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The Coach in the Classroom

The Coach in the Classroom

By Coach Martin Richards

Author Martin Richards trained as a Maths teacher and worked for 25 years as an independent corporate communication trainer, then he certified as a Co-Active Coach.

He has coached educators on assignment from the Swedish government and for private, international education companies.

His mission is to bring the benefits of coaching back into the education system.

He writes books, holds experiential workshops and leads interactive seminars with plenty of humour and a twinkle in his eye!
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Swimming Lessons for Secondary School Teachers

The Coach in the ClassroomMar 23, 2021

00:00
21:31
Swimming Lessons for Secondary School Teachers

Swimming Lessons for Secondary School Teachers

Swimming Lessons for Secondary School Teachers

By

Martin Richards

Teacher, Coach, Author


Copyright

All text © Martin Richards,
Gothenburg, Sweden 2021


Topics included

The following topics are touched upon in this book:

  • Start of the lesson
  • Teaching new material
  • Role models
  • Practice and revision
  • Discipline
  • Reward
  • Managing progress and accountability
  • Testing and grading
  • Activities during the lesson
  • Including diverse students
  • Marking work done by students
  • Learning from students
  • Learning from the teacher
  • Learning from the book (or other media)
  • Independent and group work
The Author

Martin Richards is an experienced Secondary School teacher who has taught for over thirty years, in many ways from traditional to modern.

Retired from active service, Martin writes books. Here are a few of his most recent shorter works:

  • Lessons from Laryngitis
  • Short Stories from the Classroom
  • Volunteer Tutoring
  • Listening from the Heart in Education
  • Five Ways to Kill a Teacher
  • Ten Tips from the Retired Entrepreneur
  • Five Tips from a Retired Educator

Earlier books include: “An Educator’s Journey from Teacher to Coach”, “The Coach in the Classroom” and “A Coaching Approach to Education”

Mar 23, 202121:31
Presenting C4E Coaches

Presenting C4E Coaches

Since 2014, my company Martin Richards AB has financed the technical platform which brings together professional coaches, and educators in Coaching Relationships. The purpose is to give educators the support they need, and give them a taste of coaching, and a taste for coaching. Perhaps by experiencing coaching, educators will recognise that they too are the Coach in the Classroom 

In this episode of the Coach in the Classroom you will hear from three coaches, three professional, certified life coaches who support educators by giving four life coaching sessions for free. What makes them do that?

C4E Coaches, coach educators for free


Susan Shirley

Christian Worth

Carine Dognie 

May 11, 202009:17
C4E Story, Interview of C4E Founder by C4E Coach Kathleen Fanning

C4E Story, Interview of C4E Founder by C4E Coach Kathleen Fanning

Coach Kathleen Fanning, Invest in Yourself, gives educators four hours of coaching for free through the not-for-profit C4E, Coaching for Educators.

Here, she interviews the founder of C4E, Martin Richards

During the interview Kathleen explores:

  • The start of C4 and the early years
  • What educators are like to coach
  • The similarities and differences to executive coaching
  • How to get teachers to buy into coaching
  • Hopes for the future  
May 10, 202025:15
Two Novice Teachers

Two Novice Teachers

When (novice) teachers are about to quit ... what do you say?

In this amateur theatre rendition, Martin Richards attempts to describe what to say, and how to say it.

Apr 22, 202006:19
"Educator's Challenges" by a Pre-School Principal

"Educator's Challenges" by a Pre-School Principal

In this episode of the Coach in the Classroom podcast, Martin Richards interviews Gothenburg Pre-school Principal, Kara Fairchild on the challenges educators face in their working day. the interview is split into three parts;

Part One

In this part of the interview, Kara mentions the challenges

  • stress level
  • too many students per teacher
  • not enough time or energy to focus
  • the dream of touching every single student
  • individualised teaching
  • the time it takes to get a balance between focusing on the individual and the group in practice


Part Two

In this part of the interview, Kara mentions the challenges

  • uncertainty, lack of clarity from administrators
  • changes happen too quickly
  • it takes time to get into new curriculum and methodology
  • ideas come quick, implementation takes time


Part Three

In this part of the interview, Kara mentions the challenges

  • children are unprepared to be a student, stress
  • students not moving enough


Apr 14, 202008:15
When Push Comes to Shove

When Push Comes to Shove

They were fighting in the corridor. And they were both bigger than I was. Sixteen years old, full of testosterone and with minimal self-control. Fighting? Well, it was more of a pushing and shoving match. But now they had gripped each other at the shoulders like two elk, antlers locked.

