Christie S. Martin

Perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of elementary school mathematics coaches

Purpose – In the USA, school districts are funding mathematics coaching positions to provide school-level support to teachers. The purpose of this paper is to survey school personnel whose job responsibilities included mathematics coaching in order to examine their job responsibilities and what they felt that their job responsibilities should be. Design/methodology/approach – In all, 67 elementary school mathematics coaches completed a survey that included 30 aspects of the job of elementary school mathematics leaders. Findings – Quantitative analyses indicated that there were statistically significant differences between their actual roles and their preferred roles on 24 of the 30 items. This means that coaches reported that the aspects of their current role did not align to what they thought their job should be. Research limitations/implications – The findings indicate a need to collect further information in a longitudinal study, potentially from a combination of surveys, interviews, and observations, ...

Revisiting the Roles of Literacy Coaches: Does Reality Match Research?

This study surveyed 104 school-based elementary literacy coaches to explore their perceptions of their roles as coaches. These perceptions were then examined relative to the Standards for Reading Professionals—Revised 2010, developed by the International Reading Association. Overall, coaches reported the majority of the tasks they carried out as coaches were tasks they believed should be part of the role of a coach. They most highly valued tasks that allowed them to interact with and support teachers, ultimately leading to improved student achievement. Coaches also indicated a lack of clarity about their role in supporting the standards related to diversity.

Examining focus, duration, and classroom impact of literacy and mathematics professional development

ABSTRACT Over

Using the AMC Anywhere Web-Based Assessment System to Examine Primary Students' Understanding of Number Sense

18 billion is spent annually on professional development for in-service teachers. This study examined the focus, duration, and impact of professional development activities in which elementary (students ages 5–11) and middle school (students ages 11–14) teachers participated. Ninety-eight teacher-participants completed an online survey about their professional development experiences. In the analysis of literacy survey items and mathematics survey items, there were similarities in focus areas that received greater participation and areas that received less. There were also noticeable differences in frequency of participation in literacy and mathematics professional development. Comparisons between literacy and mathematics professional development indicated that more teachers reported participating in literacy experiences. This included workshops as well as ongoing support through planning meetings and mentorship. Overall, the consensus from teachers was that professional development was effective and has a beneficial impact on their classroom. Researchers share implications for the design and research of future professional development programs.