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A cyclical approach to professional development: a case study of the San Bernardino School District
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A cyclical approach to professional development: a case study of the San Bernardino School District
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Content
A Cyclical Approach to Professional Development: A Case Study of the San Bernardino
School District
Denise Pereyra
Rosier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
May 2023
© Copyright by Denise Pereyra 2023
All Rights Reserved
The Committee for Denise Pereyra certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Kimberly Hirabayashi
John Pascarella
Lawrence Picus, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023
iv
Abstract
This qualitative study reviewed a professional development program developed by the San
Bernardino Unified School District to improve English language learner instruction using guided
language acquisition design (GLAD) strategies. I interviewed a group of teachers, their
instructional coaches, and the program director to understand their motivation to participate in
the program and to understand how they thought it compared to the traditional professional
development experiences they have had in the past. The teachers indicated that they appreciated
the relationship they developed with the program coaches. The trust that was built between
teachers and coaches led to clear communication which was essential for the teachers who found
themselves eager to learn and take risks in applying the concepts and strategies they learned in
their own classrooms. The results showed that a professional development program should
consist of modeling, coaching, support, feedback, and reflection. This study found that teachers
want to be able to feel like they will not be judged if they fail at applying a new strategy, they
want to feel supported and that lack of immediate success in program implementation will not
hurt their teaching evaluations. The Cyclical Approach Program has all the components of
successful professional development, and it has made the teachers feel motivated enough to stay
in the program to enhance and strengthen their ability to be successful.
v
Dedication
To Mark. On a personal level, I could not have achieved this milestone without the ongoing
support of my husband. Mark, you pushed me to start this process back in the Spring of 2018. I
will forever be grateful to you. This journey has been one for the books. Thank you for always
believing in me. Thank you for not letting me quit and for encouraging me at every moment.
You taught me that marriage is not about it being 50/50; it is about taking up 100% of the work
when your partner can’t. You handle it like the amazing man that you are, and for that, I will
forever be grateful.
To Olivia and Emiliano. The one lesson that I want you to remember throughout your life is that
perfection does not exist, and always being right is not possible. However, NEVER GIVING UP
ON YOUR DREAM is fundamental. Thank you for understanding that mommy had homework,
and there were times she was not around. I started this journey because I wanted to have the
fulfillment of accomplishing one of my dreams. I finished it for my kids and my husband.
vi
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my chair, Dr. Lawrence Picus, for his commitment and belief in me.
I am beyond grateful to have had a chair who took the time to explain and clarify every part of
this process without any hesitation. Your support through this process has been invaluable, and
your attention to my writing has challenged me to become a better writer. I would also like to
thank my committee members, Dr. Pascarella and Dr. Hirabayashi. It has been a privilege to
engage in such thoughtful conversations about my study, and you encouraged me to focus on the
important issues that I am passionate about.
Lastly, to all the teachers who have gone to hours of professional development and have
been left alone to implement a concept. Teachers need a support system put into place. Teachers
should have coaches to guide them in growing their abilities as teachers and continue being
lifelong learners. I aspire to see all elementary schools have coaches who are supporting all
teachers in any way they possible to further help the students be successful in their education
journey.
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. x
Chapter One: Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 7
Reclassification .................................................................................................................... 8
English Language Learners ............................................................................................... 10
Project GLAD .................................................................................................................... 13
Cyclical Approach Program .............................................................................................. 15
Funding for the CAP .......................................................................................................... 17
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................................................... 18
Importance of the Study .................................................................................................... 22
Definitions ......................................................................................................................... 23
Organization of the Study .................................................................................................. 24
Chapter Two: Literature Review ................................................................................................... 25
Professional Development ................................................................................................. 25
Coaching ............................................................................................................................ 27
Professional Development for English Language Learners .............................................. 31
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 33
Chapter Three: Methodology ......................................................................................................... 34
Participants ........................................................................................................................ 36
Site and Participants .......................................................................................................... 40
viii
Interviews and Limitations ................................................................................................ 40
Chapter Four: Findings .................................................................................................................. 43
Data Analysis: Teachers .................................................................................................... 45
Coaches .............................................................................................................................. 48
Interview With Director of Multilingual Department ....................................................... 51
History ............................................................................................................................... 52
Comparison of All Three Groups ...................................................................................... 56
Chapter Five: Discussion ............................................................................................................... 58
Findings ............................................................................................................................. 59
Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 62
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 64
References ..................................................................................................................................... 65
ix
List of Tables
Table 1: Teachers’ Characteristics 37
Table 2: Coaches 38
Table 3: Schools 39
x
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of CAP 20
Figure 2: CAP Cycle 61
1
Chapter One: Overview of the Study
The rising number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has created a
great need for teachers who are proficient and capable to teach students, in both bilingual
programs and English as a second language programs. It is important that teachers of ELLs have
the correct training since research has documented that effective teachers can increase student
learning (Franco-Fuenmayor et al., 2015) A potentially successful professional development
program is the Cyclical Approach Program (CAP) developed by the English language
development department in the San Bernardino Unified School District, a program designed to
help improve teachers’ methods in teaching ELLs using the GLAD strategies. The focus of this
dissertation was to understand how the CAP helped teachers deliver high-quality instruction to
ELLs via a cycle of observing, implementing, reflecting, and coaching.
Ingersoll et al. (2017) studied 1.3 million teachers and found that students in schools with
higher levels of instructional and teacher leadership performed higher in both mathematics and
English language arts on their state assessments. Therefore, schools in which faculty play a
significant role in school improvement planning ranked, on average, over 20 percentile points
higher than schools where faculty did not participate in planning (Ingersoll et al., 2017).
Continued teaching improvement requires teachers to participate regularly in professional
development (PD) activities. Teachers find PD can be a less than satisfactory way to improve
their teaching because not all PD is of the same quality and design. According to Hollins (2011),
an essential component of improved teacher performance and student learning is to have a clear
delineated process of the PD that will help teachers continually improve their teaching.
