Transfer of Training: The Contribution of “Coaching”

The literature on teacher training seems to indicate that mastery of teaching skills can be accomplished through the use of a combination of three training elements: the study of the theory underlying the skill, the opportunity to observe multiple demonstrations, and practice and feedback either under simulated conditions or in the classroom. However, transfer of the skills thus acquired into the teacher's active repertoire appears to involve new learning which requires the addition of a further important step in the training sequence: on-site coaching. The thesis is presented that transfer involves substantial new learning beyond the acquisition of the skills themselves, explaining the difficulty of curriculum implementation and the relatively low impact of most inservice education as presently conducted. A proposal extrapolated from the literature on transfer is presented for consideration as a model for inservice training.