RAPPORT
Issue 5 (August 2020)
the helpful caveat that terminology should
be considered in terms of the specific
context to which it is being used. It also
chimes appropriately with the distinctions
cited by Irby et al. (op cit) 14 and is
examined in detail in Herman and Mandell
(2004) where they articulate the dialogic
principles that underly mentoring within the
context of teaching.
Our first illustration (Portfolio 13, CS1)
concerns the use of a coaching approach
identified explicitly by the Tutor. She
writes:
My approach is to ask students
wherever possible to find their own
solutions to their issues by using
more of a coaching (Garvey, 2014;
Whitmore, 1996) approach... my
approach stems from my
consultancy training (Block, 2011;
Haan, 2006; Schein, 1999), which is
to treat students as clients and to
ensure that I am developing their
future potential and capacity for
finding their own answers.
The illustration given related to a request
for help via email from a student needing
to answer questions related to how
competencies might be demonstrated
within the STAR approach. 15 The tutor
replied with a number of questions and an
email exchange developed. The Tutor
wrote
in … tone …. I try to be helpful but
friendly, offering possibilities rather
than answers…. In reflecting
further, the strengths of this
approach were that the student felt
supported, more confident in going
into the interview and was able to
draw out the value of their own
experiences which would be useful
for other interviews.
The tone of the Portfolio here highlights
the importance of a solutions-focused
approach whilst also echoing the nondirective
and constructivist emphases cited
above.
In a second context, (Portfolio 30, CS 3)
the Tutor made use of an explicit
coaching tool: the ‘balance wheel’,
essentially as a means of structuring
exploration within a conversation leading
to the development of strategies for action.
As we noted above, coaching is
characterised by the availability of range of
frameworks; here the Tutor suggests that
this offered
a very productive way of working
with students to explore issues that
might be affecting them. The tool,
which is well known in the field of
coaching, aims to engender an
increase in awareness and
autonomy in decision making.
The Tutor further reports that she has
made use of it in work with students used
this tool ‘on a number of occasions’, and
presents evidence of one such use in her
Portfolio. This focusses upon a student
with ‘long standing problems’ though the
immediate stimulus for use was a meeting
14
‘Coaches and tutors are usually individuals or
groups that possess advanced experience and
knowledge in a certain field. The focus of these
relationships is centered around problems,
tasks, or performance improvement, whereas
mentoring relationships are people-centered.
Coaching and tutoring relationships usually end
when those problems or issues are solved; thus,
these relationships occur relatively for a shortterm
period, whereas mentoring relationships
can last even for life-long.
15
STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
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