Is coaching best learned in a training room or on-line? The answer is in that proverbial grey area because both ways work. Different people have different preferences. Instead, ask: which is best for you?
At the Center for Coaching Certification, both the online and live class programs begin with the same series of four live webinars that include watching a PowerPoint presentation and participating in a discussion that is both engaging and informative. Building on the foundation of information from the webinars, the next step is experiencing coaching. In preparation for the coaching experience, there is process review, tips on note-taking, parameters of using session worksheets, and a discussion that includes question / answer time. Participants partner with each other to coach, be coached, and observe.
Now here is where the two options diverge. In the live class this happens in the training room. In the virtual class, it begins with a webinar and then partners schedule the coaching sessions via telephone. Because 80% of coaching happens on the phone, this is a realistic practical-application way to train. After each set of coaching sessions, there is a debrief of what was learned followed by an overview of the next sessions. After completing a series of coaching sessions as a client, a coach, and an observer, a case study is given to complete for certification. In the live class this happens in the training room, in the virtual class it happens in webinars and on the telephone.
The webinars that follow the certification are optional; some participants plan to start a business and others are earning certification because of the value in their current work.
The difference between the live class and the virtual class is the two-day concentration of coaching face-to-face versus webinars and coaching sessions scheduled over several weeks done on the telephone.
The considerations for you include the schedule and timing, and how much of a difference face-to-face intense learning makes compared to the flexibility of scheduling over a few weeks.
What are your thoughts or questions on the differences?
