Coaching Components That Create Success

Chapter Objectives

• 1.

  Identify evidence-based components of professional development.

• 2.

  Describe the following evidence-based practices of coaching:

  • a.

    Building rapport

  • b.

    Observation, reflection, & feedback

  • c.

    Goal work

  • d.

    Modeling

• 3.

  Analyze your own experiences with professional development and coaching.

Before you begin reading this chapter, reflect upon the following questions:

• 1.

  Think of a professional development experience that you were a part of that impacted your work. What made it successful?

• 2.

  Have you ever been coached before or been a coach yourself? If so, what about the experience did you find to be positive? What about the experience was challenging?

• 3.

  How would you define coaching?

Introduction

This quote is often used in special education to express the importance of differentiating and individualizing instruction to meet student needs and emphasizes the necessity of reflecting on our own practice as teachers and a willingness to change when we are not getting results. These same ideas can be applied to adult learners, both pre-service and practicing teachers. This quote also serves as an invitation to think about the ways in which we instruct and support teachers. Numerous studies have demonstrated limited teacher knowledge of various critical topics, such as reading, specific learning disabilities, issues of equity, and Response To Intervention (RTI) (e.g., Joshi et al., 2009; Spear-Swerling, 2015; White et al., 2020) as well as difficulties with implementing evidence-based practices with fidelity (Fuchs et al., 2019). While teachers are often blamed for their lack of preparation, the focus should be on the preparation and professional development (PD) programs that are intended to recruit, prepare, and retain teachers in the field. What could be done differently to better equip and support teachers? This chapter is intended for teacher educators and for those in leadership, whether in higher education or as part of PD initiatives. The focus is on evidence-based components of coaching and how to deliver high-quality coaching to ensure the greatest educational success for both teachers and the students they educate.

This chapter begins with an explanation of coaching and a brief overview of the benefits of coaching. Next, the characteristics of adult learners are described through adult learning theories and principles that provide the foundation for successful coaching. Evidence-based components from research of coaching are presented with practical strategies for implementation. For example, activities such as building rapport, developing and monitoring goals, conducting observations through video, and providing reflective feedback are presented. Additionally, authentic scenarios from the field for both pre-service and practicing teachers are included. The goal is to equip teacher educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to implement aspects of coaching into any class or PD to increase teacher success and student learning.