The number of school districts using instructional coaches is growing at a staggering rate. Coaching is becoming popular, in part, because many educational leaders recognize the old form of professional development, built around traditional in-service sessions for teachers, simply does not affect student achievement. By offering support, feedback,…

The pressure to improve the quality of instruction in schools may be higher today than at any other time in the history of U.S. education. To respond to this urgent demand, schools across the nation are hiring instructional coaches (ICs), even though there is little published research that shows what works and what does not work when it comes to…

The staff development program for part-time teachers, designed and first implemented at Hagerstown Junior College (Maryland), became the basis of a model for a statewide program in June 1978. The goal of the program, which consisted of an interest inventory and workshops focusing on the teachers' five greatest concerns as revealed by the…