Academic literature on the topic 'School improvement coach'

Formal teacher leadership roles—such as coach and coordinator—have become a standard component of education reform efforts intended to support teachers’ instructional improvement efforts. Yet the culture of schools is widely understood to favor autonomy and egalitarianism, suggesting that classroom teachers may be resistant to peer leadership. This study examines how 12 elementary-level teacher leaders negotiate access to classrooms and encourage instructional change in light of teacher resistance. Findings suggest that teacher leaders make concessions that may ultimately limit their impact on instructional improvement. Also for these positions to contribute to instructional change, teacher leaders require the support of school administrators who offer guidance to teacher leaders and set expectations for teachers with regard to the enactment of teacher leadership roles.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine highly detailed “low-inference” transcripts (LITs) of peer coaching conversations, drawn from two public US high schools located in New York City, to explore the kinds of interactions that led peers to be more reflective about their instructional practice. Design/methodology/approach – Using the constant-comparative method of analysis, highly detailed LITs of peer coaching conversations were analyzed to identify instances where peers had what the researchers identified as an “Aha!” moment, where the peer's prior belief or opinion about their instruction and/or planning shifted. Subsequent re-coding identified specific strategies that caused the shift. Findings – Three kinds of interactions were identified as leading to an “Aha!,” all of which involved a thoughtful and strategic use of the LITs during the coaching conversation. Conversely, findings suggested that passive use of the transcripts was less successful. Research limitations/implications – Future research should explore the nature and staying power of the shifts in peer thinking, and the extent to which these shifts lead to instructional changes and improved student performance. Practical implications –LITs are a promising tool for instructional coaching. The evidence suggests when in the hands of a skilled coach the transcripts can shift teachers’ thinking in ways that are likely to improve instructional practice and thus student outcomes. Originality/value – This study highlights the value of pairing strategic and thoughtful peer coaching with highly detailed LITs, and identifies specific kinds of interactions that lead to shifts in thinking about instruction.

John P. Kotter argues that business schools continue to prepare leaders for 20th century needs, as they typically teach students how to manage an organization, rather than how to lead one. In this article, we explore how Kotter’s assertion applies to educational leadership preparation programs. We examine the ways a purposive sample of exemplary programs structure and implement learning experiences for aspiring educational leaders. Leveraging our findings from these cases and the literature on transformational learning and leadership, we argue that today’s programs should include “powerful learning experiences” that challenge and coach leadership candidates to build the skills and capacities necessary to both manage and lead organizations. If educational leaders are the “driving subsystem” for school improvement efforts, then leadership preparation must move aspiring leaders beyond technical competence and toward the more transformational aspects of leading.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of 2×2 achievement goals on intrinsic motivation and performance in handball. Participants were 164 high school athletes. All completed the 2×2 Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport and the Intrinsic Motivation subscale of the Sport Motivation Scale; the coach for each team rated his athletes' overall sports performance. Using simultaneous-regression analyses, mastery-approach goals positively predicted both intrinsic motivation and performance in sports, whereas performance-avoidance goals negatively predicted sports performance. These results suggest that athletes who pursue task mastery and improvement of their competence perform well and enjoy their participation. In contrast, those who focus on avoiding normative incompetence perform poorly.

Background: High school sports participation in the United States has increased dramatically over the past 25 years. A corresponding increase in the number of injuries has been noted, particularly in contact sports such as football. This has led medical and sports organizations nationwide to advocate for proper medical supervision of athletes at games and practices. Purpose: To gather information from Chicago public high schools to gauge how medical supervision for high school sports has changed in 2017 compared with 2003. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Survey questionnaires were sent to the athletic directors of all 99 Chicago public high schools to complete via email. The questionnaire survey contained the same questions as in a survey conducted in 2003 by Tonino and Bollier, with the addition of 4 novel questions relating to emergency action plans (EAPs), automated external defibrillators, concussion management policy, and tackling progression drills. Results: The response rate was 66.67% (66/99 schools). Of the 66 responding schools, all with football programs, no school had a physician on the sideline at home games (decrease from 10.6% in 2003), 37.9% had an athletic trainer present (increase from 8.5% in 2003), and 63.6% had a paramedic available (decrease from 89.4% in 2003). In 2017, 65.6% of responding schools had a coach certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) available at practice to handle medical problems, compared with 89.4% in 2003 ( P < .001). Regarding the 4 novel questions, 93.9% of the responding schools had proper tackling progression drills in place, followed by 89.1% who had appropriate EAPs and 93.9% with concussion management protocols, including return-to-play and return-to-learn protocols. Conclusion: Although significant improvement was found in athletic trainer coverage, especially at games, physician coverage was lacking and fewer coaches were certified in CPR in 2017 compared with 2003. EAPs and concussion management protocols were present in most Chicago public high schools. Overall, greater medical supervision is needed, which we believe should come in the form of increased athletic training and physician involvement and coverage, given that expert, expedited medical care saves lives.

