Coaching for Systems and Teacher Change

Jennifer D. Pierce, Ph.D. Senior Technical Assistance Consultant at American Institutes for Research with 13 years of experience working in public and private school settings as a teacher, coach, and administrator. Jennifer also has four years of experience working in higher education as a researcher and instructor. At AIR, Jennifer works with the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) RTI project to provide support to states, districts, and local-level educators in their efforts to effectively implement evidence-based practices (EBPs). Her primary areas of interest are in effective professional development and coaching models to reduce the research-to-practice gap; implementation science, including frameworks across fields and factors associated with sustained use of EBPs; and, the application of multi-tiered systems of support across general education and special education, including Response to Intervention (RTI) and schoolwide positive behavior interventions supports (SWPBIS). Dr. Pierce earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Washington, Seattle, a master's in general education from Pacific Lutheran University, and a bachelor's degree in English and Psychology from the University of Washington, Seattle. Virginia Buysse, Ph.D. Principal Researcher Virginia Buysse is a principal researcher at AIR. She developed a program of research on Recognition & Response (R&R), an instructional system for pre-k consisting of formative assessment, and foundational and targeted instruction with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (Institute of Education Sciences) and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. She served as co-principal investigator on several national early childhood centers, including the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion, the Center to Mobilize Knowledge on Early Childhood, and the Center for Early Care and Education Research-Dual Language Learners. She also served on the National Research Council's Committee on Early Childhood Education and the Workforce. Dr. Buysse has served as an expert consultant on a number of federally funded projects, including those focused on progress monitoring and program evaluation in early childhood. She was past president of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children and was member of the technical experts panel that developed CEC's evidence-based standards for research in special education. She has authored four books and has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles on early childhood education and early intervention. With over 25 years of professional experience, she has expertise on a range of early childhood topics, including professional development and models of professional collaboration (coaching, consultation, communities of practice), program evaluation, multi-tiered instructional approaches in pre-k, and formative assessment for use in data-based decision-making.

About the Downloads
About the Authors
Introduction
Section I: Introduction and Core Concepts
Chapter 1: Making the Case for Coaching: From an Historical to a Contemporary View
Chapter 2: Coaching Goals, Activities, and Common Challenges
Chapter 3: Effective Coaching Practices: A Synthesis of Research
Chapter 4: Applying Systems Level Change Principles to the Coaching Process
Section II: Strategies and Resources for More Effective Coaching
Chapter 5: Building Alliance: Laying the Foundation for Effective Coaching
Chapter 6: Moving Beyond Alliance: Conducting Cycles of Observation, Modeling, and Providing Performance Feedback
Chapter 7: Facing the Complexities of Change: Resources and Tools to Enhance Forward Movement
Chapter 8: Let’s Make It Real: Applying Coaching to Critical Issues
Section III. Implementing an Effective Coaching Framework
Chapter 9: Coaching that Sticks: Resources and Tools
Appendices
Index