Daniel S?derholm

LinkedIn https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/daniel-s%C3%B6derholm-7b37226a/

Accredited upper secondary school teacher in Swedish, computer science, and psychology. Certified mental coach, yoga instructor, and behavioural scientist.

Location: Sweden

Coaching to develop inner processes through teaching

When the ceremony for teacher graduation concluded, the real training began in the classroom. Taking sole responsibility for students’ development as a newly graduated teacher was incredibly motivating and exciting, but also downright terrifying and occasionally paralysing. It is easy to shift all responsibility onto the students and think that it’s their own responsibility to exert effort and ignite the flame of motivation. While it is true that students are responsible for achieving their study goals through GRIT (persistence) and diligent studying, as an educator and leader in the classroom a deeper understanding of how students’ inner processes work is needed, along with a curiosity about what happens in these processes.

Through education in psychology and as a behavioural scientist, an understanding has been developed where curiosity about thoughts, feelings, and inner images of students has made it easier to explain their behaviour in different situations. If you, as an educator/coach are curious about what happens in these inner processes, it becomes a powerful tool: asking well-formulated, well-intentioned, and sincere questions, or yes, multiple questions. Another method is to consult your own cognitive process and draw conclusions from it. However, if you rely solely on your own subjective interpretation of available data, there is a risk that you may interpret the situation and behaviour completely wrong.

When you ask questions to your students, you have the effect of making the students themselves scrutinise and evaluate their inner processes in the moment, which is being processed to be described and explained to you. When someone asks you a question, it is therefore good if you can limit your eagerness to answer and instead ask a question that triggers the inner processes of the student. If you can activate students’ cognition through questions, motivation for the student will also increase as a bonus. This is because confidence in their own ability is strengthened (self-efficacy), which is important when studying, as awareness that effort in the studied area will lead to results, and if GRIT is practised to further studying despite setbacks, it will, in turn, lead to both stronger self-confidence and self-esteem.

When you ask students questions instead of providing answers, this leads to the student being active, having to initiate their cognition, rather than passively receiving information. There are several advantages to being active in a learning process. When you process information, preferably in several ways, the information is likely to be more easily placed in long-term memory. Furthermore, there will also be a sense of having performed well, which in turn strengthens the students’ self-confidence. There is also a possibility that a sense of pride begins to grow, which could be described by a theory in psychology, namely the IKEA effect. When effort has been put into creating or solving a problem, a sense of pride will arise. Within the IKEA effect individuals value a piece of furniture higher when their own time has been spent “building” it. It is precisely this pride that the educator can help students experience and strive for, which feels particularly important in a time with shortcuts, such as AI services, offer.

Martin Seligman researched a phenomenon called learned helplessness, which means that individuals develop dysfunctional cognitive schemas, where the inner processes are negative thoughts, negative feelings, and inner images of failure in advance, leading to avoidance behaviour. Learned helplessness can also be reinforced by people in the environment. For example, if a student claims to be worthless at grammar, which is reinforced and confirmed by parents through their personal anecdotes about how bad they are at grammar, a programming of the inner processes occurs. There is no reason to try to try to get better at grammar when there is so much evidence that it is not possible. But if the student could receive tasks and questions about situations when the student has demonstrated knowledge and skill in grammar before, then it is possible that the power of learned helplessness diminishes, as the student realises that it is actually possible to learn if the right methods are used and perhaps most importantly, the right mindset. Carol Dweck describes the difference between a fixed or growth mindset, which is extremely important in the process of avoiding learned helplessness. If you have a fixed mindset, you have a fixed belief about what your strengths and weaknesses are and that this cannot be changed or is very difficult to change. For example, you might be good at playing the piano, but bad at grammar. If you instead have a growth mindset, you are aware that with focused effort, you can develop in all areas, if you use the right method and a reasonable amount of time. When you give students feedback, it is also important to consider praising students’ effort, so you do not reinforce a fixed mindset but rather cultivate a growth mindset. While it may feel good to hear, “You are so good at grammar”, think about how “You are so bad at grammar” would feel to receive. If you instead can confirm the student’s effort, “You have worked so diligently and with great focus and concentration, which has led to a great performance”, you can ask yourself what this can lead to in terms of the student’s mindset. Now imagine how you could formulate the student’s need to practise more in a different way without saying, “You are bad at grammar”.

Coaching can become extremely powerful when tools from psychology, mental training, and mindfulness are included. Remember that by being curious and asking honest and sincere questions, you can gain insight into how students’ inner processes are (thoughts, feelings, and inner images) and you can gain a greater understanding of students’ behaviour (what and why students do what they do). But you also need to be able to offer students tools to process their thoughts, feelings, and inner images. The work towards success should be done by the student themselves. If you can give students tools to strengthen their self-image and confidence in their performances and self-esteem the student has about themselves, as well as the belief that most things can be solved with effort and GRIT, then you have given students tools to take responsibility for their own development. If educators have a coaching approach in teaching, it means that students are provided with tools to work with self-coaching after their studies, which in turn means that lifelong learning is secured.

