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    Changes In Coaching Study Design Shed Light On How Features Impact Teacher Practice

    By Joellen Killion
    April 2016
    What The Study Says Teacher coaching is a powerful form of professional learning that improves teaching practices and student achievement, yet little is known about the specific aspects of coaching programs that are more effective. Researchers used a blocked randomized experiment to study the effects of one-to-one coaching on teacher practice. When pooled across all teachers in both cohorts, there is no effect of coaching on teacher practice, yet considerable variability exists between the cohorts. Changes in program design that occurred between the two cohorts provided researchers an opportunity to study how differences in program features influence positive effects in the first cohort on teacher practice and the absence of effects in the second cohort. Study Description Researchers applied a blocked randomized trial design to

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    Authors

    Joellen Killion

    Joellen Killion (joellen.killion@learningforward.org) is senior advisor to Learning Forward. In each issue of JSD, Killion explores a recent research study to help practitioners understand the impact of particular professional learning practices on student outcomes.

    At A Glance

    Overall, a study of one-to-one coaching across two cohorts did not significantly lead to improvements in teaching practice. Exploratory analyses of the features and effects of the two cohorts, however, suggest that changes in the design and focus of coaching may explain the large positive effects on teacher practice in one cohort that were absent in the other.

    The study

    Blazar, D. & Kraft, M. (2015, December). Exploring mechanisms of effective teaching coaching: A tale of two cohorts from a randomized experiment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37(4), 542-566.

    What This Means For Practioners

    As a small study of the effects of coaching, the study provides multiple opportunities for examining how to examine impact of a program, as specified within the Data standard of Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning. New professional learning initiatives require rigorous evaluation to strengthen and refine them and to ensure that they produce the intended results.

    It is unclear how the design of the coaching program studied meets the other Standards for Professional Learning, yet the study offers an example of how to assess a professional learning program. In addition, it provides insights into the features of effective coaching programs that contribute to positive effects on teacher practice.

    Because coaching is an increasingly common professional learning practice and one that is not inexpensive, decision makers and policymakers want to consider thoughtfully how to design, implement, and evaluate coaching programs to increase their effects on both educators and students.


    Joellen killion
    + posts

    Joellen Killion is a senior advisor to Learning Forward and a sought-after speaker and facilitator who is an expert in linking professional learning and student learning. She has extensive experience in planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality, standards-based professional learning at the school, system, and state/provincial levels. She is the author of many books including Assessing Impact, Coaching Matters, Taking the Lead, and The Feedback Process. Her latest evaluation articles for The Learning Professional are “7 reasons to evaluate professional learning” and “Is your professional learning working? 8 steps to find out.”

     


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