Positive Gains:
Instructional Coaches
Coaching Interns
AACTE
March 2, 2014
Instructional Coaching
https://vimeo.com/80593567
Statement of the Issue
● The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of the
impact instructional coaching has on the clinical internship
experience and k-12 student achievement.
● Instructional coaches were added to the traditional triad
model of intern, clinical teacher, and university supervisor.
● The goal of the research was to examine the impact of
instructional coaching on the use of effective instructional
practices in the clinical internship.
Literature Review
● An instructional coach is someone who models researchbased practices, gives encouraging feedback, and provides
specific observations to adults rather than to students
(Steiner & Kowal, 2007).
● Instructional coaching is recommended by NCLB for schools
who do not make adequate yearly progress(AYP) for two
years or more (Kowal & Steiner, 2007; Annenberg, n.d.)
● Instructional coaching helps teachers reflect and apply what
they have learned to their students and coworkers (Neufeld &
Roper, 2003 ; Poglinco et al., 2003).
Literature Review
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In order for instructional coaching to be effective and
sustained long-term, data on the significance of instructional
coaching needs to be collected and reviewed (Walker, 2006).
Instructional coaches need to be an expert with pedagogy,
content, interpersonal skills. They also need continued
training to keep them up to date in these areas (Knight,
2008; Steiner & Kowal, 2007).
When multirater feedback occurs goals can be established
and used to drive instruction (Dochy, Segers & Sluijsmans,
1999; Tillema, 2009).
Instructional Coaching
The Instructional Coach adds another layer of support and guidance
for interns during their internship by serving as a:
o liaison between the intern/clinical teacher/school
administration/University.
o facilitator of academic goals and initiatives within the school
system to which the intern is assigned.
o guide for pre-service opportunities at the school and system
level during the internship.
o mentor for interns whose clinical teachers have less time to
devote to mentoring.
Methodology
A mixed methods study that relied on
● qualitative data from exit surveys
● quantitative data from Teachscape walkthrough
observations
● locally evaluated edTPA scores.
Relevance-Data
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This study includes quantitative evidence that informs
policy and practice.
Successful practices have been identified and are being
used by interns as they progress through their
internship.
Multiple measures indicate statistically significant
gains when compared to interns that did not work with
instructional coaches.
Relevance-Data
Results and Findings Over a Three Year Period
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Quantitative Data:
Teacher candidates significantly increased their use of
instructional practices and research-based instructional strategies.
Levels of student engagement were also found to increase
significantly.
edTPA rubrics for Instruction and Assessment were higher for
teacher candidates with an instructional coach.
*See Handout of Data Results
Relevance-Data
Qualitative Data:
Exit Survey - Teacher candidates ranked the ISLES modules
and instructional coaching as two of the most influential
initiatives contributing to their preparation for the classroom.
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“My instructional coach helped shape me into a better teacher through her
observations, constructive criticism, recommendations, and encouragement.”
“They were most helpful because they provided us with relevant
information about classroom intervention strategies.”
Implication for Action-Policy
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The implication of this project for colleges of education is that carefully
designed clinical practice experiences involving instructional coaches can
effectively prepare novice teachers.
This clinical experience reform has the potential to change the teaching
effectiveness trajectory of first year teachers while ensuring more children
benefit from highly qualified teachers.
Based on this research study, instructional coaching, in the clinical
internship experience, is informing how well researched based practices
are implemented during clinical intern’s internship experience.
How to Replicate without $9 mil
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Differentiated roles with university supervisors and
clinical teachers
Principal candidates coaching teacher candidates
(junior level)
Increase co-teaching as this increases coaching (1:1 2:1)
Begin with one or two program areas, keep good data,
and scale up as you learn from your experiences
Contact Information
Kristen Cuthrell
Joy Stapleton
Judy Smith
Vivian Covington
Krys Castro
Angie Gaddis
Angela Greene
Gail Edmondson
cuthrellma@ecu.edu
stapletonj@ecu.edu
smithjud@ecu.edu
covingtonv@ecu.edu
Castok@pitt.k12.nc.us
gaddisa@pitt.k12.nc.us
GreeneA@pitt.k12.nc.us
gailedmondson@greene.k12.nc.us