When I first volunteered with CoachBright, it was out of a passion for social mobility and supporting students to achieve their best. I volunteered as a Virtual Coach for the same reasons. Focusing on social mobility felt particularly relevant at a time where disadvantaged students could be left even further behind because of school closures.
Though I was already familiar with the structure and expectations of the CoachBright programme, virtual coaching was a brand-new experience for me. Coaching a student remotely posed some unique challenges and had some surprising highlights.
Relationships
One of my favourite parts of being a Coach is the relationship that you form with your Coachee. I was worried that I might not be able to create the same type of bond through virtual coaching.
Apart from an occasionally temperamental internet connection and the ‘surrealness’ of seeing your own face on video every week, I was relieved to find that virtual coaching did not hamper the relationship I formed with my coachee. If anything, the strangeness of the whole situation was something to bond over.
Checking in with my coachee and sharing the highlights of our week helped to humanise the process of virtual coaching. I also found that being patient, giving praise, and using positive body language were incredibly important to show my personality and my investment in the sessions with my coachee. Not only did these behaviours help my coachee to feel comfortable talking to someone they had only ever met through a screen, they also boosted her confidence and excitement for the sessions ahead.
Resources
As an English Coach, I love pen and paper interactions with my coachee. In the past, I have tended to build my sessions around activities that could only be done in-person. Though I initially worried that I would miss my usual style of coaching, virtual coaching actually enhanced the way that I interacted with my coachee.
With traditional pen and paper no longer an option, I had to be more creative with the resources I used in sessions. I created a presentation – with lots of colours and images – to talk through dramatic devices and paragraph planning. I enjoyed the process of creating digital resources so much that I almost wish I had been more adventurous!
Uploading PDFs to the Bramble classroom was especially useful. I could plan, write, and edit paragraphs with my coachee in real-time. This not only gave me a sense of her writing process, but also ensured a good dialogue between us about what worked for her and what did not.
I appreciated the diversity of resources that could come into play through virtual coaching – something that I will definitely take forward in all future coaching sessions.
Community
I love volunteering because you can support others while connecting with like-minded individuals. As with doing anything remotely, it is easy to feel isolated from people and as though there was a lack of real human contact.
CoachBright have worked hard to keep everyone updated and involved throughout the programme. I have really enjoyed the Coaches’ Corner webinars on Thursdays and know that I can reach out for support at any time.
As a result, virtual coaching has demonstrated to me how keen and motivated students are to achieve their academic potential – and how willing people across the country are to support them. Despite these uncertain times, the determination and generosity they have brought out has been inspiring.
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Blog Post by Amirah Muhammad, London Head Coach and Academic Coach