Examining District Mathematics Leaders’ Support for School-Based Mathematics Coaches (Poster 3)

• In Event: Exploring the Influence of Organizational and Leadership Contexts on the Work of Coaching

Abstract

Objectives
Mathematics coaching is an increasingly common strategy for improving mathematics teaching and learning (Russell et al., 2020; Kraft & Hill, 2020). However, the work of mathematics coaching differs significantly from mathematics teaching (Authors 2023b; 2023c), and many new or novice mathematics coaches will require support if they are to coach in ways that can significantly enhance teaching and learning (Stein et al., 2021). In this poster, we report on a study that examined district mathematics leaders’ role in supporting school-based mathematics coaches’ professional learning.

Theoretical Perspectives
Coaching is complex, challenging work. Much as teachers require support to develop sophisticated teaching practices, coaches require support to develop effective coaching practices (Authors, 2023b). While formal professional development (PD) experiences provide one source of support for coaches’ learning (Authors, 2022b; Stein et al., 2021), mathematics coaches may also benefit from close work with other accomplished facilitators of mathematics teachers’ learning. Because district mathematics leaders often design and facilitate PD for teachers, they have the potential to provide this kind of support. In this study, we define district mathematics leaders as mathematics educators who are based in a district and not a single school, and who have some portion of their workload devoted to supporting mathematics teachers’ development.

Methods and Data Sources
We analyzed semi-structured interviews with 11 district mathematics leaders to answer two research questions: (1) Did district mathematics leaders see the support of mathematics coaches as a component of their work? (2) If so, in what ways did they work to support mathematics coaches? To answer our first question, we analyzed district leaders’ responses to two interview questions: What percentage of your time do you spend working with other teachers/other teacher leaders to improve instruction? With whom do you work closely? We coded the responses for whether they (a) worked with school-based mathematics coaches and (b) saw the aim of that work to be coaches’ learning. To answer our second question, we used open coding to characterize responses to the prompt: Describe a time when you supported someone else (e.g., a coach) to work with a teacher that resulted in improvements in teaching. This enabled us to identify types of activities for supporting school-based coaches.

Results
Most district leaders worked closely with school-based mathematics coaches to support their learning, primarily by designing and facilitating PD often focusing on effective mathematics teaching strategies. However, a smaller number of district leaders provided school-based, job-embedded support for coaches, often by (a) observing classrooms with them, (b) co-coaching or co-teaching with them, and (c) working with the coaches to design school-level PD for teachers.

Significance
This poster underscores that one function of district leaders’ work is to build the capacity of school-based mathematics coaches. While formal, pull-out PD was the primary means by which the district leaders supported coaches, there was evidence that district leaders also provided coaches with job-embedded support for their learning. Future research might investigate the facilitation of job-embedded support for coaches’ learning.

Authors

• Nicholas M. Kochmanski, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• P. Holt Wilson, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Ginger Rhodes, University of North Carolina - Wilmington

• Joshua Recore, University of North Carolina - Greensboro