November 20, 2014
Supporting Teacher Interns through Instructional Coaching
As part of the Teacher Quality Partnership, the College of Education recently worked with two local school districts to provide additional support for teacher interns. In Pitt and Greene Counties, Instructional Coaches were hired to help interns make the transition from student to teacher. These coaches worked with interns during both semesters of the internship, conducting in-class observations and providing targeted professional development.
A variety of instructional practices were developed with the assistance of the Instructional Coaches, including but not limited to:
- Facilitating activities individually, in small groups and whole groups
- Incorporating all levels of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
- Utilizing technology to engage students with content
- Increasing the complexity of student engagement
- Using more effective teaching practices and research-based strategies
- Monitoring student learning outcomes
Multiple research measures indicate that the instructional coaching model has yielded statistically significant gains in teacher candidate edTPA performance assessment results, and increases in the use of best instructional practices. This increases the potential to change the effectiveness trajectory of first year teachers while leading to positive gains in teacher candidate performance and K-12 student achievement.
Funding for the Instructional Coaches ended at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 school year; however, the benefits of coaching are compelling teacher educators to reconsider the traditional student teaching triad of intern, clinical teacher and university supervisor in order to include more elements of instructional coaching. In tomorrow’s blog post, you will learn how candidates in the school principal preparation program are providing coaching to elementary education undergraduates as part of their junior year practicum.
Teachers and interns have positive reflections on the instructional coaching model in practice. To hear their testimony, please refer to;
#ECU_CAEPisComing
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