Enhancing Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction: The Value of Coaching

Evidence-based practices are crucial for fostering student learning and achievement. When it comes to literacy, simply providing professional development to teachers is just not enough. To truly support the effective implementation of evidence-based literacy instruction, teachers need personalized and timely feedback on their instructional practice. This is where coaching emerges as a powerful tool that can greatly enhance student achievement– more so than a number of other school-based strategies, including student incentives, teacher pre-service training, merit-based pay, general PD, data-driven instruction, and extended learning time. In this week’s edition of Literacy Leaders, we will explore the value that coaching brings to the table and discuss the research supporting its efficacy.

Moving Beyond Traditional Professional Development:

Traditional professional development often involves workshops or training sessions where teachers receive information and strategies to improve their practice. While this can be valuable, it falls short in providing the necessary ongoing support and feedback to ensure effective implementation. These fly-by PD structures do little to ensure educators are successful in making the long-term pedagogical shift required to effectively understand and implement the science of reading. According to a 2018 meta-analysis, coaching, characterized by sustained one-on-one work with teachers on specific aspects of their practice, has been shown to significantly improve classroom instructional quality and student outcomes. Let’s take a closer look at why coaching models have the potential to be so effective, and how these characteristics can support your implementation of the science of reading.

Personalized Support and Feedback:

Coaching offers a personalized approach to professional growth by working directly with teachers on their instructional practices. Coaches observe teachers in action, provide specific and actionable feedback, and offer tailored guidance to address individual needs. Not only does this individualized support help teachers refine their implementation of evidence-based literacy instruction techniques, but teachers are also able to identify instructional growth goals to improve their practice in relevant and meaningful ways.

Imagine a first-grade teacher who has identified phonemic awareness as an instructional goal based on the blending difficulties of a small group of students. With the guidance of an instructional coach, this teacher can learn to implement evidence-based instructional strategies to support specific students, while internalizing specific phonemic awareness instructional moves and error-handling techniques that they can carry over into their everyday teaching practice.

Increasing Instructional Excellence:

Coaching goes beyond providing strategies – it focuses on building teachers' instructional expertise. Coaches can collaborate with teachers by planning lessons together, co-teaching, and modeling effective instructional practices. By working side by side, coaches can demonstrate evidence-based routines and support teachers in using them in their classrooms. This hands-on approach has the potential to enhance teacher confidence and competence.

In a science of reading classroom, learning to implement evidence-based routines can be difficult without an example. An instructional coach can model strategies, such as marking multisyllabic words to support syllable division or the components of a dictation routine. Modeling the strategic use of literacy routines with a group of students can give teachers the confidence needed to effectively implement these routines with students on their own.

Accountability and Sustainability:

One significant advantage of coaching is its built-in accountability. Unlike traditional professional development, coaching involves an ongoing partnership between the coach and the teacher. Coaches regularly visit classrooms, ensuring that the discussed routines are being implemented effectively. This accountability fosters a culture of continuous improvement and supports the sustainability of evidence-based practices in literacy instruction.

While the science of reading is definitive about the best ways to teach students to read, that does not mean every student will automatically and effortlessly learn to read as soon as their teacher begins using evidence-based literacy practices. Having the support of a knowledgeable coach provides teachers with an extra set of eyes to give ideas and suggest additional evidence-based strategies to support specific students. Science of reading implementation is a big undertaking, but having the support of instructional coaches makes implementation all the more sustainable.

Barriers to Effective Coaching Support:

A lack of funding for literacy coaches is often cited as a barrier to implementing this valuable support system. Although many states have passed legislation that provides requirements and even funding for instructional literacy coaches, many districts are still unable to hire coaches or have coaches with overwhelming caseloads. Our Literacy Coaching Cycles can alleviate these issues so that you can focus on what matters most– student growth.

In the pursuit of implementing evidence-based literacy instruction, coaching emerges as a powerful tool that adds tremendous value to professional development efforts. Through personalized support, timely feedback, and a focus on sustainable change, coaching empowers teachers to effectively implement evidence-based routines and improve student outcomes.

What We’re Working On

Join us for our FREE Summer Webinar Series! Register today for these exciting topics:

• July 10, 1 pm EST - How does the brain read?

Join us as we unravel the fascinating mechanics behind how the brain processes written language. We’ll delve into the neural processes that underlie reading and spelling and talk about the application to instruction.

• July 21, 1 pm EST - More than just another test -- how can I leverage data to support my students?

Learn how to make your data do the heavy lifting for you by strategically selecting and analyzing assessments to drive instruction. We’ll discuss how aligning assessments with reading research ultimately makes your job easier.

• July 27, 1 pm EST - So I know about the science of reading, but now what?

Do you know the basics of the science of reading, but aren’t sure how to translate this knowledge into lesson plans? In this webinar, we’ll talk about practical strategies and instructional techniques you can use with students.

• August 3, 1 pm EST - What does a science of reading classroom look like?

Join us as we explore the key elements and best practices that shape a science of reading classroom, so you can create an optimal learning environment for students.