California schools face several critical issues including funding for education,
implementation of Common Core standards, and standardized testing. Regarding student
2
outcomes, the California Department of Education reports that the Smarter Balance ELA, and
mathematics test scores have improved slightly in recent years. In 2019 California statewide
results for all grades showed that 50.87% of students met or exceeded standards in ELA, and
39.73% of students met or exceeded standards in mathematics (California Department of
Education, 2019). There continues to be an achievement gap between white and Asian and other
students of color. State Superintendent Thurmond said in 2019 that
Disparities between students of color and their white and Asian peers continue from year
to year and demonstrate the importance of our priority initiative of closing the
achievement gap. Education equity should mean equity for all students and right now, we
are not there. (California Department of Education, 2019, para. 4)
To close the learning gap, teachers need to be prepared and trained to give the highest
quality instruction to all their students. Chatterji (2006) found a high connection between
students’ achievement on standards-based tests and better-qualified or certified teachers, pointing
to a strong need for PD of teachers and school leaders on the new subject area standards. School
context factors, such as varying levels of minority enrollment, poverty, or students’ prior
academic preparation, affect leadership behaviors, schooling practices, and organizational
culture. These factors, in turn, are potential correlates of academic outcomes in reading
(Chatterji, 2006). The CAP in the San Bernardino City Unified School District focuses on having
teachers teach English language development during language arts to improve ELLs’ reading,
writing, and speaking abilities. The school factors that make a difference are certified teachers
who deliver more reading content, yielding a positive outcome (Chatterji, 2006).
According to the Ed-Data Partnership (2020), there are 57 elementary schools in the San
Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD). In the 2019–2020 school year, the district
3
enrolled 52,773 students. The student population consisted of 44,259 Latinos, 7,289 Blacks or
African Americans, 3,131 Whites, 960 students of two or more races, 807 Asian Americans, 227
Pacific Islanders, 226 American Indian or Alaska Natives, and 210 Filipinos (Ed-Data
Partnership, 2020). The district’s population is primarily Latino, with their first language being
Spanish. However, there are also various other first languages among students, such as Tagalog,
Arabic, Cambodian, Samoan, and Vietnamese.
When students register for the first time at a public school in California, their parents
must fill out a home language survey. The survey has four questions about the family’s first
language:
• Which language did your child understand when they began to speak?
• Which language does your child most normally speak at home?
• Which language do the parents or guardians commonly use when speaking with your
child?
• Which language is most often spoken by adults in the home (parents, guardians,
grandparent, or any other adults)?
This survey is used to determine if the child speaks a language other than English at home. If so,
the school administers the initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California
(ELPAC) to determine whether the student should be identified as an English learner.
California public schools received $97.2 billion in funding from three sources in the
2018–2019 school year. Fifty-eight percent of those funds came from the state. Property taxes
and other local revenue sources provided 32% of revenues, and the federal government provided
approximately 9%. Of the 6.2 million public school K–12 students in California, almost nine of
10 attend one of the nearly 9,000 regular schools in 1,026 school districts, while the other 11 %
4
were enrolled in the approximately 1,228 charter schools, which are publicly funded schools
subject to fewer regulations. In all, 59.3% of California’s public-school students are
economically disadvantaged, qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, and about a quarter are
ELLs (Lafortune et al., 2020). A small portion of each school district’s funds is set aside for PD.
Districts determine what PD they expect their teachers to complete every year.
According to Sawchuk (2010), districts spend approximately $6,000 to $8,000 on PD per
teacher, which indicates that some districts might have less on PD in 2021. These amounts
include coaching, teacher collaboration, and substitutes’ salaries for releasing teachers from their
classrooms (Barrett & Pas, 2020). Horn and Goldstein (2018) found that the United States spends
$18 billion on PD for teachers every year, and the teachers generally do not get to choose the
programs.
It is important to involve teachers in their learning and select PD that will benefit their
teaching in the best way. Trivette et al. (2009) explained that the research review conducted by
Donovan et al. (1999) identified three key elements of learning: new materials and information
are more easily learned when it is related to existing learner knowledge. It is relevant to the
learner to master new material and information to apply the knowledge in the context of a
conceptual, procedural, or practical framework and ongoing monitoring of learning and self-
assessment of progress facilitates deeper understanding and continued application of new
knowledge or practice. These three key elements explain why it would be important to have
teachers’ input on the type of PD they receive yearly.
Teachers are challenged to deliver instruction to students using the materials they receive
at PD sessions. For example, teachers have difficulties connecting the materials they learned at a
PD and relating them to the Common Core standards they teach. Kennedy (2016) explained that
5
as a society, we expect teachers to treat all children equally yet respond to each child’s unique
needs, to be strict yet forgiving, and to be intellectually demanding yet leave no child behind.
“Teachers’ work is inherently multifaceted and driven by a wide variety of conflicting ideals,
any review of PD should attend to the particular ideas programs offer to teachers and the
particular aspect of practice they hope to improve” (Kennedy, 2016, p. 948).
The workplace culture is important in determining what is learned and how. Therefore
Webster-Wright (2009) explained that commitment with formal PD, discussions with colleagues,
and thinking about work constitute the social practice of a particular profession. Also, Webster-
Wright (2009) indicated the need for reframing the conceptualization of PD and focusing the
“development” to “learning” and from an “atomistic” perspective to a “holistic” approach. The
notion that professionals need training or development through knowledge delivered to them in
courses implies a transmission model of teaching and learning (Webster-Wright, 2009). The
focus of continuing professional learning that happens moment to moment in the classroom is in
part the process of the coaching style that the CAP has adaptive.
The goal is English language acquisition and academic achievement in English overall it
is important to consider that although some students are at different levels depending on when
they entered school it is essential that teachers are equipped to teach them with high-quality
instruction. In many schools, English as a second language, teachers provide direct instruction in
English language, to students and they have a traditional pull-out model which means that
students will get pulled out to practice a series of memorize and repetition language instruction.
