| dc.description.abstract | Many schools and districts are implementing one-on-one coaching as a strategy for supporting mathematics teachers in improving their instructional practices. While some studies have found that one-on-one coaching can support teachers to improve the quality of their instruction (e.g., Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018; Russell et al., 2016; Teemant, Wink, & Tyra, 2011), other studies have found little if any positive effect on teachers’ instructional practices and students’ learning (e.g., Garet et al., 2008; Carlisle & Berebitsky, 2011). Variation in the quality of one-on-one coaching that teachers receive is a primary explanation for these mixed effects (e.g., Atteberry & Bryk, 2011; Matsumura, Garnier, & Spybrook, 2012; Blazar & Kraft, 2015). One reason for this variation is that high-quality coaching is complex, demanding work that requires substantial expertise beyond that involved in being an accomplished teacher (e.g., Bengo, 2016; Gallucci, Van Lare, Yoon, & Boatright, 2010; Gibbons & Cobb, 2016). Many coaches will therefore require support if they are to, in turn, support teachers’ learning.
This dissertation reports on three separate studies that, together, further clarify what mathematics coaches need to know and be able to do to support individual teachers’ learning. In all, these studies: 1) delineate a set coaching practices for which there is evidence that they can support in developing ambitious instructional practices; 2) specify how mathematics coaches can identify productive goals for individual teachers’ learning, and, on that basis, negotiate improvement goals with teachers; and 3) clarify whether and how coaches’ uses of practical measures of instruction can enable them to be more effective in supporting teachers’ learning than would otherwise be the case. Each study contributes to our understanding of what coaches need to know and be able to do, and thus further clarifies goals for supporting coaches’ learning. The results of these studies can thus inform efforts aimed at supporting coaches’ learning. | |
