Questions
Effective coaches know which questions to ask, the sequence in which to ask each question, how to help clients to answer questions and how to manage client responses.
Coaching with Bloom’s Taxonomy
Coaching involves self learning and development and therefore it is helpful for coaches to understand something about the learning process. There are various models of learning and development. Bloom’s Taxonomy is one of the more well known models.
Bloom’s Taxonomy encapsulates the process of learning in the following text:
Before we can understand a concept we have to remember it
Before we can apply the concept we must understand it
Before we analyse it we must be able to apply it
Before we can evaluate its impact we must have analysed it
Before we can create we must have remembered, understood, applied, analysed, and evaluated.
Bloom classified learning into three categories:
- Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude)
- Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge)
- Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (Skills)
Bloom’s categories of learning
Psychomotor (Skills)
Skills in the psychomotor domain describe the ability to physically manipulate a tool or instrument like a piece of equipment. Psychomotor objectives usually focus on changing and developing behaviour and skills. In business coaching this is not a typical area for coaches to work with clients.
Affective skills (Attitude)
Affective skills are often referred to as ‘attitude’, hence the popular acronym ‘KSA’ (i.e. knowledge, skills and attitude). Attitude is just one component of affective skills. To describe this category more accurately:
Skills in the affective domain describe the way people react emotionally and their ability to recognise other people’s attitudes, emotion, and feelings.
There are five levels in the affective domain, which can be ranked in order of complexity:
Affective Domain Levels | Description |
Level 1:
Receiving |
This is the lowest level and the learner is only passively engaged in the learning process |
Level 2:
Responding |
The learner actively participates in the learning process |
Level 3:
Valuing |
The learner begins to attach a value to and makes sense of the learning |
Level 4:
Organising |
The learner is able to put together different ideas and information with their own ideas |
Level 5:
Characterising |
The learner holds a particular value or belief that now exerts influence on their behaviour: it becomes internalised |
Coaches typically engage with clients at levels 2 (responding) and 3 (valuing) especially during the early part of the coaching relationship (e.g. engagement and rapport building). As the relationship progresses coaches help to develop the critical thinking skills of clients they begin work towards levels 4 (organising) and 5 (characterising).
Cognitive skills (Knowledge)
Skills in the cognitive domain revolve around knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking of a particular topic. Traditional education tends to emphasise the skills in this domain, particularly the lower-order objectives, but coaching focuses on the higher level of skills.
There are six levels in the cognitive taxonomy.
Affective Domain Levels | Description |
Level 1:
Knowledge |
At this level, learners have a basic level of knowledge and are able to recall previously learned information and concepts |
Level 2:
Comprehension |
At this level, learners demonstrate an understanding of facts and ideas by organising, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions, and articulating key points |
Level 3:
Application |
At this level, learners begin to use new knowledge to solve problems and the application of newly acquired knowledge, facts, techniques to different situations |
Level 4:
Analysis |
At this level, learners are able to examine and break information into parts by identifying causal factors, making inferences and finding evidence to support generalisations |
Level 5:
Synthesis |
At this level, learners are able to compile information in different ways by combining elements, thereby formulating new patterns, ideas and solutions |
Level 6:
Evaluation |
At this level, learners are able to present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria |
Coaching Using Questions and Cognitive Levels
Coaches are able to facilitate learning and development by recognising the cognitive level of clients and then asking questions appropriate to that level.
The diagram below shows examples of the type of questions coaches might ask clients to stimulate thinking at a higher level.
One of the objectives of coaching is to enable clients to think for themselves and to enable them to reach levels 4 and 5.
Clearly coaching sessions are not subdivided into working with clients on each domain individually.
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