Exploring Coaching Practices Using Coaching Cycles as the Unit of Analysis

• In Event: AERA Virtual Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Mathematics Education Research

Abstract

We report on a study that uses a coaching cycle as the unit of analysis. Prior studies of coaching have focused on discursive practices of the coach and the impact of coaching on teachers’ instructional practices or student achievement. Heeding calls to unpack in more detail the interactions between coaches and teachers, we looked at four cycles of coaching for each teacher. We analyzed the cycles according to four themes - task design and implementation, attention to student thinking, teacher’s intellectual contributions, and connections made when discussing goals, anticipated student strategies, and lesson enactments. We found that the cycles were relatively stable over time, with the exception being cases when a task was of unusually high demand for that teacher.

Authors

• Jeffrey M. Choppin, University of Rochester

• Julie M. Amador, University of Idaho

• Cynthia Carson, University of Rochester

• Ryan Gillespie, University of Idaho