The impact of alternative technologies for delivering coaching to teachers

• In Event: Digital possibilities for improving and evaluating early grade reading: Insights from a series of randomised experiments in South Africa

Proposal

The first Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS 1) was conducted between 2015 and 2017 in the North West province of South Africa. The study found that a structured learning programme to support teaching and learning to read in Home Language was most effective when it included on-site coaching visits to help teachers in their classrooms.

However, ever since this initial headline finding, questions have been asked about the potential to scale on-site visits by specialist coaches. This led to the second Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS 2), which was another randomised control trial, this time comparing the impact of on-site coaching to that of virtual coaching. The virtual coaching programme used the exact same curriculum and provided the same additional reading materials as the on-site coaching programme, but teachers interacted with their coach using phone calls and WhatsApp groups instead of in their classrooms. Furthermore, teachers were given electronic tablets loaded with the lesson plans and other audio and video resources. The virtual coaching programme was designed to cost less than on-site coaching because a virtual coach would be able to support far more teachers than coaches having to travel to each school in person. Unfortunately, the virtual coaching programme had no significant effect on reading outcomes. Qualitative research using case studies of schools suggested that the electronic tablets were not the main obstacle to impact, but rather that the absence of in-person lesson observations meant that feedback to teachers was less well targeted to the specific needs of individual teachers.

A third randomised experiment then investigated whether the Heads of the Foundation Phase Department in schools could be trained to provide coaching to other teachers in their schools. In this so-called “DH-led” coaching programme, external coaches first modelled the coaching process during the first year of the programme, and then handed over the coaching responsibilities to the DH’s. Once again, unfortunately, the DH-led coaching was not able to deliver a significant impact on reading outcomes. A range of constraints were identified, which affect the ability for DH’s to effectively offer coaching or mentoring support to their peers.

Finally, a fourth study investigated the role of Subject Advisors (district officials) in providing support to teachers and comparing their role to that of coaches. This study discusses practical aspects like the ratio of Subject Advisors to teachers, and the power relations that exist between teachers and Subject Advisors.

This paper draws out the implications of this series of studies for how to scale effective support to teachers. While some answers are provided, it remains important to explore cost-effective alternatives using new technologies to support teachers in critical areas like foundational literacy and numeracy.

Authors

• Brahm Fleisch, University of the Witwatersrand

• Nompumelelo L Mohohlwane, Department of Basic Education

• STEPHEN G TAYLOR, Department of Basic Education

• Stella Banyana Mosimege, Department of Basic Education