solution enhanced coaching for students with severe...

Solution Enhanced Coaching: Students With Severe Behaviour Disorders

Solution Enhanced Coaching For Students with Severe Behaviour Disorders

This article will provide information on Solution Enhanced Coaching and its impact on students

displaying severe behaviour disorders. It highlights what was discovered to be a very effective

way of interacting with educators to facilitate the behavioural progress and improvement of

students with severe behaviour disorders. It will discuss the rational and techniques of coaching,

highlight the specific strategy being used and discuss the results of this project. A specific

student who was a participant in the project provides an example of the process and results.

Thomas was a Grade 3, nine year old student that arrived to a new school with the diagnosis of

AD/HD and a severe behavior disorder. This was his fourth school in three years, and he came

with a “reputation” for displaying very challenging behaviour. He would argue with teachers,

refuse to do what they asked and sometimes became very angry. He was often involved with

confrontations with other students, sometimes displaying both very and physical aggression.

Thomas’ mother, teacher, an educational assistant assigned to work with him, and the family

school liaison worker decided that they would be better prepared to help Thomas if they worked

together as a Student Learning Team. With a focus on ensuring a successful school year for

him they decided to participate in a Solution Enhanced Coaching program offered through the

school district.

Why choose coaching?

Teachers often specialize their own skills by participating in professional development activities

at conferences and workshops that are designed to increase their educational effectiveness. This


type of professional development often results in many great ideas and strategies, but often does

not often provide an effective link between information and practice (Bush, 1984, Knight, 2007)

Emerging research indicates that “school-based coaches contribute to the improvement of

teaching and learning in schools” (Kilion & Harrison, 2005). Downey (1999) defined coaching

as “the art of facilitating the performance, learning and development of another”. The intent of

coaching is to help an individual to grow and excel in those areas in which they wish to improve.

The role of coaching within the education system is increasing. Coaching is being used to

address such diverse student exceptionalities as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,

Autism, Reading Disorders, Early Intervention and Behavioral Disorders.

What is Solution Enhanced Coaching?

Solution Enhanced Coaching combines cognitive coaching (Neenan & Palmer, 2001, Costa &

Garmston, 2002) and instructional coaching (Knight, 2007, 2006) with principles of positive

psychology and solution-focused strategies (McConkey, 2002) to provide an effective belief and

behaviour change tool for educational personnel. It provides both a process and structure to

facilitate successful accomplishment of goals.

Solution Enhanced Coaching utilizes an interpersonal communication approach that addresses

both how a person thinks about an event as well as their behaviour in that situation. For

example, one student receiving a “C” grade may be delighted and express happiness within the


class while another student receiving the same grade may be disappointed and express sadness or

anger within the class. Interpersonal communication is focused on the mediation of thinking

where the coach works as a “thought partner” with the person being coached. The coach

occasionally, and with permission, may offer suggestions for resolution of the problem.

However, for the most part, the coach instead utilizes questions and comments to support the

person in discovering their own solutions and deciding upon the necessary steps towards

successful progress within the goals they have chosen. The individual being coached, is in

control of the processes and decisions, and gives input to solutions. The coach does not tell the

coachee what to do, how to do it or when to do it. They get to decide!

What is the GOODS Model of Coaching?

An integral part of the coaching process involves a structured format which may be utilized in a

flexible manner. Auerbach (2003) utilizes a model focusing upon the acronym GOOD

emphasizing identification of a Goal, the Opportunities to achieve the goal, Obstacles to the goal

and then Do it by taking specific action steps towards the goal. This GOOD model was modified

by the present authors to become the GOODS model in order to emphasize the Successes that a

person might have in achieving their goal.

The format allows the person/team being coached to identify specific goals that the “coachee”

would like to focus upon. The “Coachee” identifies the strategies that are to be of focus and any

strengths that he/she/they may bring to the situation – this is referred to as options and

opportunities. Next, the “coachee” discusses any obstacles that must be overcome or that are


blocking the goal from being realized or achieved. Finally, the “coachee” indentifies the next

actions steps to be undertaken to achieve their set goal and describes what they will feel, see,

experience, when they have successfully accomplished the set goal.

How was Solution Enhanced Coaching Used to Impact Student’s Behaviour Within the

Classroom?

Wolf Creek School Division is located in the rural setting of central Alberta. It has

approximately 7500 students in 25 schools spread across 100 miles. The population of students

includes 400 with severe disabilities. To enable Wolf Creek Public Schools to bring Coaching to

our staff within the district, 4 staff (from the Student services Team) were trained in Solution

Enhanced Coaching techniques. This training consisted of 40 hours of instruction as well as 16

hours of coaching supervision.

