Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
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To put it simply, coaching works
By Suzanne Bouffard
Categories: Coaching, FundamentalsDecember 2019
Vol. 40, No. 6
The benefits of instructional coaching have been obvious to educators for decades, but research data now make those benefits measurably clear (Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018). The impact is particularly striking when you zoom in on districts and schools that have made a real investment in coaching. For example, Norman (Oklahoma) Public Schools nearly doubled its investment in coaching over a two-year period and saw a marked reduction in the need to hire new teachers, from 225 in 2017 to 168 in 2019 (Norman Public Schools, 2019). Reducing teacher attrition saves costs for districts, and it saves a different kind of cost for students, who tend to learn more from experienced teachers than novices (Kini & Podolsky, 2016). ''Reducing teacher attrition saves costs for districts,
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References
Kini, T. & Podolsky, A. (2016). Does teaching experience increase teacher effectiveness? A review of the research. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
Kraft, M.A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement: A meta-analysis of the causal evidence. Review of Educational Research, 88(4), 547-588.
Norman Public Schools. (2019). Norman’s Title II professional learning investment cuts new teacher attrition. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward.
Suzanne Bouffard is senior vice president of communications and publications at Learning Forward. She is the editor of The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s flagship publication. She also contributes to the Learning Forward blog and webinars. With a background in child development, she has a passion for making research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, and families. She has written for many national publications including The New York Times and the Atlantic, and previously worked as a writer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She loves working with authors to help them develop their ideas and voices for publication.
Categories: Coaching, Fundamentals
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