By LeeAnne Lavender, PeerSphere Storyteller
As PeerSphere peer learning communities (PLCs) grow and the reach of peer learning impacts more educators and non-teaching staff members at international schools throughout Asia, founders Michael Iannini and Ewen Bailey have created yet another way of adding value for members.
This year, six facilitation coaches will support PeerSphere community hosts in designing and delivering impactful PLC sessions. These five people are experienced facilitators and coaches, and they are excited to actively listen to PeerSphere community hosts, create resources and ideation space, and attend sessions to provide actionable feedback to hosts.
“I’m really excited to see what happens when you connect a great group of coaches with an amazing bunch of educators with a clear focus on improving live session facilitation for PeerSphere,” says Ewen. “This program exists not because our hosts need to improve but because they want to, and I can’t wait to start celebrating the great work that our hosts are doing.”
With over 60 communities on offer for 2024/25, and with live sessions launching on October 14th , Ewen is excited about the momentum behind peer learning in the region.
He also says it was easy to identify six PeerSphere hosts to serve as facilitation coaches this year.
“I remember sitting down to draft a shortlist and within 2 minutes I was done and ready to start sending invitations,” he says. “I’m incredibly fortunate to be connected with so many talented and experienced educators and I’m particularly pleased that whilst some of our facilitation coaches have coaching qualifications, all demonstrate the central tenets of coaching in day-to-day interactions – active listening, responsive questioning, and curiosity. You can’t go wrong with that skill set, in my view.”
Steve Barkley is one of the six PeerSphere facilitation coaches this year, and he feels this approach exemplifies best practice and models lifelong learning.
“What we’re doing here in PeerSphere is modeling the best of what we know about professional learning. When a PeerSphere host can share their excitement about being a learner, this inspires others in their community to open up, share, take risks and learn… this is really what PeerSphere and good professional development is all about,” says Steve.
Photo: Steve Barkley is one of six PeerSphere facilitation coaches this year; in this photo, you can see him in action during a virtual coaching call.
Steve spent his early years as an educator in the USA at schools that valued coaching and a team approach. He team-taught courses and grades with others, and worked at one school that was exceptionally innovative in its peer learning approach. Master teachers worked alongside new teachers and interns, and everyone gave feedback to each other throughout the day.
“When I began teaching training and consulting, I realized how different that experience was from many other people, and I became an advocate for coaching and mentoring,” reflects Steve, who went on to write five books about teaching and learning. In addition to working with teachers and leaders worldwide, Steve also now writes weekly blog posts and creates episodes for his podcast Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud.
Steve is coaching five PeerSphere community hosts this year, and is excited to support them with planning sessions so hosts have time to think through strategies and approaches for each session.
“I always say that everyone deserves a coach, and that every student deserves to have a teacher who has a coach,” says Steve. “The more sophisticated you become in your skill set as an educator, the more coaching you deserve, and the support PeerSphere is giving to community hosts really models this.”
If you’re a PeerSphere member this year, this is one more way that Michael and Ewen are supporting their vision of impactful peer learning facilitated by excellent, professional hosts. Most hosts are working full-time in various roles at international schools and, as a consequence, are very busy people. Having focussed time with a facilitation coach is a powerful way to help them pause, breathe, and think about purposeful and strategic professional growth in relation to their role.
“Ultimately, it’s the people who make PeerSphere what it is and I can’t wait to let them connect and learn in our communities from October onwards,” says Ewen.
