Coaching Practicum

Coaching Practicum


Field-based Coaching Practicum - Applying Your Learning In the Real World

The Field-based Coaching Practicum is the second part of The Columbia Coaching Certification Program. It starts after participants return home from the first 5-day intensive. In the Practicum, participants are required to do primarily three things: coach clients, attend on-line learning groups and work on an individual field project. The key benefits are as follows:

Key Benefits
RECEIVE ongoing supervision and mentoring from an experienced coach
PARTICIPATE in a learning community dedicated to growing the coaching competencies of each community member
PRACTICE International Coaching Federation's core coaching competencies in the context of the Columbia Coaching Framework and competencies
EXPERIENCE self as a coach and as an instrument of change
DETERMINE your own coaching style, guided by theory and practice
DEVELOP a coaching toolkit to apply to live coaching

The field-based practicum occurs between the first 5-Day Coaching Intensive and the Advanced Coaching Intensive, and is approximately eight months in length. The practicum is a critical component for preparing participants to serve successfully as professional coaches. It provides them time to employ their coaching competencies, receive input on their coaching experiences and further develop their coaching skills. During this time, participants work in partnership with our faculty team, who have knowledge of and are experienced in best coaching practices.

The practicum experience occurs during the interim between the first Coaching Intensive and the Advanced Coaching Intensive, approximately eight months.There are no additional costs associated with the Practicum. The practicum is a critical component for preparing participants to serve successfully as competent professional coaches. The practicum helps participants develop their coaching competencies by working in partnership with our faculty team, who have knowledge of and are experienced in coaching best practices.

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Supervised Participation in a Learning Group (including Coach Demonstrations)

Candidates must complete a minimum of 42 contact hours with a faculty member during the practicum. These hours will be acquired through participation in a Learning Group (LG) and Coach Demonstration (CD) sessions.

  • LG meetings and CD sessions will occur through a combination of teleconferencing using "bridge phone lines" and Breeze (Columbia's online learning system).
  • Participants will be assigned to a small LG at the end of the first front-end Coaching Intensive (either the External or Internal or FECI).
  • Under the guidance of a 3CP faculty member, participants will meet for 1 hour weekly with their LG for a total of 36 supervision hours.
  • Coaching Demonstration (CD) addressing specific coach related issues will be provided by 3CP core faculty. These sessions will occur twice a month for 2 hours and are open to all program participants.
  • Participants must log a minimum of 6 hours attending CD sessions. An additional 4 CD sessions are provided as make-up hours for candidates who were unable to attend all of their LG sessions.
  • Both the LG and CD provide a collaborative learning community where members work together and with our faculty team to increase coaching competencies. Coaching questions related to specific clients will be discussed using the case study method. The LG and CD will serve as forums for other topics including: assigned readings; coaching tools and practices; field projects, and feedback from peers and faculty. 

Peer Learning

To foster collaboration and learning with peers, on-line discussions will occur on a regular basis, where participants can practice and discuss coaching skills; share what they have learned; and review assigned and suggested readings.

Logging Coaching Hours

Participants are required to log a minimum of 50 hours of coaching to individuals or groups (at least 5 separate clients). Coaching can occur either in person or over the telephone.

  • Each session must be recorded on a coaching log that documents number of hours, coaching issues, coaching practices used in the session, new learning and outcomes.
  • Of the 50 required coaching hours, a minimum of 6 hours must be audio recorded for review by faculty.
  • Although not a requirement, we suggest students receive a minimum of 10 hours of coaching from a recognized professional coach.

Field Project

Participants are expected to complete a faculty approved project that focuses on building their capabilities. Example projects include designing a business plan for a new practice; designing an internal coaching system, doing an in-depth exploration of a coach-related topic, etc.

  • Projects will typically result in a 10-15 page paper and will be presented at the Advanced Coach Intensive.

Learning Journal

Candidates are required to keep a learning journal that includes entries based on assigned readings, personal reflections and observations based on their coaching work with clients, emerging questions, and other insights and discoveries.

 

Summary of Practicum Requirements
42 Contact Hours 
50 Paid Clients with 5 Paid Clients
Research Project
Learning Journals
Coaching Logs

 

Policy for Rejoining the Practicum from a Prior Cohort

Rejoining the Practicum/Paid in Full and Rejoining 

Participants looking to initially rejoin the practicum can do so at quarterly intervals. They will be charged based upon the cumulative number of contact hours that would potentially be aggregated between the previous practicum cohort and the current practicum cohort assuming that the participant had paid in full for the prior cohort’s practicum. Therefore, the cost to rejoin the practicum will be commensurate to the additional hours of attending beyond a full practicum. 

For example, if a participant attended only ½  of their original practicum and paid in full for their original cohort and would like to rejoin the full practicum of another cohort, they would then pay only ½ of the cost of the current practicum to the rejoin of the practicum.

Participants Who Did Not Start The Practicum or Pulled out After the Initial Trial Period

If a participant rejoins the practicum of another cohort after dropping after the initial trial period of their original cohort or if they did not start the practicum with their original cohort, they will have to pay in full the cost of the current practicum assuming that they have not paid in full with their original cohort.

Participants Who Are Rejoining the Practicum for at least a Second Time

If a participant is interested in rejoining the practicum beyond their original cohort and a subsequent cohort, the cost to rejoin the practicum will be based upon the duration of the practicum (quarter, half, three-quarters, full) that they are rejoining regardless of the number of hours accumulated from prior practicum cohorts.

 

Please read and review our registration and payment policies.   If you have an questions or need assistance registering, please contact the coaching program at coachingcertification@tc.columbia.edu or call 1-212-678-8240. 

Notice: Before making a payment, please take some time to review our payment and refund policy here. 

To complete your payment please select one of the following options.

Field Based Practicum

Prior to first day of the Practicum:

$2,200 for Cohort 30

$2,300 for Cohort 31

 

Director
Terrence E. Maltbia 

After completing the Front-end Coaching Intensive, and prior to attending the Advanced Coach Intensive, participants seeking certification will complete a Coaching Practicum. During the Practicum a coach mentor will provide ongoing guidance for implementation of a plan crafted during the required Coach Intensive. 

The practicum provides participants with an opportunity to coach clients, as well as be coached by our faculty team. The practicum is firmly grounded in the awareness that participants cannot be taught all that is needed to know about coaching, but they can be coached.

Through direct engagement in the coaching process, and related projects, participants learn to see on their own behalf, and in their own way, the relationship between means, coaching methods and the results achieved. Participants learn the art of coaching by coaching with adequate challenges embedded in a real world context. 

During the practicum, participants will be aided in their journey by way of individual and online group sessions with a mentor coach to reflect on the lessons learned from their experiences as a coach.

Email: 

Columbia Coaching Certification Program

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