<p><em>The goal of coaching for school improvement generally focuses on academic achievement. Coaching is often centered on raising test scores and ensuring that all students achieve academic standards. The effectiveness of coaching can also be found in its usefulness for developing affective skills in both teachers as well as students. Essential coaching skills of listening, paraphrasing, presuming positive intent, asking powerful questions, and providing reflective feedback can be paired with a focus on relationships and relatedness between coach and teacher, teacher candidate or student to positively impact the climate and culture of a classroom. With that in mind, coaching for affective development addresses the development of rapport, respect, and responsiveness to student needs. Utilizing coaching skills to develop students in both affective and academic domains strengthens the power of the coaching relationship.</em></p>

Financial literacy education is being integrated into school curricula at an increasing frequency. However, the majority of teachers lack the required competencies and teacher self-efficacy to effectively teach financial topics. In this study, we evaluated whether participation in teacher design teams (TDTs) results in high-quality educational materials, encouragement of professional learning, and ultimately, enhanced teacher self-efficacy in the face of pending curriculum reform. We conducted an exploratory multiple-case study in Flanders, Belgium. Data were collected from two TDTs that developed materials aligning with the financial literacy learning standards. We observed the team meetings and conducted interviews with the participating teachers and the team coach. Our results suggest that participation in TDTs supports the three outcome variables that we examined. However, they also revealed that each outcome shows room for improvement. Furthermore, the data provided additional evidence for the importance of meeting several input and process factors that had been previously shown to be essential for effective TDT function.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a school-based health program in which family medicine residents trained healthy at-risk adolescents to become diabetes self-management coaches for family members with diabetes. Methods A mixed methods study included 97 adolescents from 3 San Francisco Bay Area high schools serving primarily ethnic minority youth of low socioeconomic status. Physicians came to schools once a week for 8 weeks and trained 49 adolescents to become coaches. Student coaches and 48 nonparticipant students completed pre- and posttest intervention questionnaires, and 15 student coaches and 9 family members with diabetes gave in-depth interviews after participation. Linear regression was used to determine differences in knowledge and psychosocial assets on pre- and posttests between student coaches and nonparticipant students, and NVIVO was used to analyze interview transcripts. Results After controlling for initial score, sex, grade, and ethnicity, student coaches improved from pre- to posttest significantly compared to nonparticipants on knowledge, belonging, and worth scales. Student coaches reported high satisfaction with the program. Articulated program benefits included improvement in diet, increased physical activity, and improved relationship between student coach and family member. Conclusions Overall, this program can increase diabetes knowledge and psychosocial assets of at-risk youth, and it holds promise to promote positive health behaviors among at-risk youth and their families.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To characterize parent communication frequency and content between systems of care (medical, school, and sports/recreation) of concussed youth who are in prolonged recovery. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: In this ongoing study, 16 concussed youth (average age=14.9 years, SD=1.5; 31.2% female and 68.8% male) and their parent study partner (average age=44.3 years, SD=4.3; 87.3% female and 12.5% male) have been enrolled to date from sports medicine clinics. Demographic information was obtained during the initial clinic intake session. Weekly phone calls were also conducted with the parent and child until the child was considered asymptomatic (ie, reporting no symptoms on the SCAT3), to collect data on communication with the school, sport/recreation, and medical systems throughout the recovery process. For the purpose of this study, we evaluated communication patterns of those parents who had a child in prolonged recovery (ie, symptomatic 14 d or more post-concussion injury). Communication variables included frequency (ie, number of times a parent contacted or attempted to contact a system of care) and content or topic discussed during the contact event. