ACCÉLÉRATEUR D’APPRENTISSAGE (Learning Accelerator)

INS Québec’s Accélérateur d’apprentissage (Learning Accelerator) is the latest professional development opportunity for high-level coaches in Québec. The program aims to enrich participants’ learning paths by offering them individualized and group coaching to encourage deliberate reflection.

Targeted Coaches

Targeted coaches are part of the “high-performance” context. To be considered for the program, candidates must :

• Be recommended by their sports federation and club/association/team;
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing development;
• Have at least completed the Advanced Diploma in Coaching (or equivalent);
• Be able to devote three hours a week to their ongoing development.

Lines of actions

In order to achieve the program’s objectives, three areas of action have been identified:

Individual coaching

This line of action is in line with Rodrigue & Trudel’s (2020) proposal to offer high-level coaches a personal learning coach to stimulate reflection and the co-creation of knowledge with a view to resolving their “field issues”. From this perspective, the advisor’s mandate is not to offer the answer or to provide formal teaching, but rather to use appreciative inquiry to generate value and foster the coach’s learning.

As far as participant involvement is concerned, we’re talking about a dozen 60-90 minute meetings over the course of the program.

Participation in a community of practice

Due to the nature of their work, context and knowledge, high-level coaches often find themselves isolated. This can be problematic, as we know that becoming an innovative coach requires, among other things, being open to other perspectives, having a strong and diverse network, and not being afraid to challenge common knowledge (Trudel, Gilbert & Rodrigue, 2016). For coaches, some research suggests that participation in a community of practice could have positive effects on learning (Culver, Kraft & Duarte, 2020). With this in mind, group meetings (around 6) will be offered to participants during the program.

Professional development project

Just as coaches rigorously plan the training of their athletes, advisors have a mandate to rigorously plan the learning of the coaches they accompany. Consequently, the professional development project will be the common thread around which all program activities will revolve. To support their learning quest, each coach will benefit from a budget of maximum $4,000, which can be used in a variety of ways (specialized mentor, study project with INS Québec, discussions with specialists, participation in a competition or camp with specific objectives, etc.).

Coach Development Advisors

The primary responsibility of the Coach Development Advisors is to support selected coaches individually and collectively. Advisors are responsible for establishing, maintaining and enhancing the learning environment within the program.

Marc-André Duchesneau and his team have been mandated by INS Québec for this program.