The Coaching Process for this Project

Coaching Framework

1. Student selection (those displaying severe challenging behaviour)

2. One day training with Coach and Student Learning Teams

3. Weekly coaching using email based on the GOODS template

4. Monthly video conference group coaching

5. Five month cycles

6. Wrap-up group meeting with evaluation and celebration


On the basis of Thomas’ behaviour and concerns for his success within the classroom. His

Student Learning Team participated, with the other teams, in the one day initial training session.

By the end of the day the team had knowledge about coaching and specific techniques to address

challenging behaviour. They had developed a Positive Behaviour Support Plan and had

completed the first GOODS model template. They felt that they had a plan in place and could

proceed with the support of their coach that had worked with them throughout the day.

Selection of Students: During the 2006-2007 school year, two coaching programs took place,

one from September to January and then again from February to June. Selection of the students

considered for participation in this initiative was based on them having severe behaviour disorder

consistent with a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Specific behaviours included being

argumentative, refusing to follow requests or rules and being verbally and/or physically

aggressive. School-based teams volunteered to participate (as School Learning Teams) in this

project.

Initial 1 day In-service: The coaches initially met with 5 school teams, provided them with a 1

day in-service. Content of this day focused on Solution Enhanced Coaching, the GOODS model

and the development of a Positive Behaviour Plan for each student. The Positive Behavior Plan

became part of the student’s Individual Program Plan.

Each team worked with a designated Coach. One coach was the coach for two of the teams.

Initially a single goal was chosen to work on, and then the coaching began. Once that goal had

been achieved, another goal was chosen and focused on. It is important to note that the coach


‘coached’ the Student Learning Team but not the student. The Student Learning Team provided

the direct contact to the students.

Weekly email coaching: An emerging modality for coaching is through the use of the electronic

media. E-mail coaching can have a number of benefits, the most notable being there does not

need to be a specifically scheduled appointment time for when the coach and coachee are

together. Additionally, both the coach and coachee can take time and put thought into what

they are going to say within the communication together. As well, there are individuals who

struggle with interpersonal relationships, who may be more comfortable when they are not in the

physical presence of their coach.

Furthermore, there is much power in the written word. Thus, when the coachee reports and

writes down that they are going to do something, there is increased likelihood that it will, in fact,

occur. Written communication through electronic means is becoming progressively more

popular within our culture, with many executives and teachers spending more time

communicating via email than through telephone conversations. Since school systems must

often work with many diverse learners and parents, it can be very effective in addressing some of

the unique characteristics of the individuals being coached. These include individuals with

hearing/speech impairments or who are reluctant to socialize or verbally interact with others,

such as individuals with autism spectrum disorder or anxiety disorder.

For this project the school teams e-mailed their Coach each week. Often they would email their

comments on a Friday and the coach would reply on the Monday. Using the GOODS format,


they reported upon their student’s week as well as what the Team did during the week. The

Coach then replied to that email by incorporating comments and questions into what had been

written by the team. By making comments and asking powerful questions within each of the

GOODS categories, the Coach was able to ascertain information that was helpful in providing

the team insight into the week. The coaching process also provided affirmations to the team

based on their perceptions of challenges or success.

**********************************************************************************GOODS Template for Email Coaching

Date: October 5, 2006

Student: Thomas Student

Team members: Ms. Elizabeth Mother, Ms. Betty Teacher, Mrs Heidi EA, Ms Erica FSLW

Goal for Student Learning Team: To be creative and persist at using techniques to assist in the progress

of the student’s goal.

This goal sounds like you are using your strengths of creativity and determination to facilitate successful

accomplishment of your goal for this student

A sample worksheet for a student may look similar to the one below. The Coach initially fills in

the information at the first in-service meeting, which is thoughtfully gathered by using a variety of

listening and questioning techniques with the “coachee”.

Then, on a weekly basis the coach and coachee communicate what has been occurring – The

Coach’s responses are in blue font with questions in italics and bold to which the SLT then

responds the next week.


Goal for Student: Thomas will comply with the teacher or EAs requests of him 80% of the time

This goal is positively worded focusing on what you expect the student to do (rather than emphasizing

what is he currently not doing). What impact do you think this positively worded statement would have

in contrast to one which focused on reducing undesirable behaviours?

Opportunities:

The teacher and EA will

1) Ensure that they praise Thomas at least 4 times a day for following requests

2) Use the ‘response cost’ technique whenever Thomas does not follow the request

It appears from the techniques that you are using that you are addressing both the desired behaviour (by

giving praise) and the undesired behaviour (by removing a stick each time that it occurs). This can be a

very powerful communication technique providing clear expectations for performance. How many sticks

does he receive each day and what are your plans if he does not have any more “sticks” to give up?

