Implementing a Virtual Coaching Model for Teacher Professional Development

Over the last two decades, the use of instructional coaching has surged in PreK-12 education settings as one way to support the implementation of instructional best practices in a wide range of disciplines. Perhaps this is partly due to professional development (PD) research indicating that more sustained durations of meaningful collaboration focused on context-relevant topics is necessary. The authors have experienced this surge firsthand as practitioners, state leaders, preservice teacher-educators, education researchers, and PD providers. It is clear that coaching when done well supports educators in their use of best practices. However, not all educators have access to high-quality instructional coaching due to multiple factors, which typically include isolation (geographic and otherwise), limited financial support, and limited PD time. In addition, the Covid 19 global pandemic brought long periods of quarantine and social isolation where educators were scrambling to teach in an unfamiliar medium and virtual coaching was the only way they could receive PD. For these reasons, many districts are exploring virtual solutions to providing PD and coaching support. This book will clearly connect research and best practices for coaching virtually through VECTOR, and offer specific guidance (e.g., coaching questions, coach-coachee activities) and relatable anecdotes to support working with educators in each phase. Practitioner examples will engage readers as they contextualize examples, develop a deeper understanding, and generate a vision for virtual coaching and how to do it effectively. The proposed text stands apart from other texts about coaching and coaching models in that it specifically addresses how to effectively implement virtual coaching in the field of education. It will show that virtual coaching offers a way for administrators to implement personalized and job-embedded professional development for teachers, and do so affordably in a manageable way. It also shows how technology can provide more equitable access to job-embedded and personalized professional learning (through virtual coaching) across all educational institutions. The primary audiences for this book include those responsible for supporting implementation of a variety of strategies and practices in the field of education. These audiences include professional development providers, building and district-level education leaders, on-site instructional coaches, virtual coaches, educational service center leaders and providers, and even educational researchers responsible for implementing interventions across a broad geographical region. Secondary audiences may include corporate trainers, and those who coach virtually in other fields of leadership and wellness. This book aims to translate research to practice in an approachable, easy-to-read format that virtual coaches can easily understand and apply to their own work with virtual coaching participants.