Content instruction is evident that is more effective since it creates a relatable effort in the
students to learn because they can connect their personal life to the information that is being
taught (Babinski et al., 2017). The PD that teachers receive should increase their capacity to
6
connect with students from diverse backgrounds and prepare them to adapt lessons to help ELLs
(Aujla-Bhullar, 2011). The SBCUSD has a large population of first-generation immigrants, and
their language is not English. The CAP teaches teachers to engage parents in students’
homework in their first language. It also emphasizes having students continue learning their first
language to better understand the process of learning English. It is important to support teachers
who work most effectively with increasingly diverse students and the faculty who provide
curricula, PD, and resources for teachers to help them grow (Drago-Severson & Blum-
Destefano, 2017). An important role of PD is to lead to transformative change around inequities
and barriers in school systems (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). The teachers understand the
concepts involving all students’ needs, and PD emphasizes differentiating among students.
Coaching and collaboration ensure that teachers are knowledgeable about students’ needs and
how their PD can help each student.
High-level learning is less likely to occur if teachers cannot design their classrooms and
practices to effectively manage student behavior. To change students’ school and learning
experiences, leaders must find efficient and effective ways of intervening at the classroom level
to provide teachers with behavior management resources and strategies (Flynn et al., 2016).
Teachers must determine what they will be learning in PD and have it tailored to their needs
(Saclarides & Lubienski, 2018). In response, many U.S. school districts now encourage
instructional coaches to tailor PD to individual teacher needs as part of a coaching structure
resembling what Knight (2007) referred to as a choice partnership in which “teachers have a
great deal of choice in what and how they learn” (p. 25). The idea is that the teachers decide
what they want to work on with the coaches and improve their instruction (Saclarides &
Lubienski, 2018). The liberty to choose the PD helps set the tone and control of classroom
7
dynamics because the lessons will be designed to meet all students’ needs and will have the class
engage in what is taught, ensuring fewer behavioral issues.
Statement of the Problem
The SBCUSD faces many challenges: the students live in a high poverty area, 51.8% of
students speak a language other than English in their household, and the crime rate is one of the
highest in America. According to Lansner (2019), San Bernardino ranks third among the most
dangerous cities in the Unites States. The district has approximately 52,773 students enrolled,
and 44,259 students are Latinos (California School Dashboard, 2019). While the district does not
control these factors, teachers are responsible for the students’ education. The district offers 1-
day training sessions in math, reading, science, or history. These last only a day and do not have
follow-up days or coaches to follow up with the teachers to determine if the training was
implemented as intended. The district has two different programs for students, they have
mainstream program for students identified as ELLs, who are placed in fully immersive English
classes. The second program is dual immersion classes which students will learn both English
and Spanish equally by the time they finish elementary school. Teachers can attend the PD
trainings that the English language department offers to be successful in teaching in either of
these programs.
The effects of any PD program depend heavily on teachers’ “motivation to learn and to
change their practice, studies using mandatory assignments may not have much effect on
learning” (Kennedy, 2016, p. 948). The district requires that teachers take training and lets the
principals know which training teachers need to take throughout the year. The ELL department
developed a CAP for training the teachers to use the GLAD strategies embedded in the district’s
Language arts curriculum. The training is optional for teachers to further their knowledge of
8
teaching English language development to ELLs. This training targets ELLs in each grade level
and have them pass the ELPAC and get reclassified. The growing number of ELLs has created a
need for teachers to receive the appropriate training therefore there are three concepts that
identify teachers to have in their PD learning which are the following: knowledge about best
practices for ELLs, knowledge about first and second language acquisition and effective
organization and management of instruction (Franco-Fuenmayor et al., 2015).
Reclassification
The SBCUSD has 57 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, and 10 high schools. The
district’s mission specifies that students will be prepared and proficient in college, careers, civic,
and economic success by inspiring and engaging them in a system distinguished by high
expectations for students and staff performance (SBCUSD, 2021). Teachers are responsible for
preparing and teaching the students to accomplish the district’s mission. As of the 2019–2020
school year, 20.8% of the district’s students were ELLs (SBCUSD, 2019). The English language
department at San Bernardino changed its name to the multilingual program department. To
ensure all students are reclassified, they developed an initiative for multilingual students, which
is to work collaboratively with site leaders, teachers, and district departments to implement
instructional systems and PD to build stakeholders’ capacity to increase English learners’
academic progress. Therefore, part of the CAP is to use GLAD strategies to give the teachers
strategies to increase ELL achievement.
The multilingual department promised to provide every ELL with effective quality,
research-based instructional programs, and equitable educational experiences to empower them
to become well-prepared, contributing members of a global society (SBCUSD, 2020). Students
who are ELLs must take the ELPAC and score a Level 4 to be considered ready to be reclassified
9
out of the English language programs. In 2019, 35.1% of ELLs scored a 3 or higher. ELLs are
monitored using the following multiple measures:
• state language proficiency assessments (ELPAC)
• district-identified primary language assessments
• district benchmark assessments
• the English language development portfolio
Three parent/community committees are part of the district for ELLs. The first is the
District English Learner Advisory Committee, and the second is the English Learner Advisory
Committee. There is also a Latino Task Force whose primary focus is Latino student
achievement. The objectives of this task force are to:
(a) convene a committee comprised of community stakeholders, educators, and students
to develop a strategic plan focused on accelerating the achievement of non-ELL
Latino students; (b) conduct self-study inquiry practices, (c) develop frameworks for
effective practice for classroom instruction, students and parent engagement, and
innovative school and community practices derived from the self-study findings; and
(d) create a culture of collaboration among stakeholders to build collective purpose,
efficacy, and responsibility for the performance and well-being of Latino students
(SBCUSD, 2020).
English is the second language of 50.5% of the students, and Latinos constitute 63.3% of the
district’s students. Therefore, having parent involvement is also a part of the district plan to help
students. In the CAP training, teachers learn to include home and school connections in the
strategies so parents can help their students with their language. Parents must understand the
tests ELLs are required to take every year to qualify to be reclassified.
