Volume 1 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership - Page 15

Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership 13 supported and trained in their roles. Additionally, school districts that strive to provide additional resources and op- portunities for both elementary instructional coaches and elementary teachers could use the information garnered by the study to modify or create new opportunities and expe - riences to assist in the development of instructional coaches in their school system. Conclusions While the study has limitations and a reduced ability to gen- eralize the results to a broader population, the study, as well as the findings obtained, provide valuable information for instructional leaders to use in making decisions that affect the elementary instructional coaching program in the Dis- trict, and potentially to other districts that utilize instruc- tional coaching for job embedded professional develop- ment. Based upon the cumulative findings of the study, the District should continue to cultivate and support the use of elementary instructional coaches. With the face of education across the nation changing and the accountability for increasing student achievement rising, targeted and viable professional development op- tions for educators must occur. Findings of the study, along with literature and prior studies involving instructional coaching, supports the notion that instructional coaching can be a sustainable option for school leaders to provide the much needed job-embedded professional learning. References Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher Quality and Student Achievement. Education Policy Analysis Archives ; Vol 8 (2000) Darling-Hammond, L., & McLaughlin, M. W. (1995). Poli - cies that support professional development in an era of reform. Kappan . Retrieved from http://www.kappan - magazine.org DuFour, R. (2004) Leading edge: Cultural shift doesn’t occur overnight—or without conflict. Journal of Staff Development , 25(4), 63-64. DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learn- ing by doing: A handbook for professional learning commu- nities at work (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Guskey, T. R., & Yoon, K. S. (2009). What works in profes - sional development? Phi Delta Kappan , 90(7), 495-500. Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development. Alexandria, VA. Association for Super- vision and Curriculum Development. Knight, J., (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership ap- proach to instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Knight, J. (2009). What can we do about teacher resistance? Phi Delta Kappan , 90(7), 508-513. Morgan, N. P. (2011). From Teacher Quality to Effectiveness: Developing a Systemic Approach. The District Manage- ment Council (July/August). Neufeld, B. & Roper, D. (2003). Coaching: A strategy for de - veloping instructional capacity. The Aspen Institute for School Reform . Retrieved from www.annenberginstitute.org/pdf/Coaching.pdf. Shidler, L. (2009). The impact of time spent coaching for teacher efficacy on student achievement. Early Childhood Education Journal , 36(5), 453-460. doi:10.1007/s10643-008-0298-4 Strawn, C., Fox, R., & Duck, L. (2008). Preventing teacher failure: Six keys to success in moving beyond the “sink or swim” mentality. Clearing House , 81(6), 271-277. Wenglisky, H. (2000). How teaching matters: Bringing the class- room back into discussions of teacher quality. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2006). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. About the Author Dr. Mindy Tolbert serves as a Profes- sional Learning Coordinator in the Frisco ISD. Previous positions held in- clude Summer School Principal, Assis- tant Principal, and Teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech Uni- versity, a Master of Education from Dallas Baptist Univer- sity, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership K-12 from Dallas Baptist University. She can be reached at tolbert_mindy@yahoo.com .