The Impact of Time Spent Coaching for Teacher Efficacy on Student Achievement

Coaching for increased teacher efficacy (both instructional and self) has been an essential component to various educational reforms such as No Child Left Behind; Reading First projects and Early Reading First Projects. Those seeking to improve teacher performance leading to enhanced student outcomes on various state assessments have also incorporated coaching into the methodology. The purpose of this study was to look at the linkage between hours spent coaching teachers in the classroom for efficacy in content instruction and child achievements/outcomes. A significant correlation was seen in year one between the time coaches spent in the classroom and students’ alphabet recognition scores. The coaching model for year one was one that focused coaching for instructional efficacy in specific content and teaching methods and saw the coaches directly facilitate and support theory to practice. In year two and three, no significant correlation was found. Year two and three used a coaching model which was less specific in focus and increased time spent on site with teachers. The implications for coaching practice includes balancing time between four components to effective coaching; (1) instructing for specific content, (2) modeling techniques and instructional practices, (3) observing teacher practices and (4) consulting for reflection.