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Educators rely on professional development to improve instruction. Research suggests that instructional coaching which utilizes specific coaching practices, such as classroom observation followed by debriefing and goal setting, and integrated strategies such as co-teaching, bring about significant change in instructional practices. The goal of this study was to gauge whether or not the use of a web-based data collection and coaching tool led to changes in focal classroom practices and whether or not improving those practices was, in turn, related to students’ academic and self-regulation gains across the prekindergarten year. To examine the implementation and impact of the coaching app, researchers conducted a cluster-randomized trial, comparing the classroom practices of teachers receiving business-as-usual coaching to those being coached with the app. Classroom observation data showed no significant differences in teachers’ practices across the school year, and student achievement did not differ between conditions. Qualitative data from coach interviews, however, revealed that coaches using the app were more likely to employ integrated coaching strategies associated with improving instruction. The lack of differences in terms of teachers’ practices and students’ assessment gains may be due to a lack of statistical power and inconsistent professional development implementation associated with ongoing disruptions due to the pandemic. Further research examining the effectiveness of educational technologies supporting professional development is needed.
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This content will become publicly available on April 23, 2026
Creating and Refining an Equity-Focused Coaching Program for High School Computer Science Teachers
This paper will share the development and refinement of a coaching program for high school computer science teachers focused on equity. Two midwest organizations developed coach professional development, selected teachers (coachees), and facilitated a coaching program during the academic year. Two cohorts of the coaching program, serving 20 coaches and 30 coachees, were offered over the course of two and a half years. Working as a researcher-practitioner partnership, the organizations used evaluation and research data to inform improvements during the program offerings and between the first and second cohort. The paper will describe the coaching professional development content and format, the coach professional learning community and activities, and the coach-coachee meetings and other supports and changes made.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2410022
- PAR ID:
- 10634317
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Educational Research Association
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- K-12 computer science coaching
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Denver, CO, USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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