Abstracts Category : Other

Coaching while Coaching| The Functional Relationship of Elbow Coaching on Cooperating Teacher's eCoaching, Pre-service Teacher's Reading Instruction, and Student Outcomes

by Jennie Leigh Jones

Pre-service teachers (PST) clinical experiences are critical for transfering theory to practice (e.g., Brownell, Ross, Coln, and McCallum, 2005) and these experiences require effective mentoring, coaching, and supervision from university supervisors and cooperating teachers (e.g., Leko, Brownell, Sindelar, & Murphy, 2012). Yet, many special education teachers enter the field feeling under-prepared to teach effectively, especially in reading (e.g., Brownell et al., 2009). One solution is to maximize support provided by cooperating teachers (CTs). CTs receive little or no training on how to provide mentoring, coaching, and supervision to PSTs (Gareis & Grant, 2014). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of elbow coaching on the CTs ability to provide online, in-ear <i>e</i>Coaching to the PST during literacy based clinical experiences. Specifically, I investigated how elbow coaching influenced the CTs provision of online, in-ear <i>e</i>Coaching to the PST; how coaching the PSTs (i.e., in-ear <i>e</i>Coaching plus side-by-side coaching) influenced the PSTs delivery of effective reading instruction; and how coaching the PST positively influenced student outcomes (i.e., student engagement, opportunities to respond, correct responses). Participants for this single case research design included three CT/PST dyads, and their K-1 students with and without disabilities. Social validity and procedural fidelity were measured and IOA was conducted in accord with prevailing standards. Quality standards for SCRD were met without reservation (Kratochwill et al., 2013). Data was analyzed visually based on mean, level, trend, and latency of change (Kratochwill et al., 2010), and effect size was based on Tau-U (Vannest, Parker, & Gonen, 2011). Results indicated that the elbow coaching was effective in modifying CTs <i>e </i>Coaching behaviors, PSTs provision of effective reading instruction, and student opportunities to respond, correct responses, and behavioral engagement. Results also confirmed the efficacyof an online module plus coaching as an effective way to support CTs as they provide instructional support to PSTs, serving students with and without disabilities. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.