Literacy Coaching: Breaking Ground on a Promising Practice Nancy Shanklin, Director, Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse Associate Professor, Univ of Colorado-Denver AERA, NYC, March 2008 Discussant

Why research literacy/instructional coaching? To see whether coaching improves the quality of teachers’ instruction To see if improved instruction leads to gains in student achievement To define the role of a coach To investigate coaching practices to identify which ones lead to improvements in S learning To see what good coaches are doing To prove the value of coaching

Theme: Exciting Lenses Measurement/Assessment Theory Design Theory Learning Theory Discourse Theory Activity Theory Distributed Leadership Theory

A Review of the Research on Literacy Coaching, Bean et al Years looked at Criteria used: Adapted from IRA More studies at the elementary level Greatest number on peer coaching Role of the coach narrowly defined (18 of 28); only 6 broader

Bean et al Influence of coaching on T practice all positive (14 of 28) Influence of coaching on S outcomes (8); of these, achievement studies (3) I just keep wondering if there is a need to create more subtopics so that it is clearer how you got to your conclusions

Q. What are recommendations or considerations for those developing coaching programs? Building in time for coaching confs may be important Level of talk between coach and T; “telling” or “suggesting changes” vs teacher identification of areas to work on Teachers attitudes toward coaching can be positive if a program is not too top down Evaluation study: Compare S achievement of those Ts coached and those not coached or another form of PD used. Also, is the effect of coaching sustained over time? Training programs for coaches seem to positively affect their coaching skills

Lenses on the Design of Professional Development by Roskos & Rosemary The curriculum created improved content knowledge for both coaches and the teachers they served The “assisted performance settings” did not sufficiently support literacy specialists in developing their coach role.

Roskos & Rosemary Points to remember: Literacy coaches growth measured Teachers growth measured Schools were low performing and several African American, but not ELL

Thinking about research design for literacy coaching PD for Literacy Coaches & Teachers– Measured what BOTH learned PD for Teachers – Measured how much coaches altered the PD materials, etc. that they were provided Coaches’ logs – only 23% time spent in one-on-one coaching (observation & conferences) Effects on Student Achievement – Used Dibels Did over one year; was not designed to be formative or cyclical

Q. What should we think about in designing the evaluation of a coaching program? Ought to measure increases in coaches and Ts content understandings Ought to be sure that coaches are learning how to really confer with teachers and take the time to do so How we will measure student achievement is important to think about

Literacy Coaches: Personal & Institutional Dynamics of Ldshp by Hathaway & Risko On many accounts this school would seem to be exemplary: The two literacy coaches and the principal were working closely together PD was frequent and designed from student data

But, surveys of the teachers themselves showed: Ts did not trust the coaches Ts were very divided as to whether the coaches were competent & knowledgeable Ts felt the coaches would be evaluative Recommendation- coaches need to continue to work on building trusting & constructive relationships with the teachers & to help Ts see the value of their leadership Coaches need to use their informal collegial interactions to lead

Why did this happen? We know the age and years teaching of the two coaches. What do you know about the teachers’ ages and years of experience? Veteran-oriented, novice-oriented, or integrated professional culture (Johnson, 2004) Can you match coach logs and teachers to see whether it made a difference if a coach was in a teacher’s classroom more? What was the nature of coaches’ talk during observations? How much do teachers’ perceptions of the coaches matter if the test scores when up significantly? (There is no achievement data.)

Coaching Through Feedback: A Close and Critical Analysis by Timperley et al This program has very positive student achievement results reported in effect sizes Their assumption: The purpose of one-to-one coaching conferences IS to improve teachers’ practice Coaches were provided with training in principles and practices off effective feedback process using protocols of learning conversations “Cycles of feedback from the embedded research,” iterations

Phase 1: What has been happening? Coaches provided many indirect suggestions Coaches suggestions were also very practical and made no reference to wider principles or theories of effective teaching Teachers reported that they did not intend to enact

Phase 1: What has been happening? Feedback protocols based upon theories of learning “Over-assimilation” Deconstructing and co-constructing practice Also, coaches gathered feedback on Ss responses to the lesson

Phase 2: The New Plan Coaches asked to record a feedback conversation with a teacher Coach to provide reasons for any questions asked so that the teacher did not feel interrogated, but understood why Q was important to consider Concept - To uncover theories underpinning teachers’ current practices Through this discussion, frameworks about effectiveness are to be developed T and Self-regulation - Questions coaches asked of students (and then Ts could use, too) were consistent with developing meta-cognitive awareness.

Phase 2: The Results In 42 of 50 episodes, time was spend discussing the links between teaching practices and students’ understanding of learning aims of the lesson and associated success criteria. Ss responses provided a strong motivator to discuss changes in teaching practice

Phase 2: The Results Engaging Ts current theories of effective practice and probing teachers’ reasons for particular teaching practices were evident in 22 episodes. Coaches & Ts would decontruct the lesson and co-construct, but not at the level of theory engagement. Suggestions remained at the practical level. Coaches referred teachers to concepts learned in workshops where theory was also introduced only infrequently.

Phase 2: The Results Coaches did not work with teachers to promote self-regulated learning in the sense that teachers set specific goals for themselves and their students and had articulated monitoring strategies to determine if their new practice was more effective.

Phase 3: Next Steps These results have led the researchers to develop new 1) theoretical framework for the analysis of whatever aspect was the focus of the observation and 2) identifying criteria for effective practice in relation to the framework. This seems like configuration maps or levels of use instruments

Q. What should we think about in designing more effective one-to-one coaching & T self-regulation? Notion of teachers self-monitoring their improvements to instruction is very important Analysis like this study can serve two functions – the coaching process can become more effective, and such analysis can further refine and develop theory about doing coaching well.

Additional Questions & Deepening the Lenses What is the role and influence of administrators in coaching efforts? Can studies be designed that do influence the abilities of coaches to change teachers’ instruction? Can we develop instruments that are more sensitive to measuring changes in teachers instruction and then in students learning? Is coaching cost effective? How can the effects of coaching be maintained over time?

Additional Questions & Deepening the Lenses What does influence the power relationships of teachers, coaches, and administrators? How can we best account for that to develop successful coaching programs in a school or district? What role is generational differences playing in the effectiveness of coaches? What do the newest, young teachers want in a coach? What do second career people want in a coach? Who would want to be a coach? What are the qualities of successful coaches? Does it matter depending upon context?

Research on literacy coaching is for the courageously committed Take teachers, principals, schools, districts, university people working together Cycles of time Large data sets – either quantitative &/or qualitative Patience to mine data Will the work be published? (Lag time) This work is at the cutting edge of school reform