The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how executive coaches describe the strategies used with their public-school superintendent clients. The theoretical foundation of Positive Psychology, specifically PERMA+4, framed the questioning and brought context to the executive coach's decisions. The lack of research from the…

Although swim instructors are solely taught water safety regulations and correct swimming techniques, they are nonetheless viewed as mentors by the kids they work with. They are required to finish both their basic swim instructor (BSI) course and their cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification, which primarily covers the fundamentals…

Instructional coaching is used as a form of professional development to support teaching and learning in many school districts. To address the needs of the teacher relevant to improving instructional practices, instructional coaches employ the coaching model. The coach model serves as a strategy to determine the approach needed to support teacher…

Despite decades of research and many frameworks designed to address the inequities and exclusion in the public school system, large achievement gaps, inequitable systems, and exclusive policies exist. The scholar-practitioner believes instructional coaches are well-positioned to address the inequities and exclusion that exist in the public school…

Research on coaching has been increasing over the last few decades, particularly for literacy and math. What is limited in coaching research is investigations of the process that leads to teacher and student impacts. Additionally, while some research has investigated what makes an effective coach, little has focused on the specific roles of…

This study examined the impact of targeted literacy coaching in the area of phonological awareness on teacher knowledge and confidence, instructional methods, and student outcomes. Three interviews, three coaching sessions, and three classroom observations were conducted with five teacher participants, ranging from grades kindergarten through…

The Focus of Practice (FoP) of this Participatory Action Research (PAR) project was to develop mentors' knowledge, skills, and dispositions to identify and implement equitable classroom practices through coaching conversations with beginning teachers. The study examined what happens when mentors shift from essential check-ins with beginning…

Low performing schools remain an issue within Louisiana. The problem addressed by this study was low student performance in underperforming schools due to lack of understanding in pedagogy by teachers. The use of master teachers as instructional coaches is one way this school district sought to improve student achievement. The purpose of this…

"When a group of people come together to share a vision for an organization, each person brings a unique visualization of an amazing running institution and each shares a responsibility for the establishment to run effectively" Senge (2006). This dissertation in practice (DiP) was aimed at addressing a performance gap of low engagement…

This study examined the practices of a mathematics coach by analyzing coaching moves over multiple coaching cycles with two teachers. The coach, guided initially by a content-focused model of coaching (West & Staub, 2013), engaged teachers in cycles that consisted of co-planning, teaching, and debriefing conversations to help teachers reflect…

Literacy coaching provides job-embedded professional development intended to influence teacher instructional practices and increase student achievement. Coaches mediate their role between "Responsive" and "Directive" stances. "Responsive" stances are described as coaching behaviors where the coach responds to the…

This dissertation presents a qualitative case study investigating the influence of cognitive coaching on elementary international teachers within a southeastern school district. Guided by four research questions, the study delved into the experiences and perceptions of international teachers participating in cognitive coaching sessions, aiming to…

Secondary ELA teachers use a variety of methods to engage, motivate, and teach their students literacy. Some methods include an emphasis on arts integration. One method of arts integration that has not been studied often in high school is the use of drama-based pedagogies (DBP). DBP are an innovative avenue to improving meaning-making and other…

Instructional coaches have the potential to improve teaching practices that directly impact the quality of teaching that students receive. Thus, they are a valuable resource to schools that use them wisely. Unexamined, the work of an instructional coach may not add to program quality and therefore drain resources of budget and time. Research from…

Despite the long-time call for change in mathematics instruction, there are several barriers to change, and instruction has remained stagnant overall, taking the form of traditional lecture. Instructional coaching has many of the attributes of effective professional development from the literature and could be a major support for instructional…