That might not have been a problem if it wasn’t for the class of youngsters looking on at them, with a mixture of awe and fear in their eyes. As the only teacher in the vicinity, I had to do something, if only to protect the little’uns. I walked towards the two elk.

“Oh, and what are you doing?” I enquired as though they were idly playing marbles.

They grunted at each other and spoke to me in single words

“He. Started. It,” they both said.

I was sure I would never get to the bottom of whether it was Push or Shove that started it. And I didn’t care. All I wanted was for them to stop, and for me to avoid getting hurt in the process.

“What made you push him?” I asked one, and immediately asked the other. “What made you shove him?”

“He said I was a …”, garbled one, and shoved.

“He called me a …”, stuttered the other, and pushed.

“Oh, and how did that make you feel?”, I asked them both.

By now they were standing almost still. Their arms were still locked around each other’s shoulders. They had stopped struggling. It had become more of a hug. It was getting embarrassing. I grabbed the advantage.

“And how often will you let him decide how you feel?” I asked them both. Neither could answer. I’m not sure I could have answered the question either.

“Aww, we’re just friends”, they both said and hugged each other. In a manly way.

“Well, go and be friends elsewhere,” I suggested. “You are scaring the little’uns.”

They galloped down the corridor and outdoors, to be friends out there I supposed.

It was at that moment I became fully aware that the little’uns were looking at me with a mixture of awe and fear in their eyes.

“Line up outside your classroom,” I ordered. They scuttled into line and stood there like tin soldiers and waited for their class teacher to arrive.

Apr 08, 202004:20
The Janitor

The Janitor

At one college the janitor (whose job it is to clean the toilets, repair broken windows, clear graffiti etc) was proudly showing me around the super clean premises. 

As he did so, we found groups of students sitting in stairways and huddled in groups in secret places hidden from view. He checked what the students were doing, should they be in class, are they lost, are they avoiding someone? He asked how they were feeling: if they were sick, tired, bored, scared...? 

Every student spoke to the janitor with love and respect. It was heart-warming.

I asked how he had done it.

He told me he was a coach (an ACC certified coach!) and he had spent the first months of his new job getting to know the students and all their secret hiding places. He had spent months repairing the many broken windows and scrubbing a lot of graffiti from the walls.

I said, "Well, it sure looks clean now."

He replied, "We have had no graffiti for a year, no broken windows and no mess in the corridors. They would not do that to me."



Later, I commended the headteacher for employing a coach to clean the school.

“As long as he does his job,” he said abruptly.

Then he winked at me.


Mar 31, 202003:12
Superman's Underpants

Superman's Underpants

In this episode, Martin Richards shares one of the first encounters with the work of a teacher that is beyond teaching the subject.

How well do we prepare new teachers for the double role that they play?

Mar 05, 202007:57
Smoking Study Group

Smoking Study Group

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom where Martin Richards shares a moment very early on in his teaching career where he discovered the advantages of keeping an open mind and building relationships with students.

In this episode of the coach in the classroom, you will hear one of Martin Richards’ first lessons as Maths teacher, where he discovers what it means to enforce school rules.


The study group of five students had taken themselves off to a quiet room with their Applied Mathematics textbooks. They had been working for 15 minutes by the time I - a novice teacher - arrived to check on their progress. 

We were discussing a ‘locomotive travelling uphill question’ (power, weight, friction and speed) when I noticed the young man sitting to my left was taking out a tin of Gold Flake. He flipped the lid off the tin and took out a Rizla pack. He slid out and gently flattened a rolling paper on the desk. 

I looked at him and what he was doing. I was new to this teaching job and had no idea what to do or say, but this behaviour was probably breaking the school rule about smoking.

He took a pinch of shredded tobacco out of the Gold Flake tin and sprinkled it on the Rizla paper. Keeping one eye on me he licked the sticky edge, rolled the paper into a spindly cigarette, and put the twig in his mouth. He paused to look at me intently, he seemed to be asking a question but I was not sure what it was.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Zippo lighter, flicked the flint and held the flame to the end of his cigarette. I leaned over and blew out the flame. “No smoking”, I said.

He queried “But you didn’t stop me rolling the cigarette.” 

“No,” I said “the rule is ‘No smoking’, not ‘No cigarettes’.”

He put the cigarette into the Gold Leaf tin, put the Rizla pack on top of the tobacco flakes, closed the lid and put the whole lot back in his pocket.

We continued the lesson with a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a student and a teacher. 

We were firm friends during the rest of his school years, and even after he left school.


Mar 03, 202005:39
The Twins

The Twins

What are we teaching our children at school? 

How well are we preparing them for their future?

