Wikipedia:Admin coaching/Coaching methods

This page is a place where admin coaches can find and share approaches, methods, exercises, resources, tips, and advice on coaching. You are welcome to use any techniques listed, add your own, or comment on the existing ones. This should be particularly helpful for new coaches who aren't sure what to do with their students, or for coaches who are looking for different ways of approaching the coaching process. As with all things on Wikipedia, this page will best grow with collaboration, so feel free to share even the smallest of hints with your fellow coaches!

Preliminaries
Before you take on a student, it may be a good idea to cover your conditions first...

Here's a sample invitation:

Hello. I noticed your request for a coach over at Admin coaching, and I'm available. If you do not currently have an admin coach, I would be glad to be your coach. I do have a few of conditions though, and they are that you...


 * 1) watch your coaching page closely, and reply to every post there in a timely fashion
 * 2) fill in all of your edit summaries (if you find yourself forgetting, there's a setting in "my preferences" that will remind you)
 * 3) complete all the assignments you are given to the best of your ability.  If you have trouble with an assignment, by all means, let me know, so we can discuss possible solutions and alternatives.
 * 4) don't go for your RfA or accept an RfA nomination except from me - I will nominate you when I believe you are ready

Please let me know if you agree, and we can get started. I look forward to your reply. (signature)

The reasons for the RfA condition above are to reduce load on the RfA process, and to save the student from an unnecessarily agonizing experience. RfA can feel a lot like a firing squad (I'm guessing here). Failed RfA's often affect subsequent RfA attempts, and so it's best to avoid them if possible. The whole process is likely to go much smoother and be much more enjoyable for the nominee if he is ready for the mop and meets the community's qualifications for adminship before he accepts an RfA nomination. If he waits until he is sufficiently trained, in your opinion it will save him and you, undue embarrassment. It will also provide you with the opportunity to nominate or co-nominate your students.  Th e Tr ans hu man ist  18:05, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Tutorial template
The tutorials template at the right is a resource your students may find helpful. You could place it on a student's talk page, or on the student's coaching page, or both. Simple copy and paste this code to the page you want it displayed on: tutorials.

Analyse your students' contributions
One approach is to look over your students' contributions and make recommendations on how they can improve.

Involving your students in the process improves the flow of creative ideas. You could have them analyse themselves, each other, and you. Teaching them about contribs and edit counters, etc., if they don't already know, is also a good idea.

 Th e Tr ans hu man ist  18:05, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Some assignments you can give your students
Another approach is to base the tasks you give your students on their experience level and to focus on areas in which they need more exposure. Some examples of student assignments are:


 * "Sign up at Editor review"
 * (If they have enough editing experience under their belt): "Proofread the pages on the List of policies."

If you provide assignments to edit articles or instructions pages, you may need to watch your students very closely to coach them every step of the way. Your feedback is extremely relevant in these cases. And keep in mind that you are indirectly responsible for whatever happens to the pages you have them work on.

 Th e Tr ans hu man ist  18:05, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Asking the default RfA questions
While admin coaching isn't necessarily about helping your coachee pass an RfA, asking them the three default questions for RfAs are often a good technique for finding out more about your student, why they want to become an administrator, what it is that they do on Wikipedia, etc.. I've often used these questions near the beginning of the coaching, mostly so I can get to know the student a bit better. So you don't have to go searching for them, the default questions are:
 * 1. What sysop chores do you anticipate helping with? Please check out Category:Wikipedia backlog and Category:Administrative backlog, and read the page about administrators and the administrators' reading list.


 * 2. Of your articles or contributions to Wikipedia, are there any with which you are particularly pleased, and why?


 * 3. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or do you feel other users have caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?

EWS23 (Leave me a message!) 01:20, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

The Four Phase System
The four phase system developed by Malinaccier is designed to maximize the benefits of admin coaching by discovering strengths and weaknesses more efficiently and effectively.


 * Phase one deals with questions designed to let the coach know what the coachee's best contributions are, and what their general strengths and weaknesses are. This phase is also very important in developing a nomination statement.
 * Phase two is all about policy. The admin coach will ask several series of questions dealing with policy, or will give lectures or advice based on administration.  They will then critique the coachee's responses and provide help in areas where the coachee needs it as shown by the responses.
 * Phase three has to do with Wikiphilosophy (inclusionism/deletionism, orthodoxy on Wikipedia, etc.). The coach will ask several questions about Wikiphilosophies and controversial areas of Wikipedia policy.
 * Phase four is a phase in which coachees explore other areas of editing and areas that they may come across as an admin. The coach will provide minimal guidance in this phase, and should only answer questions rather than pose questions to the coachee.

Resources have been detailed here including questions for the phases, ideas, and processes of usage.

Virtual Classroom
The Virtual Classroom (VC) presents resources for learning more about Wikipedia. It also includes several exercises and activities people can engage in to learn more about Wikipedia. The VC's current host is Garden.

Editor Review
A good way to find out what others think about the edits of a particular candidate is to have them undergo an Editor Review. This will bring others in to help evaluate the candidates strengths and weaknesses.

Policy Questions
Balloonman designed the following policy and guideline essay questions. They can be found at Policy Essay Questions