10
English Language Learners
English language learners receive support to learn English. Each student identified as an
English learner must be assessed annually with the summative ELPAC to know whether they are
progressing toward English proficiency. The ELPAC aligns with the 2012 English language
development standards, and classroom instruction reflects those standards in all content areas.
The ELPAC evaluates English proficiency in four domains: listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. For listening, students can listen to various scenarios, including presentations,
conversations, and stories, and answer questions about what they heard. For speaking, students
will speak one-on-one in English, responding to prompts that include illustration, science
experiment, giving their opinion on a story, or retelling a story. For reading, students can read
various materials and answer questions about what they read. For writing, students can write
about various topics for different purposes, including giving their opinion, describing a picture,
and writing about an experience or academic information. The opening ELPAC must be
administered within the first 30 days of the students’ enrollment in a public school in California.
The teacher receives the information, and the instruction is designed to help students learn
English.
The purpose of the summative ELPAC is to determine English learners’ progress and to
identify when they can be reclassified (SBCUSD, 2020). Reclassification occurs when ELPAC
scores show that the student no longer requires ELL services, which is sometimes called
“exiting” This should happen when the students are proficient in English and no longer need
language instruction. Once the student earns a score of 4 on the ELPAC, then they are referred to
be reclassified. In San Bernardino, they also use the teachers’ input and the scores the students
get on a district-wide assessment used by all elementary teachers. The assessment used is called
11
the STAR Reading Assessment, which is a comprehensive examination that tests the range of
students’ knowledge of reading and language in 46 reading skills areas spread across five
domains. Then, the skills acquired in the English language development program are beneficial.
English learners must receive daily English language development (ELD) instruction, consisting
of both integrated ELD and designated ELD. Integrated ELD is the teaching of language
development and literacy throughout the entire day and across all subject areas.
The focus is on accessing and learning content standards during integrated ELD and
making sure that the English language standards are being taught while the lesson is focusing on
the Common Core standards. Teachers are trained on how to incorporate the ELD standards in
their lessons to make sure that the ELLs are getting all the instruction that is needed during the
lessons. The ELD standards are used in tandem to meet the language demands of English
learners in all content area instructions. Designated ELD is the teaching of language
development during a protected time during the school day. The focus is on acquiring English
language proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking using the ELD standards at each
student’s instructional proficiency level. The SBCUSD’s ELD progression timeline guides
teachers and administrators in monitoring ELLs’ language development. The goal at SBCUSD is
to reclassify ELLs before or by their 6th year in a U.S. school. “SBCUSD schools have made
great strides in increasing the number of English learners who have been reclassified to fluent
English proficient” (SBCUSD, 2020, p. 4).
The SBCUSD uses a variety of forms to identify when a student is ready to be
reclassified. Students who meet the following criteria will be considered candidates for
reclassification:
• assessments of English language proficiency: receiving a Level 4 on the ELPAC
12
• Students score on assessment of basic skills: Must meet one of the below standards:
• Grade 1: percentile rank 25 or higher on STAR early literacy
• Grade 2–12: percentile rank 25 or higher on STAR reading
• ELA CAASPP/SBAC: Standard met, or standard exceeded
• Teacher evaluation of student: (a) Elementary: Meet grade-level standards in reading,
language arts, and mathematics (b) Middle and high school: Meet grade-level
standards in reading/language arts by receiving a C grade or better and achieve a 2.0
or higher qualifying GPA on the most recently posted grades.
• Parental opinion and consultation: Parents or guardians receive a notification of
reclassification letter specifying that their child has been reclassified.
The SBCUSD Assessment Committee annually reviews and revises the district-wide
assessment expectations for students at all levels. District and staff monitor and analyze student
data to ensure that ELLs are making expected progress and meeting district learning
expectations. English learners are monitored using state language proficiency assessments
(ELPAC), district-identified primary language assessments, and district benchmarks
assessments. The ELD portfolio is utilized to plan effective instruction and provide additional
support, intervention, and enrichment. The purpose of the ELD portfolio is to ensure all students
meet their standards based on their goals. The idea is that students will eventually be classified as
fluent and proficient in English.
The number of students being reclassified has increased significantly. The California
school dashboard provides English learner data for the district and the individual schools within
the district. In 2019, 42% of ELLs made progress toward English language proficiency. The
ELPAC has four levels: well, developed, moderately developed, somewhat developed, and
13
beginning stage. Level 4 is when students have well-developed English skills. Level 3 is when
students have developed moderate English skills. Level 2 is when students have developed
somewhat English skills. Level 1 is when students are at the beginning stage of developing
English skills. Within these four levels are sublevels: six English language proficient indicators
that determine whether ELLs made progress toward English language proficiency. The student’s
English language acquisition results for 2019 in SBCUSD are that 39.15% of ELLs progressed at
least one level; 2.8% maintained a level of 4; 35.6% of students-maintained levels 1, 2L, 2H, 3L,
and 3H; and 22.3% decreased at least one level. Okhremtchouk et al. (2018) stated in 2015, there
was an investigation of reclassification practices. California was one of the states that did allow
their districts to use unrestricted measures. The CAP was developed to ensure teachers prepare
students to be reclassified as they enter middle school.
Project GLAD
Project GLAD was developed in California in the 1980s and has been used as a fully
developed model since 1991 (https://ntcprojectglad.com). The Orange County Department of
Education Project GLAD Unit provides evidence-based practices that help design classrooms
and lessons where language comes alive through content. The model consists of 35 strategies
that teachers can use to help students develop academic English and learn grade-level academic
content at the same time. The strategies help teachers provide differentiated instruction in
classrooms that serve native speakers as well as ELLs at various levels of English proficiency
and they are designed to be incorporated with existing science or social science curricula. The
integration, of listening speaking, reading, and writing into all content areas emphasizes research
that language is acquired most successfully when the emphasis is on meaning.
