The visualized coaching assignment
The middle school of a school community in the canton of Schaffhausen has been organizing class camps for many years. In the past, the same problem occurred again and again: the packing list provided in advance did not bring the desired success. Socks, underwear, swimming trunks and sleeping bags were missing from the pupils' suitcases. A visualized packing list turned things around. And provided an exciting side effect.
Families with a different language background hardly paid any attention to the packing list - the language barrier was too great for many. To improve this unsatisfactory situation, the school management decided to revise the packing list and publish it in the form of pictograms: 7 pictures of underpants, 7 pictures of socks, 1 picture of a toothbrush now formed the appearance of the "visualized packing list".
A visualized packing list motivates children to pack themselves
The result: the children from the foreign families now practically always have all the important items with them at the class camp. The list also had an interesting side effect: with the help of this list, the Swiss children were now packing themselves and without the help of their parents.
My personal conclusion: assistance and simplifications for one target group can easily be used and applied by other groups too. In my coaching practice, I experience time and again that visualizations that I have developed when working with people with cognitive impairments also help other clients.
From the visualized packing list for children to the coaching tool
Based on this insight, I created the "visualized coaching assignment" tool and use it successfully in practice. In the initial meeting, I visualize a coaching map with start and finish on the flip chart.Using familiar traffic signs, I visualize and discuss all the relevant topics that are needed to create a coaching assignment. The visualized coaching assignment serves as orientation and guidance during the entire coaching process.
