Investigating the Influence of Literacy Coaching as Embedded PD on Teacher Instruction

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Mauzy, K. (2022). Investigating the Influence of Literacy Coaching as Embedded PD on Teacher Instruction. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Improving elementary student reading achievement has been a well-defined goal of many federal and state educational initiatives over the last several decades. To that end, vast amounts of resources have been funneled into professional development for literacy teachers to solve the problem of students who are unable to read proficiently on grade level through a focus on improving teacher literacy instruction. The employment of literacy coaches into elementary schools has been an embedded professional development strategy implemented to combat these low literacy achievement rates across the country. However, the effectiveness of literacy coaches in positively influencing teacher instruction has not been rigorously investigated and many questions still remain about their true impact of improving student reading achievement. This qualitative case study examined how teachers perceive a change in their instructional beliefs and practices through intervention with a literacy coach and which factors of coaching teachers report as most influential on their classroom practice. The implications of coach/teacher interplay were investigated through the entrenched professional development experiences of three elementary literacy teachers and their school-based literacy coach to determine the specific strategies, conversations, and interventions that brought about a possible change in teacher beliefs and practices relating to the teaching of literacy in their classrooms. A within-case analysis revealed changes in teacher beliefs and practices surrounding small group reading activities including phonics integration as well as changes in whole group phonemic awareness (PA) instruction. A cross-case analysis uncovered meaningful themes highlighting coach proximity to practice including shared responsibility, the coach as a sounding board, and scaffolding coaching cycles. Detailed results combined with recommendations for future research work to advance the field in an effort to develop an effective model of literacy coaching implementation.

Details
Author

Mauzy, Katherine

Title

Investigating the Influence of Literacy Coaching as Embedded PD on Teacher Instruction

Physical Description

1 online resource (180 pages) : PDF

Date

2022

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Improving elementary student reading achievement has been a well-defined goal of many federal and state educational initiatives over the last several decades. To that end, vast amounts of resources have been funneled into professional development for literacy teachers to solve the problem of students who are unable to read proficiently on grade level through a focus on improving teacher literacy instruction. The employment of literacy coaches into elementary schools has been an embedded professional development strategy implemented to combat these low literacy achievement rates across the country. However, the effectiveness of literacy coaches in positively influencing teacher instruction has not been rigorously investigated and many questions still remain about their true impact of improving student reading achievement. This qualitative case study examined how teachers perceive a change in their instructional beliefs and practices through intervention with a literacy coach and which factors of coaching teachers report as most influential on their classroom practice. The implications of coach/teacher interplay were investigated through the entrenched professional development experiences of three elementary literacy teachers and their school-based literacy coach to determine the specific strategies, conversations, and interventions that brought about a possible change in teacher beliefs and practices relating to the teaching of literacy in their classrooms. A within-case analysis revealed changes in teacher beliefs and practices surrounding small group reading activities including phonics integration as well as changes in whole group phonemic awareness (PA) instruction. A cross-case analysis uncovered meaningful themes highlighting coach proximity to practice including shared responsibility, the coach as a sounding board, and scaffolding coaching cycles. Detailed results combined with recommendations for future research work to advance the field in an effort to develop an effective model of literacy coaching implementation.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Reading

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Literacy Coaching
Literacy Instruction
Professional Development
Reading Coaches

Subject Area

Curriculum & Instruction

Advisor(s)

Washburn, Erin

Committee Members

Taylor, Bruce
Mraz, Maryann
Lim, Jae Hoon

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2022.

Rights Statement

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Mauzy_uncc_0694D_13250

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:3109