There were some lessons I wish I had been given at school, before I had to learn them in real life.

Mar 01, 202006:07
Coaching Skills: Designing Actions

Coaching Skills: Designing Actions

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards described the core skill, 'Designing Actions' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202008:27
Primary School Coaching

Primary School Coaching

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards gives you the questions a primary teacher can ask at the end of a lesson, to gain maximum learning, even from lessons that don't go to plan."

Mar 01, 202004:07
Coaching Skills: Direct Communication

Coaching Skills: Direct Communication

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards described the core skill, 'Direct Communication' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202004:37
Coaching Skills: Managing Progress and Accountability

Coaching Skills: Managing Progress and Accountability

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards described the core skill, 'Managing Progress and Accountability' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company. 

Mar 01, 202007:11
Coaching Skills: Powerful Questioning

Coaching Skills: Powerful Questioning

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards described the core skill, 'Powerful Questioning' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202007:02
Coaching Skills: Creating Awareness

Coaching Skills: Creating Awareness

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards describes the core skill, 'Creating Awareness' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202007:31
Coaching Skills: Active Listening

Coaching Skills: Active Listening

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards describes the core skill, 'Active Listening' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202005:34
Coaching Skills: Coaching Presence

Coaching Skills: Coaching Presence

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards described the core skill, 'Coaching Presence' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202007:49
Coaching Skills: Ethics and Standards

Coaching Skills: Ethics and Standards

That was the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards described the core skill, 'Ethics and Standards' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Coaching should be carried out ethically and according to the agreed standards. The ICF, the International Coach Federation, has developed an international, industry-wide definition of those standards. This podcasts briefly describes that those ethical standards are.

Mar 01, 202004:02
Coaching Skills: The Coaching Relationship

Coaching Skills: The Coaching Relationship

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards describes the core skill, 'Establishing the Coaching Relationship' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202007:03
Coaching Skills: Building Trust

Coaching Skills: Building Trust

This is the episode of the Coach in the Classroom Podcast where Martin Richards describes the core skill, 'Building Trust' as defined by the International Coach Federation. For further coach training, we recommend contacting an accredited coach training company.

Mar 01, 202007:29
Corridor Self-Coaching

Corridor Self-Coaching

This podcast may be used by teachers to reduce their stress levels.

Martin Richards shares a proven technique for preparing to meet a difficult class

  • You will hear the effects of negative thoughts
  • You will hear how to use the voice of your inner coach to overcome those negative thoughts."
Feb 28, 202004:06
The Perfect Cover Lesson

The Perfect Cover Lesson

This podcast may be used by headteachers wishing to equip teachers with the perfect cover lesson.

You will hear how to connect with the existing group relationships so that mutual respect is generated. You will hear a startup activity with a key question that can be adapted to the age and interests of the students and how that activity can be made more active and engaging through floor work; and be further developed through dialogue to broaden and deepen the respectful relationships in the group."

Feb 28, 202008:19
Stories from the Coach in the Classroom

Stories from the Coach in the Classroom

How much coaching is there in your teaching? 

My guess is that there is more than you may know. As both a teacher and a coach, I see how these two skillsets blend, in the service of our students, our colleagues and ourselves.

This podcast is the current playlist of short stories (2-3 minutes each) that illustrate how coaching blends with teaching in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education.

Feb 27, 202023:20
ICF Coaching Skills for Educators

ICF Coaching Skills for Educators

 The aim is to teach and encourage educators to use coaching. These podcasts are based on the ICF descriptions of Core Coaching Skills.  The International Coaching Federation is the coaching profession's certification and accreditation organisation. 

(c) The audio material was written and recorded by CPCC Certified Coach Martin Richards. 

Mar 27, 201953:19
The Most Powerful Coaching Demonstration

The Most Powerful Coaching Demonstration

Martin Richards is a Co-Active Coach, dedicated to bringing a coaching approach to educators working in Education Systems around the world.

Martin works to ensure that a coaching approach is properly and increasingly used in schools and colleges. He trains administrators, teachers and students in the fundamentals of coaching. Martin is an experienced educator and facilitator, with more than twenty years of designing and running successful training and development programs for individuals and organisations.

Mar 26, 201906:45
Ten Tips for inspiring teenagers

Ten Tips for inspiring teenagers

Hi Educator.
Suppose you are going to introduce a topic, or share authentic life / work experience in order to inspire and encourage a group of teenagers to carry out research and study for a course.
In this podcast there are 10 simple and powerful ways to make your talks to teens even more inspiring!
Mar 21, 201920:31