Obstacles: Thomas often show up late to school and when he does he often has an “off” day. You are

perceptive in noticing this and recognizing its impact on his behaviour.

Do it: Over the next week the teacher will contact Thomas’ mother to see if there is a way for Thomas to

get to school on time Sounds like you have an action plan to deal with the obstacle that you noted – please

let me know what transpires. What are your thoughts on what you can be doing if he does show up late

and in this mood?

Success for SLT: Both the teacher and EA were able to give Thomas praise at least 4 times a day – often

exceeding that and giving as much as 10 praise comments each!!! The teacher supported the EA when

Thomas became very upset and argumentative. The FSLW met with Thomas once and began discussing

anger management techniques.

I can really appreciate the “!!!” – highlighting that not only did you achieve your stated expectations but

you exceeded what you said that you were going to do!!!


Success for Student: Over the past week Thomas has

1) Been very receptive to the praise that he has been given and has really enjoyed the special time on

the computer when he has at least one “popsicle stick” left at the end of the day from the response

cost technique

2) Improved from complying at about 30% of the time to 50% of the time

3) Only become very argumentative and angry once

WOW pretty powerful data – you are not only collecting quantitative information on the specific goal (i.e.

% of compliance and number of times very upset) but as well are noticing and acknowledging his

response to the techniques that you are using

******************************************************************************

Feedback from educators on weekly email coaching

“Weekly communication to send positives, negatives and strategies with our Coach was

beneficial.” was reported by the teams. The teams viewed the coaching as; “Very responsive,

very supportive, fresh ideas, lots of strategies or new ways of thinking was provided.” By asking

powerful questions within each of the GOODS categories, the Coach was able to ascertain

information that was helpful in providing the team insight into the week. The coaching process

also provided affirmations, “Very positive – put a focus on the week;” to the team based on their

perceptions of challenges or success. Finally, the emails also provided excellent anecdotal notes

that were later needed for planning and monitoring Thomas’ progress.

“I appreciated the positive outlook, positive feedback and

suggestions”

“Loved the feedback. Was always a celebration! Coach’s

comments were positive and very personable.”

“Thanks for the input, feedback and availability.”


Monthly video conference coaching: Monthly, all 5 teams met through video-conferencing.

Initially it was a bit awkward simply because of the technology. Once the teams became

comfortable with it, as well as with their colleagues at other schools, the video-conferencing

provided opportunities to share. It also provided the opportunity for the teams to coach and

provide feedback to each other. The e-mailing and video-conferencing were very effective in

our rural school division. A tremendous amount of time and cost were saved by being able to

communicate in this fashion.

Wrap-up Meeting: At the end of the five month session, the teams met in person, talked about

some of the challenges that they experienced and celebrated their success.

How was the success of the Solution Enhanced Coaching Program Measured?

Thomas’ year started off very well and a few months into the coaching process, it was thought

that perhaps the coaching program could end. However, when he returned after a break,

Thomas displayed such extremely challenging behaviour that the educational assistant

considered quitting and the teacher was in tears. The Student Learning Team persevered with

the coaching process throughout this rough period. By the end of the school year, with each

member of the Team continuing to work collaboratively and creatively together, Thomas was

displaying significant levels of both behavioural and academic success. Consequently, the

Student Learning Team working with him reported high levels of satisfaction with the process

and were very pleased with the outcome.


During the course of the school year, qualitative and quantitative information was collected on

two groups of students, from their Student Learning Teams, when the project began and after its

completion 5 months later.

Quantitative data was gathered through the use of the Behavior Assessment System for Children,

Second Edition (BASC-2). BASC-2 data was collected from each of the student’s teachers upon

initiation of the 5 month project and again upon its completion for 9 of the 11 students

participating in the project. [Note: One student was transferred during the project and another

did not have valid pre project data].

In addition to the BASC-2, each individual on the Student Learning Team completed a

questionnaire which included the use of a 5 point Likert scale. Each respondent was asked to

rate levels of improvement on a 1-to-5 response scale with 1 being no improvement and 5 being

very much improved.

Results indicated:

Statistically significant (one-way ANOVA) decrease in

Overall challenging behaviour

Externalizing behaviour (Hyperactivity, Aggression, Conduct

Problems)

Internalizing Behaviour (Anxiety, Depression)


Qualitative data focused upon inviting participants to comment on the effectiveness of the

coaching process and communication methods. Respondents overwhelmingly indicated that the

weekly e-mail, video-conferencing and direct communications were highly beneficial.

