Effects of Peer Coaching on Teachers' Collaborative Interactions and Students' Mathematics Achievement

Abstract

The authors examined peer coaching in the context of the Mentored Implementation Program developed in the Appalachian Mathematics and Science Partnership. The experimental design contained 6 teachers receiving peer coaching with their 202 students and 5 teachers in the control group with their 105 students. Teachers considered peer coaching a positive experience, identifying scheduling and distance as roadblocks. Centering around (a) organization of learning, (b) management of classroom, and (c) mathematical content and pedagogy, collaborative interactions during the post-classroom-observation conferences were brief and showed (a) a lack of analysis, (b) a positive tone and support, (c) a proportional pattern of talk, and (d) a lack of depth in discussion. Peer coaching was not associated with any improvement in mathematics achievement of students.