Leader Coach Program
Learners Characteristics
Who are the learners?
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New and aspiring leaders typically those who are in their late twenties to mid-thirties.
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Employers of MCG see them as high potentials to move up from their current position.
Young Adulthood Developmental Stage
This course aims to guide young adult learners to understand not only how to coach effectively but also understand how it can maximize potential in themselves and the people they lead.
Learners will be able to engage post-formal thought. Post-formal thought includes reflecting deeply and considering multiple points-of-view when making decisions (Santrock, 2016). Early adulthood learners, ranging from 18 to 30 years old, maybe starting their professional careers, advancing their education, or starting a family (Santrock, 2016).
Learners who have just completed college and are starting their first job may be dealing with the challenges of living independently, managing finances, and possible anxiety about making decisions in the workplace (Santrock, 2016).
Prior Knowledge
Learners will typically have low levels of prior coaching knowledge. Learners may have learned a few coaching facts and concepts from listening to others in workplace meetings. They may also come into the course with prior knowledge that could hinder their learning such as misconceptions of coaching concepts and how they are applied. Instructors will ensure that major misconceptions will be addressed early in the course.
Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is the belief in one's own ability to succeed in a particular task (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996). The majority of learners are expected to have high levels of self-efficacy. However, some learners, such as those who required to take the course, may have low levels of self-efficacy.
Low Self-Efficacy
Some learners may feel that learning a coaching skill is too complicated and may have doubts about ever successfully learning this skill. This could impact their learning as these learners may not persist when practicing coaching techniques or may not put in enough effort to complete challenging group activities. To respond to these potential issues, a guest speaker will act as a model and discuss relatable obstacles faced in the workplace; job aids will be provided to scaffold learning and guide learners through challenging tasks.
High Self-Efficacy
Learners are those who have been selected, by their employer, as high potential leaders. Many of the learners may have requested to learn coaching techniques to improve the way they lead others. These learners may believe that they can learn new and challenging material. They believe if they put in the effort in the course and apply what they have learned, they will get better at their work tasks.
Abilities of Learners
Young adulthood learners will engage in hands-on activities that are collaborative. They will improve their ability to work in teams to test out learned concepts, come up with new solutions, share results with others, and discuss ways to make improvements.
According to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of human development, the intimacy versus isolation stage is expressed in early adulthood; those who develop meaningful friendships and social relations can mitigate persistent isolation and feelings of loneliness (Santrock, 2016).
Potential Issues of Power, Equity and Inclusion
Those who are hard-of-hearing need access to course content. Embedded videos shown on the powerpoint slides need to have closed-captioning (U.S Department of Education, 2011).
Designers foster a learning space that supports learners of different cultures. Multiculturalism is defined by Plaut et. al (2011) as the support for the presence of multiple distinct cultural groups within a community.
The number of learners, employees of MCG, are increasing every month. Learners are coming from various parts of the world including Australia, Britain, Singapore, and the Americas. Instructors will address potential issues regarding learners who speak English with an American, British and Australian accent, and seek ways to provide alternative means of providing instruction e.g provide written in addition to verbal instruction.
References
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Multifaceted impact of self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning. Child Development, 67(3), 1206–1222.
CAST. (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
IHCD. (2019). Inclusive design: Principles. Retrieved from https://www.humancentereddesign.org/inclusive-
design/principles
Plaut, V. C., Garnett, F. G., Buffardi, L. E., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2011). “What about me?” Perceptions of exclusion and Whites' reactions to multiculturalism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(2), 337–353.
Santrock, J.W. (2016). Essentials of life-span development. New York: McGraw Hill.