A considerable amount of literature on peer coaching suggests that the professional development of teachers can be improved through experimentation, observation, reflection, the exchange of professional ideas, and shared problem-solving. Reciprocal peer coaching provides teachers with an opportunity to engage in such activities in an integrated form. Even though empirical evidence shows effects of peer coaching and teacher satisfaction about coaching, the actual individual professional development processes have not been studied extensively. This article offers a way to analyze and categorize the learning processes of teachers who take part in a reciprocal peer coaching trajectory by using the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth as an analytical tool. Learning is understood as a change in the teacher's cognition and/or behavior. The assumption underlying the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth is that change occurs in four distinct domains that encompass the teacher's professional world: the personal domain, the domain of practice, the domain of consequence and the external domain. Change in one domain does not always lead to change in another, but when changes over domains do occur, different change patterns can be described. Repeated multiple data collection methods were used to obtain a rich description of patterns of change of four experienced secondary school teachers. The data sources were: audiotapes of coaching conferences, audiotapes of semi-structured learning interviews by telephone, and digital diaries with teacher reports of learning experiences. Qualitative analysis of the three data sources resulted in two different types of patterns: including the external domain and not including the external domain. Patterns of change within a context of reciprocal peer coaching do not necessarily have to include reciprocal peer coaching activities. When, however, patterns do include the external reciprocal peer coaching domain, this is often part of a change process in which reactive activities in the domains of practice and consequence are involved as well. These patterns often demonstrate more complex processes of change.
This design study aimed to develop and test a coherent set of guidelines for teacher professional development. Based on literature we settled for five main principles, and translated these into guidelines for a teacher professional development program. To realize (1) feedback on classroom practice we incorporated video observation. The program was built around (2) collaborative professional learning within reciprocal peer coaching, with (3) teachers as inquirer focusing on student outcomes, (4) teachers' ownership of own learning goals, and (5) training for professional learning. The program was developed and executed in two groups. All complementary guidelines appeared useful. Teachers need time to develop coaching skills, and find inquiring difficult. Video feedback stimulates teacher learning, especially when embedded in coaching. The program helped participants in learning through interaction and reflection focusing on classroom practice. While the voluntary group evaluated the program more positive, the non voluntary group showed more change.
In this study, the impact of a training program focusing on the deliberate use of interventions during coaching dialogues with prospective teachers was investigated. Video recordings were analyzed of coaching dialogues carried on in the workplace by 28 teachers in primary education with the prospective teachers under their guidance, both before and after they participated in the training program. The main goal of this program was to broaden the repertoire of interventions which coaches use in their dialogues with student teachers. The video recordings made were transcribed verbatim, coded by three independent researchers and analyzed using descriptive statistics and t tests for paired observations. Coaches repertoires of interventions were found to consist of an average of six types of interventions. This average remained stable throughout the training program. After training, a shift from directive towards non-directive interventions was observed. The length of the coaches speaking time decreased, while the number of their interventions increased. After training, coaches structured dialogues to a greater extent. Considerable interindividual variability existed between coaches. The relevance of these findings is that the deliberate use of interventions during coaching dialogue can be influenced through training with results noticeable in the workplace. The findings of this study suggest that the training program studied can serve relatively large numbers of teacher coaches, as its setup requires a feasible amount of effort from schools and participants.