14
The GLAD model was founded with a cultural proficiency principle; the model supports
lesson design for both integrated and designated ELD, utilizing language to develop standards to
guide instruction and to expand language proficiency, reclassification, access to grade-level
content and comprehension while constructing social skills. There is a 2-day research and theory
workshop and a 4- to 5-day classroom demonstration. The multilingual department at San
Bernardino used the methods of Project GLAD to offer voluntary training to elementary
teachers. Teachers were offered the opportunity to attend 1-day training where they watched
GLAD strategies implemented with a group of students. Following that, a coach who facilitates a
step-by-step description of what the trainer was doing with the students. In theory, the benefits of
such a structure that teachers get to have control of their learning which positions them as
competent professionals and likely increases their investment in working with the coach to
improve their instruction (Saclarides & Lubienski, 2018).
The GLAD program is supposed to help teachers ensure that their students meet the ELD
standards and meet the requirements to get reclassified. When a student is reclassified, they
advance to a master level of English, according to the English language standards, so they exit
ELD support classes. The SBCUSD multilingual department created the CAP program to have
teachers understand and integrate GLAD into their lesson plans with the goal that ELD would be
taught in an integrated and designated manner. The department offers this program to all
teachers, but there is limit on who can participate because of the commitment involved. The
program’s director explained that the teachers must work closely with the coaches to gain the full
benefits on the program’s purpose. There are only six coaches available the program is limited to
60 teachers. Each coach gets 10 teachers to work with and coach. The training cycle is 2 to 3
years. The CAP will ensure that toward the end of the 3rd year, the teachers become GLAD-
15
trained certified by attending the GLAD training. The end goal is to ensure that all ELLs students
receive the proper designated ELD time that they need and ensure they are reclassified within 6
years of being in the progression timeline for an ELL.
Cyclical Approach Program
Through the CAP, instructional coaches support teachers in their classrooms and reflect
on their progress while teaching. The CAP uses coaching and reflection to foster diverse ways to
improve teachers’ instruction. The teachers are accountable for providing high-quality
instruction, and the district administrators are accountable for the coaches delivering high-quality
coaching. The curriculum that the CAP uses is Mc Graw Hill Education for Language Arts,
combined with the strategies that Project GLAD implemented for ELLs.
The purpose of CAP is to teach teachers to incorporate strategies from the Project GLAD
in their daily lessons so that ELL students will be prepared to pass the ELPAC and master the
Common Core standards for their grade level to be reclassified. The teachers can enter this
program for 1 to 3 years. The teachers are paired with a coach who contacts them monthly, and
they receive monthly training. The training consists of teachers watching the coaches
demonstrate new strategies to a group of students and then a debriefing with the coaches. The
teachers return to their classrooms and implement the strategies they learned. The concept that
the teacher will be help in training and return to the classroom is a cycle that happens throughout
the year. In the 2nd year, they attend the 7-day GLAD training to be certified. This program
started in 2018. Few teachers can attend because of the number of coaches available to work
with them.
The CAP being implemented by the ELD department in SBCUSD is a combination of
coaching, collaboration and reflection when using the GLAD strategies from Project GLAD. A
16
group of coaches from the ELD department came up with a training program to align ELD
standards with the units in the district’s Language Art curriculum. At the time of this study, the
program had been in place for 3 years and was offered for all elementary schools in the district.
The first part of the program is a teacher training session where participants observe strategies
being used with a group of elementary students. As the teacher implements the strategies and has
the students work, a coach describes what the teacher is doing. The training focuses on four to
six strategies to help students learn the material. After observing the strategies implemented, the
second half of the day is devoted to a question-and-answer session between the participating
teachers, the coach, and the model teacher. Teachers also create materials to help them teach the
units withe strategies to implement for ELLs.
Following the training sessions, teachers are expected to teach the units to their own
students. An action review day is set up for the teachers’ implementation of the strategies with
the coach and to analyze the students’ work. Then, coaches set up appointments with the teachers
to model lessons for them in their own classrooms. This modeling is followed by another day of
reflection and coach observation. The coaches diagnose the lesson, students who are behind in
the progression chart in their ELD folders receive intervention, and the coach conducts an
informal evaluation of the teacher’s progress. The coaches might co-teach as the teacher
implements GLAD strategies. The goal for this PD is to have teachers trained to use GLAD
strategies when teaching ELD. It is required that elementary school teachers teach 45 minutes of
designated ELD. The strategies are used with the curriculum that was already reviewed with the
students. The students receive the information twice and have specific needs met.
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Funding for the CAP
The CAP is funded through the local control accountability plan and Title III funds. The
district developed a master plan that includes different components of supporting ELLs and
ensure that they attain English language proficiency and meet state academic standards. Federal
funding is provided through various grant programs to assist state education agencies and local
education agencies. Because of the pandemic, the district froze expenditures and might alter this
program’s delivery. Sawchuk (2010) explained that several researchers discovered school
districts rarely know how much they spend on such PD and on what spending buys in the way of
teacher or student learning. Therefore, no national data exist on how districts spend to support
teacher training partly because there is no national definition of the term PD. As a result,
activities financed as part of PD tend to be fragmented rather than supportive of learning goals
(Sawchuk, 2010). “For most big districts it’s not that they need more money for PD. Its capturing
what they spend and refocusing the whole PD system, Mr. Odden of the university of Wisconsin
contended” (Sawchuk, 2010, p.2). According to Odden et al. (2002) the cost of PD is embedded
in the six structural features of effective PD:
1. The form of the activity.
2. The duration of the activity.
3. The degree to which the activity emphasizes the collective participation of groups of
teachers.
4. The degree to which the activity has a content focus that is focused on improving and
deepening teachers’ content knowledge as well as how students learn that content.
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5. The extent to which the activity offers opportunities for active learning, such as
opportunities for teachers to become engaged in the meaningful analysis of teaching
and learning.
6. The degree to which the activity promotes coherence in teachers’ PD, by aligning PD
to other key parts of the education system such as student content and performance
standards. (pp. 54–55)
Each of the six features has implications that the CAP has and have the same purpose.
