Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
RESEARCH
The impact of coaching on teacher practice and student achievement
By Elizabeth Foster
August 2018
Vol. 39 No. 4
Educators who have experienced coaching — either as the coach or the coached — often speak to its positive impact on their development and growth and frequently to positive impacts on student learning. Coaching is a key job-embedded professional learning strategy that is grounded in day-to-day teaching practice, addresses immediate problems of practice, and targets instructional practices with the intent of improving student learning (Croft, Coggshall, Dolan, Powers, & Killion, 2010). Coaching is a core element of Learning Forward’s comprehensive professional learning work with districts and schools. We therefore have a special interest in research findings about its impact. A recent meta-analysis of the empirical literature about teacher coaching strategies and programs offers a clear, thoughtful analysis that details the impact of coaching on teacher
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LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Do you have thoughts about this study or have recommendations of other research you’d like to see us cover? Email me at elizabeth.foster@learningforward.org.
What Is Coaching?
Kraft et al. characterize coaching as the process “where instructional experts work with teachers to discuss classroom practice in a way that is (a) individualized — coaching sessions are one-on-one; (b) intensive — coaches and teachers interact at least every couple of weeks; (c) sustained — teachers receive coaching over an extended period of time; (d) context- specific — teachers are coached on their practices within the context of their own classroom; and (e) focused — coaches work with teachers to engage in deliberate practice of specific skills.”
References
Croft, A., Coggshall, J.G., Dolan, M., Powers, E., & Killion, J. (2010, April). Job-embedded professional development: What it is, who is responsible, and how to get it done well (Issue Brief). Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.
Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for Professional Learning. Oxford, OH: Author.
Elizabeth Foster is the senior vice president of research and strategy at Learning Forward. She leads the organization’s research efforts for partnerships, programs, and fundraising. Elizabeth co-wrote the Standards for Professional Learning (2022) with Tracy Crow and now facilitates learning sessions about the standards and develops resources that support their use and implementation.
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