Coaching Teachers’ Talk during Vocabulary and Comprehension Instruction

Research has established the importance of teachers’ talk as a tool of effective literacy instruction, yet it is often neither sufficiently explicit nor strategic to make a substantial difference in what children know and do. Despite evidence of talk’s value as a teaching and learning tool, teachers are often unaware of its power or have difficulty harnessing it for productive use. Helping teachers examine classroom talk as a tool for strengthening student learning is, then, an important focus of professional development. This article focuses on some of the approaches coaches can use to engage teachers in joint investigations of talk within the context of their instruction with their own students. Each approach maintains a focus on observing instruction and examining student outcomes, and on teachers and coaches working together as “co-investigators” to improve learning for all students. The approaches to coaching range along a Coaching Continuum that can be tailored to teachers’ needs and their “readiness” for coaching. Examples are provided to illustrate the range.