If you also provide feedback that cultivates a growth mindset, the understanding and value of effort will become more apparent. Sure, it may be tempting to take a shortcut by letting AI write an assignment, and it may feel good to avoid a difficult challenge from a short-term perspective. However, overcoming a difficult challenge can increase well-being, and in positive psychology Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has described a state of consciousness, FLOW, which occurs when an individual becomes completely absorbed in an activity and goes beyond their reflective self-awareness, while gaining deep sense of control. In simple terms, it means that you are so concentrated and focused on the task at hand that you lose the perception of time. Many people experience this as a positive experience associated with pleasure. But to achieve this state of consciousness, students need to realise that it is through working with a growth mindset and with GRIT that it is possible to achieve the feeling of FLOW more often. To help students understand what FLOW means, you can ask them questions about situations where they feel time passes quickly and they become completely absorbed in their activity. Probably, it is easier to achieve this state when students do something they truly love passionately, perhaps when they play an instrument or when they play video games. But with a growth mindset and GRIT, this state of consciousness can be reached more often. For my part, I strive to be in the feeling of FLOW more often than being happy or glad, as the latter implies a more fixed mindset or state. It gives me control over my well-being because I can choose to engage in activities that can lead to a feeling of FLOW. If you have the tool of mindfulness, the possibility is even greater to reach this state.

Mindfulness means that you are completely present in the moment, without judging and by completely accepting the situation you are in. If you actively practise mindfulness, it is possible to avoid the activation of certain defence mechanisms, such as avoidance or denial. For example, if you have performed poorly on a grammar test, you need to know what is in your inner processes to be able to change the behaviour to perform better next time. If you are completely aware in the moment when you get a poorer result and when you have cultivated a growth mindset and have confidence in your own ability and are ready to work with GRIT, then it is possible that you will perform better the next time. And the catalyst is coaching through questions.

Editor’s Notes

Strategic Steps

1. Understanding Inner Processes: Daniel recognized the significance of understanding students' inner processes, thoughts, feelings, and cognitive patterns to foster better learning environments. He acknowledges that solely attributing responsibility to students' efforts might not encompass the deeper understanding needed for effective teaching and coaching.
2. Curiosity and Inquiry-Based Coaching: By incorporating a coach-like approach, Daniel engages students in reflective processes by asking well-intentioned questions, aiming to trigger students' own cognitive processing and encourage self-reflection, ultimately leading to increased self-efficacy and motivation.
3. Active Learning through Questions: He emphasises the benefits of students being active participants in their learning by processing information through various cognitive methods, enhancing memory retention and building self-confidence, pride, and engagement in their work.
4. Addressing Learned Helplessness: Daniel utilises insights from psychology, such as the concept of learned helplessness, highlighting the importance of fostering a growth mindset over a fixed one. He encourages challenging negative cognitive schemas through acknowledgment of effort rather than fixed attributions of ability.
5. Promoting Lifelong Learning and Mindfulness: Integrating tools from psychology, mental training, and mindfulness, Daniel emphasises lifelong learning through self-coaching techniques. He focuses on instilling a growth mindset, encouraging effort, and perseverance (GRIT), thus fostering the realisation of FLOW—an optimal state of consciousness—by leveraging a growth mindset and GRIT.

Outcomes

1. Empowered Self-Coaching: Daniel’s coaching approach empowers students to comprehend their own inner processes, emotions, and thoughts. This understanding equips them with tools to navigate challenges, foster a growth mindset, and take responsibility for their own development.
2. Enhanced Learning Experience: By encouraging a growth mindset, fostering active learning, and promoting self-awareness, Daniel cultivates a learning environment that focuses on effort, engagement, and personal growth, rather than fixed attributes or shortcuts.
3. Encouraging Conscious Well-being: Through mindfulness and the pursuit of FLOW states, Daniel aims to elevate student well-being by providing tools to manage emotions, handle challenges, and cultivate a mindset that values effort and personal growth over fixed attributes.

In summary, Daniel’s coaching approach integrates psychological principles into teaching, focusing on students’ inner processes and promoting a growth mindset, active learning, and mindfulness. This method aims to empower students not only academically but also in their personal growth and well-being, fostering a lifelong learning mindset.

Daniel S?derholm’s Reflection

It is valuable to pause and reflect. It is absolutely necessary, when one wants to continue developing as a teacher or coach. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to reflect on how I work with coaching my students and that others will be able to benefit from my experiences. Thanks to reflection, I realise how a holistic approach to students' development is emerging within me, and the topics I addressed in my narrative serve as a framework for a book I can envision writing. Just think about how much we teachers/coaches can learn from each other, and I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this context.

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