-define the role of the teacher from that of instructor to one of facilitator and ‘coach’. This corresponds with the onset of the information technology age, which demands that teachers become more than a means of information transfer and adopt the behaviour of a coach .

Kerryn Griffiths is an expert in the process of learning in coaching. She provides consulting, training and professional development services to schools, higher education institutions, RTOs and learning organisations, who wish to enhance the culture of their organisation. She also implement peer coaching programs for organisations who want to foster coaching throughout all levels of their organisation.