Exploring the Content and Depth of Coach-Teacher Talk during Modeling and Co-Teaching

• In Event: The Promise and Pitfalls of Mathematics Coaching: New Evidence Regarding Coaching Practices and Their Impact

Abstract

Purpose
As coaches work with individual teachers, they draw heavily upon the strategy of modeling lessons for the teacher. Despite this strategy’s popularity, there is a lack of research on how modeling can be used effectively with in-service teachers. Most modeling studies have focused on pre-service teachers (Clarke et al., 2014; Scantlebury et al., 2008) or novice in-service teachers (Feiman-Nemser, 2001). While a few studies have focused on modeling with in-service teachers, they have focused on reading (Bean et al., 2010; Vanderburg & Stephens, 2010), as opposed to math. To address this gap, this study looks in depth at the modeling cycles enacted by one coach and two teachers during math instruction. Two research questions are addressed. First, how do the coach and teachers engage in modeling? Second, what are the benefits and challenges of engaging in modeling, and what conditions help realize these benefits?

Methodology
I observed 12 modeled lessons and 2 co-planning meetings and conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with one coach, two teachers, one principal, and one district administrator. To answer my first research question, I drew upon field notes and transcripts from the observations. I built upon the coding framework initiated by Lampert and colleagues (2013) as I focused on Teacher-Coach Engagement during the lessons. To answer my second research question, I used the interview transcripts and drew upon predetermined and emergent codes to capture the data. Final codes were incorporated into a conceptual model developed by Campbell and Malkus (2011), which I modified as a product of this study.

Results
Across all 12 observed modeled lessons, conversations between the coach and teachers, where the coach would quickly explain what she was doing and why during instruction, were uncommon. When the coach and teachers did engage in brief conversations, they talked about behavior management and/or the lesson’s materials. Surprisingly, conversations between the teachers and coach related to mathematics content were rare. The most common way in which the teachers participated in the lessons was by providing feedback to students regarding behavior management. Again, conversations between teachers and students about mathematics were less prevalent. Although the teachers embodied many roles during the modeled lessons, including observing instruction and assisting with behavior management, they also frequently participated in off-task behavior as they sat in the back, surfing the web on their laptops, or cleaned their classrooms. Overall, these patterns reveal how teachers engaged with the coach and students across 12 modeled lessons. More about the motivations, benefits, and challenges faced by the coach and teachers will be discussed in the presentation, along with conditions that can help coaching be more successful.

Significance
This study unearths challenges associated with modeling. Understanding these challenges can help improve coaching policies and practices. For example, one implication is that coaches should establish clear, shared expectations for their roles in the model lesson, including how teachers will attend to, and sustain practices after the coach leaves. Overall, this study raises cautions about unanticipated challenges of modeling, while highlighting productive practices to overcome these challenges.

Authors

• Stephanie Evthokia Saclarides, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Sarah Theule Lubienski, Indiana University