Doing Our Part: Trust and Relational Dynamics in Literacy Coaching

ABSTRACT

Literacy coaching has become a prevalent model of professional development (PD) that embodies the characteristics of high-quality teacher learning. At the same time, many literacy coaches have experienced the practice as fraught with tensions, both for coaches and teachers. This paper focuses on the relational dynamics in literacy coaching, through the lens of building trust. It describes a literacy coaching cycle in which the author, serving as literacy coach, attempts to build and maintain a trusting relationship with a teacher, while supporting her desired instructional improvement in writing. This work uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) as theory and method to analyze literacy coaching interactions, especially the affective landscape and relational dynamics over time, between a literacy coach and teacher.

KEYWORDS:

• Literacy coaching
• trust
• relational dynamics
• professional development
• discourse analysis

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Diane Wood, Barbara Laster, Elizabeth Foote, Ric Campbell, Vicki McQuitty, and Pamela Hickey, as well as the editors and anonymous reviewers for their invaluable input and feedback along the way.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. All names of teachers and students are represented with pseudonyms.

2. Shannon’s 2nd grade team colleague, Randy, was, at the time, a brand-new teacher from the Teach for America program. As his teaching goals focused almost exclusively on establishing routines, relationships, and classroom management structures, he rarely contributed to our coaching conversations. It was therefore appropriate to absent him from the analysis in this study.

3. See Appendix A for overview of weekly coaching activities.

4. See Appendix B for transcription notations.

5. In contrast, a “you” response to the teacher’s request for help would represent a directive suggestion – for example, had I said to Shannon something like, “You should keep your focus on the students you are conferring with.” Such a directive suggestion would presume my authority and would underscore the power differential between the coach and teachers.