The master plan for English learners’ success was set up to cover all PD that was going to
take place and left room for the ELD department to adjust and adopt methods for conducting
trainings. The master plan states, “training will encompass a variety of on-site and off-site
support to schools in providing effective ELD instruction across the content areas” (SBCUSD,
2022, p. 64). Some training may require a trainer to model, while others may involve whole staff,
grade-level, department, or individual support. English learner program specialists and support
teachers will train general education (integrated ELD), designated ELD, and primary language
teachers, as well as administrators and support staff on implementing differentiated instruction
that provides access to grade-level curriculum for ELLs at varying English fluency levels. The
CAP is designed so teachers can use it as integrated ELD and designated ELD. Teachers target
the learning gaps that the ELLs have in their English language by checking for understanding in
both areas of English language.
Purpose of the Study
This study’s purpose was to analyze whether the CAP has the elements of a successful
PD program, and to examine participants perspectives of the CAP program’s quality. I
interviewed teachers, coaches, and the program director to compare their responses and
19
determine whether the purpose of the program is being accomplished. Two research questions
guided this study:
1. What features of the CAP coaching model do teachers perceive meeting their strategy
implementation needs?
2. What are the teacher perspectives on the CAP compared to other training they have
received in the district? What is their motive for attending the program?
Research from the areas of quality implementation, distributed leadership, and SBCUSD
coaching model were combined to produce the conceptual framework found in Figure 1. This
study will utilize this framework to see how SBCUSD implemented its CAP coaching model.
More specifically, it will use the quality implementation steps, as laid out by Meyers, Durlak,
and Wandersman (2012) and Meyers, Katz, et al. (2012), to obtain perceptions of how well
participants believe schools in SBCUSD implemented the CAP coaching model. Meyers, Katz,
et al. (2012) noted a framework, such as this, can help synthesize and translate complicated
issues that occur during implementation.
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Figure 1
Conceptual Framework of CAP
Mallory (2011) suggested that once the purpose of a project has been understood, it may
be helpful to use an existing framework to guide the project. This should include concrete
implementation steps. The overarching question, which frames this study, points toward the
conceptual framework of quality implementation. The conceptual framework was used in the
21
construction of the research questions and protocols, which informed how the data will be
collected. Selecting the quality implementation framework not only shaped the questions of this
study but also connected the research to the field of implementation science (Agee, 2009).
Meyers, Durlak, and Wandersman (2012) found that quality implementation is best achieved
through systematically thinking about the implementation process and that the framework can
assist those interested in incorporating more evidence-based innovations into everyday practice.
Because the purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of the CAP
coaching model the CAP coach is at the center of the conceptual framework. The CAP coach
position will be instructive, collaborative, and facilitative. The small bubbles coming off from
the CAP coach are embedded and represent the three positions the CAP coach will serve on their
team. The CAP coach construct includes being the leader of their CAP, the coach of their CAP,
as well as a part time classroom teacher. The teacher, students, and instructional assistants are
also embedded as they are directly impacted by the construct of the CAP coach. The goal, with
implementing the CAP coaching model, is to strengthen and accelerate the impact of ELL
teachers in SBCUSD.
Following the perimeter of the model, there is a continuous red line with arrows
connecting the phases of quality implementation. It starts and ends with quality in mind. This
conceptual framework can be viewed as a systematic, step-by-step, four-phase sequence
(Meyers, Katz, et al., 2012). Phase 1 includes initial considerations regarding the host setting. In
this phase assessment strategies, decisions about adaptation, and capacity-building strategies are
all considered. In Phase 2 creating a structure for implementation is decided upon. Phase 3
includes looking at the ongoing structure once implementation begins. Last, Phase 4 considers
what might be done to improve future practices. The conceptual framework can be seen as a
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strategic plan that would need to be followed in order to achieve fidelity (Meyers, Katz, et al.,
2012). Fidelity of implementation is key to ensuring that an intervention continues to deliver its
intended effects (Cutbush et al., 2017). While fidelity was not the purpose nor goal of this study,
it provides a useful lens for future application. The conceptual framework evolved as new
themes emerged.
Importance of the Study
The CAP was designed to develop stronger teachers with the help of coaches who guide
them through teaching in a cyclical manner of observation, implementation, reflection, and
coaching. Teachers help ELLs improve in reading and writing by giving the students high-
quality instruction based on the approaches that teachers learn in CAP. These approaches consist
of learning ELD strategies from Project GLAD, which are adapted into the language arts
curriculum and differentiated the lesson to strengthen the student’s ability to listen, speak, read,
and write effectively, according to the Common Core standards. The strategies consist of
pictorials, vocabulary, and graphic organizers. The training sessions take place in a classroom
with a group of students whom the teacher teaches well using every strategy. As the teacher is
teaching, the other teachers watch and take notes as the coach explains each strategy and the
reason for using it. The study provides information on the CAP’s elements that coincide with
traditional PD, based on the research. It also examined how teachers feel about this approach to
PD, whether it helps them provide instruction, and how the CAP’s methods could be used in
other content areas. The methods that the program uses to ensure that teachers are motivated to
continue learning and becoming experts in teaching ELD standards to ELL is important.
Cadiero-Kaplan and Rodríguez (2008) and Cervone (2010) discussed the importance of teaching
ELLs effectively; teachers should receive PD that provides them with the knowledge necessary
23
to successful work with students that are not in a dual immersion program or a bilingual
program. The CAP provides the training that will ensure the success of the teachers feeling
empowered to teach their ELLs they have in their classrooms. The following are the definition of
a variety of words that are used in this study that will have abbreviations.
Definitions
Curriculum: the subjects that the students are learning in a certain grade level.
Cyclical Approach Program (CAP): The PD training that the English language
department uses to train teachers to implement ELD strategies with ELLs. This approach uses a
series of strategies to train teachers with the expressed goal of improving instruction and
consequently helping students learn course content.
