Effective professional development for literacy coaches.

Abstract

This thesis examines aspects of professional development that a literacy coach might focus on in order to provide a positive impact on professional literacy practice of classroom teachers. An extensive literature review was conducted to determine an answer. The selected studies sort into four categories: high quality professional development for educators, specific types and methods of delivery of professional development, delivery of professional findings from the high quality category indicate high quality professional development appears to be that which matches school district goals, is relevant to the participants, and consists of active participation and collaboration. From the types and delivery methods category, findings are that beneficial delivery methods are those that model for participants the strategies being taught and provide a large amount of time for follow-up support. Specifically for professional development in technology, a hands-on use delivery method appears to be effective, while peer coaching with observations appears to be an effective delivery method for professional development generally. Findings from the delivery of professional development through technology category indicate that online professional development through message boards appears to be a more comfortable way for some professionals to learn; however, other professionals prefer a more focused and moderated forum for their online professional development. Findings from the category of literacy coaching as a form of professional development reveal that literacy coaches seem to be most effective at changing teacher practice when they demonstrate and model how to use a strategy, when they discuss assessments and assessment results with the educators, when they provide feedback after observations, and generally when they have a good rapport with the teachers.