Volume 2 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 40

38 sional development is the commitment to creating time within the school day for professional development to occur (Sackey, 2012). To create time for job-embedded professional development, there is often a need for restructuring the schedule to include periodic early release days, late start days, longer days, more profession- al development days, or extra planning periods (Sackey, 2012). When using a job-embedded professional development model, the learning often includes professional learning communities, classroom modeling, observation by or of a peer or mentor, peer coaching, instructional coaching, reflective discussions and plan - ning, data analysis and co-teaching (Hill & Rapp, 2012; Renfro & Grieshaber, 2012; Yendol-Hoppey & Dana, 2010). Instructional Coaching According to Knight (2009), instructional coaching is a job em - bedded professional development model by which teachers and coaches partner together to implement research based instruction in the classroom for the increased learning and achievement of students. Instructional coaches provide a variety of supports to teachers including but not limited to observation, feedback, modeling, facilitating reflective conversations, collaborating on instructional techniques, planning, identifying resources and materials, analyzing data, setting goals, and problem solving (Denton & Hasbrouck, 2009; Knight, 2009). Unlike traditional one-size fits all professional develop - ment, instructional coaching is job embedded and specific to the unique needs of the teacher (Knight, 2009; McAdmis, 2010). The instructional coach and teacher, meet frequently over a long duration of time to discuss the teacher’s specific goals, prob - lems, solutions, reflections, ideas, and plans for implementation (Knight, 2011; Renfro & Grieshaber, 2012). Effectiveness of Instructional Coaching Anderson, Feldman, and Minstrell (2014), sought to investigate why some instructional coaching experiences are more effective than other instructional coaching experiences. Ultimately, they identified relationship and trust as critical factors in an effective instructional coaching experience. Like Anderson et al. (2014), Jim Knight (2009) indicated that the ability to speak honestly about personal areas of weakness and strength relies heavily upon the existence of a relationship that is founded on trust. By preserving the confidentiality of the conversations that occur between a coach and a teacher, the instructional coach demonstrates integrity and gains the trust of the teacher (Knight, 2009). A significant element of instructional coaching is reflective dialogue. By establishing an environment in which a teacher is comfortable reflecting and admitting weakness, the instructional coach can facilitate increased levels of develop- ment (Knight, 2011). The Study The participants in the current qualitative study included nine elementary and three middle school teachers from one purpo- sive sampling who completed their first year of teaching with a full year instructional coaching partnership in 2015-2016. Data was collected from the participants through a semi-structured interview protocol designed to investigate the following research questions: Research Question 1 (RQ1) According to the new teachers, how has instructional coaching impacted their professional develop- ment? Research Question 2 (RQ2) In what ways has instructional coaching impacted the instructional practices of new teachers? Research Question 3 (RQ3) From the perspective of the new teachers, how has instructional coaching impacted their imple- mentation of district expectations? The participant interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emerging patterns and themes. All interview data was entered into NVivo 11 Pro and coded into nodes or themes to reveal patterns or connections in the research data. To triangulate the data, the researcher utilized member checking, where participants re - viewed the account of their interview to ensure it was accurate. In addition, the researcher conducted an examination of the school district’s written coaching model to gain a thorough understand- ing of the expectations of the instructional coaching model for a first year teacher as well as utilized an expert panel to review the identified themes in the data. Identified Themes Initially, the researcher coded data into five major categories: Professional Development, Classroom Instruction, District Expectations, Overall Experience, and Future Implications. After further analysis of the data, additional themes emerged includ- ing: Personalized, Experience, Conversations, Relationship, and June Ritchlin, Ed.D.