Learning to become instructional coaches in health and physical education

Abstract

To examine the experiences of a cohort of health and physical education teachers and consultants who were learning to become instructional coaches. Methods: Three surveys and three focus groups were administered to 14 participants over 9 months to consider their experiences of learning to become instructional coaches. Concepts from expectancyvalue theory guided analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data. Results: Participants reported positive experiences learning to become instructional coaches. Understanding and importance-utility value increased significantly between the administration of initial and end surveys. Focus group data generally supported quantitative findings while enabling more specific insights to be gained, particularly regarding specific moments of participants' learning that led to a shift in thinking or practice. Conclusions: Participants valued their experiences learning to become instructional coaches and identified the instructional coaching model as a powerful form of job-embedded professional learning based on teachers' context-specific needs.