A group of Fulbright instructors completed an intensive Coaching Connections Course. This five-week course consists of reading, reflecting, discussing and applying key knowledge areas critical to coaching and supporting students.

This course was designed to help any faculty member or staff member gain essential skills for having conversations with students. Deb Korth, senior associate vice provost for student success and academic excellence, identified a need to provide training and tasked Lynn Meade, teaching associate professor; Toby Phebus, associate director; and Kristin Karpinski, associate director for academic initiatives, to develop a university resource. The team recruited the talents of instructors Dene Wamsley and Carson Rein to help develop the book.

The project began with the creation of the Open Education Resource OER textbook, Coaching Connections. Meade said, "The idea was to create a resource that could be used by any individual or unit who wanted to develop skills related to student coaching conversations. We reached out to Christine Rickabaugh at the university libraries about making it an OER so we could make the book free and open to all."

A Blackboard companion course was built so that individuals would earn badges and receive a certificate for completing the course. A group of Fulbright college instructors completed the course this spring by completing discussion, reflection and application on the following coaching topics:

1. Coaching Foundations: Facilitating Meaningful Conversations. This module consists of: What is coaching, how to have a coaching conversation, and listening is the key to coaching.
2.  Promoting Student Resilience: Coaching Students Toward a Growth Mindset While Building Failure Immunity. This module consists of: Promoting student resilience, nurturing a growth mindset in our students, coaching students to use design thinking for wicked problems and helping students build resilience.
3. Mental Health: Supporting Student and Educator Concerns. This module consists of: Mental health introduction, setting up meetings and boundaries, when students over-disclose and your mental health.
4. Advocacy Strategies: Empowering Student Voices. This module consists of: Finding the right balance, support or challenges, success road mapping, advocacy plans and building bridges by leveraging student services.
5. Teaching Students How to Learn: Coaching Students to Become Self-Regulated Learners. This module consists of: Coaching self-regulated learners, helping students create a plan to learn, encouraging students to try out new learning strategies and helping students reflect on learning.

The inaugural group to go through the course not only completed the modules but also gave feedback on how to improve the training. The following coaches were recognized in April for completion of the Coaching Connections Course: Ali Hintz (ENGL), Anna Mercer (ENGL), Ashleigh Severson (ENGL), Deanna Shields (PHYS), Thomas Shields (MASC), Dene Wamsley (PSYC) and Summer Woehr (PLSC).

"Coaching and student retention go hand in hand, especially when tailored to the individual student's needs and goals. Personalized support techniques improve our students' time management, study skills and goal setting, which is critical. This course is designed to foster meaningful connections between students and coaches, supporting success on both sides!" according to Phebus.

This Coaching Connections book supports Pillar 1 of the Chancellor's 150 Forward Strategic Plan to provide access to a holistic education designed to help our students grow, contribute and thrive throughout their lives and in their communities from matriculation to graduation.