Improving Teachers’ Practice across Grades and Subjects: Experimental Evidence on Individualized Coaching

We extend the literature on in-service teacher education by describing and evaluating a coaching model focused on classroom management skills and instructional practices across grade levels and subject areas. We present results from a block randomized trial examining the effect of MATCH Teacher Coaching on teachers’ instructional practices after completing four individualized week-long coaching sessions throughout the academic year. Fifty-nine teachers working in charter schools across New Orleans participated in the study. We find that coached teachers scored 0.59 standard deviations higher on an index of effective teaching practices comprised of observation scores, principal evaluations, and student surveys. These effects on teachers’ practices are consistent across subjects, grade levels, and schools, and largely persist in the following year. We conclude with a discussion of relevant implementation challenges and recommendations for researcher-practitioner partnerships to address key remaining questions.