English language learner (ELL): students who are incapable to communicate fluently or
learn effectively in English, who often come from non-English-speaking homes and
backgrounds, and who normally require particular or modified instruction in academic courses as
well as the English Language.
Learning gap: learning gap is the disparity between what a student has learned and what
the student was projected to learn at a certain point in their grade level.
Professional development: Process of refining and increasing proficiencies of staff
through access to education and training opportunities in the workplace.
Project guided language acquisition design (GLAD): instructional model designed to
support the diverse populations of ELLs through strategies and content materials designed in
thematic units based on science and history content.
English language development (ELD): means training intended specifically for ELLs to
improve their listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities in English.
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Organization of the Study
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. Chapter One introduced the purpose of
the study, and the CAP. Chapter Two consists of the literature review and how CAP helps ELLs.
The key topics in the second chapter are PD, coaching, and the study of the CAP. Chapter Three
discusses the methodology, including the participants and data collection. Chapter Four presents
the analysis of the data and the results. Finally, Chapter Five provides research-based solutions
for the CAP and how it may be used in other content areas.
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Chapter Two: Literature Review
Professional development is intended to improve teacher knowledge and skills to
facilitate individual, school-wide, and district-wide advances to increase student achievement.
Traditional PD is lecture-based, workshop-based, or session-based, includes a variety of topics,
and is conducted throughout the school year. The idea that teachers receive knowledge to take
back to their classrooms to implement without a reflection or accountability aspect can be an
issue with PD that does not have a coaching component. It is important to provide PD to all
teachers however it is crucial that bilingual/ESL teachers be knowledgeable about effective
researched based instruction for ELLs. It is estimated that less than one-third of teacher have the
appropriate PD training particularly with teaching ELLs. School officials have suggested PD for
teachers is essential, so they understand cultural issues, how to access student progress and
develop instructional strategies for English learners (Babinski et al., 2017). This literature
review examines PD as a whole and the elements of a successful PD program. This chapter will
also highlight the concepts of coaching teachers to implement the strategies they learn and their
input on coaching as a fundamental concept of their PD program and how having a cyclical
approach to the programs are beneficial for the teachers.
Professional Development
Teachers receive PD to ensure they regularly include new methods and practices to give
their students the highest quality instruction. The idea that PD can foster improvements in
teaching is widely accepted; PD is required by virtually every school district, and teacher
participation in PD every year is mandatory (Kennedy, 2016). However, the teachers frequently
do not have input on what PD they attend. Kennedy (2016) explained that despite wide
agreement about the importance of PD, there is little agreement about how it works or how it
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fosters teachers’ learning and alters their practices. Formal PD represents a separation of the
range of experiences, which are the idea that educators understand the concepts taught versus
just reproducing the strategies that the presenters would like the teachers to implement (Darling-
Hammond et al., 2009). Traditional PD can often be seen as educational policies that reflect
neoliberal values and emphasize students’ achievement which consequently position teachers in
who get blamed when students do not show adequate growth (Smith, 2017). Normally traditional
PD is criticized because the information rarely makes its way into classrooms to transform
teachers’ pedagogical practices (Bair, 2014). Giles (2018) explains teachers’ beliefs and
identities shape their agency and it is also researched that sociocultural influences play an
important role in their actions on improving classroom practices.
When educators understand the reasons for teaching a certain concept, they will be more
inclined to use the methods they learned. Schumacher et al. (2013) stated that self-determination
theory suggests that individual’s natural motivation to learn is driven by fulfilling three innate
psychological needs: a sense of relatedness, a sense of autonomy, and a sense of competence.
Therefore, if the teachers can relate and see the effectiveness in a theory, strategy or method
presented in a PD, they will be more inclined to follow through with it in their classrooms.
Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) identified seven features of effective PD: content focused,
incorporates active learning, supports collaboration, model effective practice, provides coaching
and expert support, offers feedback and reflection, and has a sustained duration.
Educators who engage in effective PD work to understand how a school or district can
improve learning for all children, using data as well as their own skills, knowledge, and
experiences (Easton, 2008). Additionally, Easton (2008) stated that for educators to develop real
change in their practices, they must become learners and must be self-developing. The oldest
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method of professional development is prescription, which means that the PD providers present
the teachers the exact thing they should do and how they should do it (Kennedy, 2016).
However, the method that Kennedy describes as prescription has generally been unsuccessful
because it only addresses one aspect of learning that adults inherently use when being taught a
new concept. The challenge that teachers face is not whether to implement the concepts taught
but how to do so in a set period when disruptions occur daily. Also, Kuusisaari’s (2013) research
on PD suggests that coaching and collaboration components are essential to its success.
Coaching
Instructional coaches provide ongoing training and mentoring, which the PD literature
shows is necessary to improve their instructional practice. In turn, this means the instructional
coaches spend the bulk of their time with teachers, modeling lessons, giving feedback to
teachers, working with teacher collaborative teams, and helping to improve the instructional
program (Cornett & Knight, 2009). Guided and supported by experienced coaches, teachers are
more likely to have regular professional growth (Ben-Peretz & Feiman-Nemser, 2017).
Therefore, coaching needs to have teachers implement the strategies they learn, teachers’ input
on coaching is valuable, and professional growth is evident based on students’ growth.
Coaching provides teachers with an opportunity to watch, reflect, suggest ideas, and
share how to solve classroom issues with their coaches and peers (Zwart et al., 2007). In a typical
coaching model, coaches and teachers participate in a sequence of demonstrations, observations,
and reflections; as this happens, the teachers acquire an interest in, and comprehend, the benefits
of reflection in their practice (Stover et al., 2011). Teachers become invested in their own
learning and request ongoing support from their coaches. An effective way to mentor a novice
teacher is to have more experienced teachers guide them in their teaching and support their
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constant professional growth (Ben-Peretz & Feiman-Nemser, 2017). A major appeal of coaching
is the opportunity to tailor information and guidance to a teacher’s knowledge, skills, and
specific classroom circumstances (Powell & Diamond, 2013). Among the essential components
of coaching are promoting teachers’ use of evidence-based practices, including a classroom’s
physical organization and materials, providing feedback on teachers’ attempts to implement new
practices, and maintaining a strong relationship between the coach and teacher. For coaching to
succeed, the teacher must view the coach as helpful, knowledgeable, and supportive (Powell &
Diamond, 2013).
