Our learning platform supports remote (blended) learning. But how can you fulfill your duties as a coach when classical sessions are no longer a possibility? Even though participants can work independently, it is still important to stay visible and supportive for them during their learning process. This document provides some tips & tricks on how to do that. 

How you stay visible as a coach

• Send a video to your participants at the beginning of each week, in which you discuss the learning objectives, planning or other important information for that week. 

• Do you normally give your lessons at specific times? Make sure you are available to your participants at these times. Let your participants know you are available to answer questions by mail, Teams or a YouTube livestream for example. 

• Plan one-on-one coaching sessions with your participants. This is how you make the learning objectives personal. Together with your participants, decide which exercises match their learning needs. 
  
  

How to organise an online class

• Collect your participants’ questions during the week. Organise a live Q&A session at the end of the week to provide the answers. This also gives your participants the opportunity to ask other questions. 

• Before you start your online lesson (via Teams or Zoom for example), make sure all participants can hear and see you. Ask your participants to mute their microphone to prevent disturbing background noises. When they want to say something, they can unmute their microphone. 

• Some of the exercises on the learning platform are group exercises. Decide which of these exercises can be done by working together remotely. Participants can work together via Microsoft Teams or another video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google Meet. This enables them to discuss the exercise and work together. You can also decide to integrate it in your own online lessons. 

• In some of the exercises participants need to present their outcomes to the group. Find out which of the participants need to do this to finish their exercise. You can make room for them during your online lessons. 
  
  

How to keep track of your participants’ progress

• You can ask your participants to send a week-planning at the beginning of the week. You can track their progress on the platform. 

• Organise a digital office hour to check in with your participants. This provides your participants with the opportunity to ask questions and allows you to coach them. 

How to regularly provide feedback 

• Make sure you regularly provide feedback on the exercises. Don’t wait until the last minute. This way you give room for improvement. 

Here are some tips to help you with giving feedback.

• Discuss and reflect on the learning objectives during the one-on-one coaching sessions. How did the exercise contribute to this? Why was this exercise important?

• Involve the participants in the feedback process. You can ask your participants to hand in an extra piece of evidence on the learning platform in which they reflect on their work or ask questions. For example, you can ask your participants to: 
  1. Write down feedback questions they would like an answer to. 
  2. Name the strong points and weak points of their work. 
  3. Reflect on the process. 

• Formulate the points of improvements as clearly as possible in your feedback. Make sure you do not describe, judge, interpret or evaluate the exercise. Feedback is meant to support the learning process. 

• Limit the amount of feedback, so participants are not overwhelmed. 

• Your feedback should support your participants in identifying the next steps themselves. Define some action points to help them in the right direction. 

• Provide feedback on the exercises before they are final once in a while and allow your participants to improve them. 

• Discuss your feedback during a 10 minute digital one-on-one coaching session.

Do you have additional questions about coaching remotely, contact us.