A descriptive analysis of instructional coaches’ data use in science

ABSTRACT

A key assumption of accountability policies is that educators will use data to improve their instruction. In practice, however, data use is quite hard, and more districts are looking to instructional coaches to support their teachers. The purpose of this descriptive analysis is to examine how instructional coaches in elementary and middle school science across 3 school districts worked with science teachers around data use. Science teachers and instructional coaches were interviewed about their data use practices and preferences. The findings highlight that coaches play diverse roles in supporting teachers, and that teachers’ data use practices closely align with coaches’ practices and preferences. The discussion concludes with implications for our understanding of data use in specific content areas and for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Data use
• instructional coaches
• accountability
• science education

Disclosure statement

At the time of data collection, all three authors worked for the research center that developed the curriculum that was the focus of the grant. None of the authors was involved in the creation of the curriculum. Dr. Elizabeth Bell now works for the company that as of 2014 owns the curriculum.

Notes

1. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are the state standards.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation [grant number 1417705].

Notes on contributors

Virginia Snodgrass Rangel

Dr. Snodgrass Rangel is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Prior to working at the University of Houston, she was the Associate Director of Research with Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship. Her research interests include teacher leadership, data use, and policy implementation.

Elizabeth R. Bell

Dr. Bell is the Research Manager at Accelerate Learning Inc. Prior to working for Accelerate Learning, she was a Research Associate with Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship. Her research interests include Pre-K science teaching and learning, and social emotional learning.

Carlos Monroy

Dr. Monroy is a Research Scientist in the Department of Computer Science at Rice University. Prior to working in the Department of Computer Science, he was a Data Scientist with Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship. His research interests include learning analytics and the educational applications of data analytics and data mining.