Research School Network: GROW Model in Education

We all know as form tutors that form time can be really busy. I was struggling to fit time into the week when I could properly mentor my students without feeling under a time pressure. I knew that this was something I needed to work on and so when the opportunity came up at school for a Research Lead, I was keen to use this time to research different ways good mentoring can take place in school. 

At St Mary’s we are really lucky to have Roy Blake, a life coach, to who works with some of our students who need a little extra help and support. In the staffroom one break time, he told me about a coaching model he uses with students to help them work out solutions to problems they are facing. I was really interested in this model and so decided to do some extra research to see if could be adapted for what I wanted it for. It turned out to be just the thing I needed! 

The GROW Model, created and published by Sir John Whitmore in 1992, provides a useful framework to allow students to set themselves a goal and work out a plausible way for them to achieve it. GROW stands for: Goal, Reality, Options and Way Forward. The process is fairly simple: the students identify a problem they are currently experiencing. They them set themselves a ​‘goal’ based on this. These goals had to be thought of entirely by the student: this was extremely powerful as the students really felt they had total control over what they were going to focus on that week. An example of a goal may be something like, ​‘This week, I am not going to be late for school’. They then had to assess the reality, or in order words, what causing them the problem. For example, ​‘I am currently late to school more than once a week because I am disorgansied in the mornings’. Next, the students had to work out a couple of ways in which they could make the situation better. These are called ​‘options’. Some options for the previous example could be as follows: ​‘I could pack my bag the night before or I could get up earlier so I have more time to pack my bag’. After thinking seriously about which one would be the most suitable, they then had to commit to one of these and trial it out for a week. This was called their ​‘way forward’. The target was reviewed the week after and another one created.

What is a GROW Model?

I created a booklet for each student with enough copies of the GROW Model (as shown on the picture) for the number of weeks in the school year. I explained the process to my form group and told them that they could decide on a goal for something inside or outside of school. In the booklet I also included a list of questions that they could ask themselves in order to help them set a target. If they were still struggling, I would show them their B4L data and they could make a target based on that. Although for most of them, looking at the questions was enough to help them think of a target.

GROW Model Diagram

As they were setting themselves the targets, I circulated the room to have a look at the targets they were making. They ranged from specific behavioural targets in lessons, to going to bed by a certain time, to joining new clubs. Circulating allowed me to ask questions about what they had written but also to coach them on what options they had available to them. Some of them asked me to check on their progress in the week: it was great to see they were intent on achieving their goals. 

I found that the students liked the routine of target setting weekly. It made them very reflective and some of them had some really positive changes such as joining new clubs and losing less B4L points. Personally, as a form tutor, I found it a really powerful tool for learning more about them individually. Some were writing themselves targets for things that I hadn’t even known were problems for them which allowed me to intervene and offer additional support. For example, I had a girl in my form who was missing half of her break and lunch every day because she was so worried about being late to lessons and losing a point. It was causing her stress in school and it was solved really easily by suggesting that she gets a watch then she can check the time for herself. To others, this may have sounded trivial but it was something that she was worrying about on a daily basis. 

Overall, I thought it was a great experience and is something I am continuing to do this year. I feel that I learnt a lot about my students in the process and it was great to see them making small differences to their lives. However, there were some small cons: the model isn’t a one-size fits all – for some students they struggled with making their own targets and only being accountable to themselves, however I found for the most part it fulfilled its purpose. 

If you wish to speak to me about this model or would like to see some examples, please feel free to contact me via email: mca@​st-​mary.​blackpool.​sch.​uk or via Twitter at @ExcitingEngLang