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Of the 16 enrolled participants to date, 68.8% (n=11) experienced concussion related symptoms 14 days postinjury (M=22.2, SD=4.6) at the time of their 2 week follow-up call and were thus considered to be in prolonged recovery. Of those 11, 81.8% (n=9) of parents reported communicating with the school system at some point between the initial clinic intake session and the 2 week follow-up phone call. The frequency of communication for this period ranged between 0 and 10 instances of contact (M=2.5, SD=2.9). Of the 11 prolonged cases, 8 participants were members of sports teams. Sixty-three percent (n=5) of those parents with a child on a sports team communicated with a coach while none of the parents contacted a team athletic trainer. The frequency of communication with the coach ranged from 0 to 8 (M=1.5, SD=2.5) over the course of 2 weeks from enrollment. With regards to the medical system, the majority of parents (72.7%, n=8) communicated at least once with a medical professional during the same time period. The frequency of communication with the medical system ranged from 0 to 8 (M=2.2, SD=2.6) points of contact. Themes that arose for communicating with the school system included informing school personnel of academic accommodations prescribed by the physician, explaining absences, and concerns about missed academic work and grades. The content of communication with the sports system (ie, coach) pertained to return-to-play issues as well as progress updates on recovery. Themes for communication with the medical system were centered on scheduling appointments, attending follow-up medical appointments, and starting return-to-play protocols. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Parents of concussed youth who were still in prolonged recovery, for the most part, appear engaged in communicating with multiple systems of care. However, a subset of parents did not participate in contact with these systems. Further discussion of these findings will highlight areas for improvement in concussion management as well as strategies parents can utilize to advocate for their child in terms of return-to-learn and recovery.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on teacher coachees’ perceptions of why some coaching goals (selected by coaches or coachees) were more achievable than others and how this knowledge might advance a coaching culture that has the potential for sustainable improvements to teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach – As educators, the authors took a constructivist approach to grounded theory because the authors believe learning is socially constructed. The relationship between coach and coachees is underpinned by their constructed meanings and co-constructed learning. constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 1996) requires researchers not to start with a theory or hypothesis but to engage with data in a manner (coding, categorising, theorising) that allows for a theoretical understanding to emerge. In total, 22 teacher coachees from one school participated in this research. They were asked to complete an online questionnaire about their coaching experiences, speculating about why some goals (related to improving student reading, writing, speaking and listening, and math) were more achievable than others. One of the researchers had been a coach in the school, but not at the time of the research. Nonetheless online questionnaires were used as they offered teacher coachees anonymity to share their lived experiences (Charmaz, 2006). This data collection method also assisted in limiting accidental leading by an interviewer (Charmaz, 2006). Findings – The investigation into longitudinal coaching (one to six years) indicated how coachees positioned themselves or peers, when reflecting on and seeking to establish why some coaching goals were more achievable than others. Coachees clustered around one of the following themes: Pragmatic I, Pragmatic We, Student Driven, Team Driven, Data Driven, Research Driven. Theorising within and across themes highlighted that while coachees shared the same concerns, they differed in terms of how much they each focused on them. This allowed the authors to gauge the intensity of the concern (dominate, moderate or slight) for each participant. Notwithstanding the overlap, the seventh theme (temporality) serendipitously aligned with their exposure to coaching. Differentiated models of coaching appears to be a way to establish a coaching culture as multiple models could be responsive to divergent coachees’ learning needs. In doing so it is more likely to support sustainable improvements in teaching and learning. Research limitations/implications – The sample size (n=22) was appropriate for an in-depth analysis which allowed an understanding of coaching from the coachees’ first-hand experiences although it does limit generalisability. Another limitation is that coachees were not asked about teaching experience, hence the relationship between years of teaching and coaching exposure was not analysed. This is something that the authors feel now needs to be included in further research. Implications of the findings are that instructional coaches within schools may need to be more cognisant of the developmental stages and therefore differentiated needs of teacher coachees. This is particularly so if the aim is to promote sustainable pedagogical improvement. Originality/value – This is a case study of the effects of longitudinal coaching (one to six years) in a school where all teachers are involved in being coached.