Respondents felt that the strategies developed were creative, positive and easily implemented,

the team was supportive and positive, and that the weekly e-mails were useful as a future

planning resource. Participants were also extremely positive in regard to the supportive and

positive relationships that developed with their Coach.

Data Summary of Coaching Projects

Improvement on a Scale of 1-5

Additional Skills/Strategies were learned 4.9

Stress Level 4.5

Communication and Collaboration 3.97

Feelings of Support 4.57

Set Goals 4.25

Look at Options 4.13

Identify and Overcome Obstacles 4.13

Establish next steps and actions 4.38

Feelings of Success 4.38


What is the future impact of Solution Enhanced Coaching?

Solution Enhanced Coaching has made a significant difference for students who display

challenging behaviors in Wolf Creek School Division. Students who participated in this program

experienced increased success in academic growth and were able to display more independent

behaviors in the classroom. Many of these students began with longstanding issues of

behavioural concerns, including aggression and non-compliance; by the end of only a 5 month

time frame, many were considered to be functioning without requiring substantial supervision

and support.

This program enabled the Student Learning Teams to adjust the environmental landscape,

learning environment, behavioral and academic expectations and meaningful consequences of a

student’s learning experience at school. The student was set up to succeed and the people

involved in his or her support team worked through challenging situations to ensure that this

would occur.

Student Learning Teams who received initial training and participated in the behavior coaching

initiative, reported many positive results including feeling supported, not working in isolation,

and gaining more skills and knowledge in teaching students with severe behavior disorders.

Before the coaching initiative was implemented, teachers and support staff reported that there

was very little support if any at all to assist them with the education of students with severe


behavioral challenges. The Solution Enhanced Coaching initiative was Wolf Creek’s response to

address this gap in service.

Wolf Creek School Division endorsed the Solution Enhanced Coaching initiative in the fall of

2006 and continues to support the implementation of this program in all schools. The coaching

program continues to evolve and increase influence as more and more student learning teams

request to participate. Thus, training of Coaches has expanded from the student services

personnel to include family school liaison/wellness workers and school administrators. In the

2009/2010 school year, lead teachers such as special education facilitators and Alberta

Improvement School Initiative (AISI) leaders received training in coaching as well. The

possibilities for implementation of the coaching program will eventually expand to ‘teachers

coaching teachers’, ‘teachers coaching students’, and ‘students coaching students’.

Assisting, supporting and training teachers, support staff, administrators and parents who are

involved with children and youth who exhibit difficulty behaviors in school and at home needs to

take place sooner rather than later. Wolf Creek School Division recognizes the limited

effectiveness of “one-shot” PD opportunities and training (Bush, 1984) and is striving to provide

the additional support and feedback necessary to make a real and sustainable difference in the

lives of these students (Knight, 2007). Students demand nothing less from the adults who are

responsible to ensure that they have every opportunity to succeed in their learning environment.

The Solution Enhanced Coaching program, combining cognitive and instructional coaching with

principles of learning and psychology, has proven to be a powerful, effective and essential

framework of training, support and guidance to ensure that all students who present with


challenging behaviors have every opportunity to experience success in their learning

environment.

References

Auerbach, J.E. (2001) Personal and executive coaching: The complete guide for mental health

professionals. Executive College Press, Ventura, California

Bush, R.N. (1984). Effective staff developments in making our schools more effective:

Proceedings of three state conferences. San Francisco: Far West Laboratories

Costa, A. & Garmston, R. (2002) Cognitive coaching: A foundation for renaissance schools.

Christopher-Gordon Publishers Inc. Norwood Massachusetts.

Killion, J. & Harrison, C. (2005) School-based coaches: Roles, responsibilities and challenges.

National Staff Development Council.

Knight, J. (2006) Instructional coaching: Eight factors for realizing better classroom teaching

through support, feedback and intensive, individualized professional learning. The School

Administrator, 63(4), 36-40.

Knight, J. (2007) Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving instruction

Corwin Press & Sage Publication Ltd.


McConkey, N. (2002). Solving School Problems: Solution focused strategies for principals,

teachers and counselors. Bragg Creek, AB. Solution Talk Press, 2002

Neenan, M. Palmer, S. (2001) Cognitive behavioural coaching. Stress News, Vol 13 No 3.

Sturtevant, E.G. (2005). The literacy coach: A key to improving teaching and learning in school.

Washington, DC: The Alliance for Excellent Education.

Ratey, N. & Jaksa, P. The ADAA guiding principles for coaching individuals with attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder. Attention Deficit Disorder Association. www.add.org/articles.

Scott, T & and Martinek, G. (2006) Coaching positive behavior support in school settings:

tactics and data-based decision making. Journal of Positive Behavioural Interventions, 8(3),

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