Literacy Coaches’ Sensemaking about Coaching Decisions

Literacy coaching has shown positive effects on teachers’ instruction and on students’ literacy growth, but research has demonstrated wide variation in literacy coaches’ practice. However, previous research has not addressed the sensemaking processes that might underlie variation in coaching practice. Using interviews with seven literacy coaches, we explored coaches’ mental models for coaching, their preferred coaching strategies (e.g., modeling, co-teaching, co-planning, observation, and feedback), and the teacher-level factors coaches considered when differentiating coaching practice. Specifically, we examined whether coaches adjust their practice according to teachers’ levels of knowledge and self-efficacy for teaching literacy. We found that preexisting beliefs played a powerful role in coaches’ selection of strategies. We also found that coaches differentiated based on teacher characteristics, although not necessarily knowledge and self-efficacy. These findings suggest the importance of honoring coach expertise, as well as the importance of addressing preexisting beliefs about coaching in coach training.