One-size-fits-all PD does not consider the individual learning styles of adult learners, and
teachers must be able to understand the pedagogy and implement their prior knowledge and
content knowledge in the classroom to have results (Stover et al., 2011). Successful coaching is
thus differentiated and provides individualized support to teachers to improve their skills in areas
where they need the most help. Several school designs propose that while one instructional coach
might be enough for the 1st year of implementation of a school-wide coaching program, in the
following years, an additional 0.5 to 1.0 FTE coach is needed (Odden & Picus, 2011). Fiscal
limits often lead to as few as one coach in a school, while other research-based assessments of
successful coaching argue for more coaches. One school finance adequacy model suggests one
coach for every 200 students (Odden & Picus, 2011). Sailors and Price (2010) found that PD
combined with coaching increases aspects of improvements in practices and student
achievement. A 2010 evaluation of a Florida program that provided reading coaches for middle
schools found that teachers who had a coach implemented more instructional methods linked to
improved student performance in reading (Rockoff & Lockwood, 2010).
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Another study on instructional coaching conducted at the University of Kansas Center for
Research on Learning resulted in a three-element coaching cycle. Knight (2019) described the
cycle involves identifying, learning, and improving. When identifying the three stages first the
coaches’ help the teachers identify a goal; prepare the teacher to reach the goal by describing the
strategy to be implemented; and lastly the coach supports the teacher in adjusting the goal
(Knight, 2019).
This approach underlies the CAP that is part of the ELD department in SBCUSD. Killion
(2017) stated that using common theories of action about how teachers learn and about teacher
motivation in professional learning program design and research can improve the results of
professional learning and provide more useful information. For example, it gives coaches the
ability to understand how teachers learn and what methods are best to guide them through a
reflection of their implementation in their classrooms. The professional learning program design
and research that Killion (2017) suggested is also a method to ensure that students receive the
highest quality of teaching. Multiyear coaching programs have a greater effect on improving
teacher performance than those that only last a single year. Killion (2017) stated that measuring
enactment of instructional techniques and student achievement over time provides evidence that
teacher learning is incremental and occurs over time, coinciding with the CAP because it also is
a process completed over 3 years. Teachers are guided and observed through the cycle of
observing, implementing, reflecting, and coaching to meet the goal of students reclassifying and
leaving the ELD program.
In the 21st century, one of the most widely used synchronous collaborative technologies
involves two or more people speaking remotely to each other in real-time. Collaboration may be
asynchronous, where an interactive activity is separated by long periods, to synchronous, where
30
an interactive activity is simultaneous. Synchronous collaborative systems are not as common as
asynchronous systems. Digital practices are portable, so teachers can easily share resources with
colleagues at the same school or around the world. It allows teachers to learn new digital tools to
integrate new teaching activities and to share responsibilities for creating online resources.
Teachers recognize the need to collaborate across borders and boundaries to share what works
and what does not (Honigsfeld & Nordmeyer, 2020). Collaboration between teachers has several
benefits that enable them to gear their lessons to meet the needs for all the students in their
classroom. Research shows that working together facilitates the learning of new skills to engage
students and use the training (Silva et al., 2017). Ideas or concepts are presented by peers who
help implement the idea or concept in the classroom. Teachers work collaboratively to reflect on
their practices, examine evidence about the relationship between practice and student outcomes,
and make changes in their practice with the goal of improving their teaching (McLaughlin &
Talbert, 2006).
Face-to-face collaboration is most productive for working together, although
collaborative teams often use other methods to keep in touch between meetings. These
alternatives to direct collaboration include frequent check-ins with each team member through
email, conference calls, web-based conferencing tools, cloud-based documents, webinars, and
social media (Vasudeva & Slamp, 2016). When there is PD, the presenter is also a peer and
focuses on a specific problem. Their fellow teachers receiving the PD can focus and have a clear
understanding of the objective of the PD. Fishman and Davis’s (2006) study of teacher learning
concluded that teacher learning is social and distributed. Teachers need to be brought together to
learn from each other.
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There is a newfound clarity regarding objectives with lessons, and teachers get to reflect
on the relationship to practice (Plauborg, 2009). Collaboration allows teachers to reflect on
lessons they have delivered and analyze the pros and cons with fellow teachers presenting the
same lessons. DuFour (2004) took PD as a distinct and separate entity or area of focus that
should be approached as organizational management strategy. This approach changes the
conceptualization of PD and encourages teacher collaboration using dialogue, reflection, and
observation as expected daily routine and regular behavior with their peers (Graham, 2007). A
challenge that districts have is how to keep teachers accountable for the PD training they receive.
Accountability must be reciprocal. Per Elmore (2000), “For every increment of performance, I
demand from you, I have an equal responsibility to provide you with the capacity to meet that
expectation” (p. 21). The administration must keep the teachers accountable as the teachers are
expected to keep students accountable. Teachers must take responsibility of their own learning
and become self-regulated; this will help them set goals like they do with their own students
(Muijs et al., 2014).
Professional Development for English Language Learners
There are different models for PD; however, when it is specialized for teachers who teach
English as a second language the PD has been set up in a manner that is broken up in parts. He et
al. (2011) explained how the study on moving beyond just good teaching was designed and
developed as a 1-year ESL PD series at a local school district to prepare both ESL and regular
classroom teachers for working with the growing number of ESL students.
Teachers from the study expressed that the amount of information was not separated into
smaller pieces and there was too much information. Other teachers expressed how they learned
how to use the strategies and were able to collaborate with other teachers and learn what they
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were doing in their classrooms. Babinski et al. (2017) conducted an initial investigation of a
purposeful development intervention program called developing collaboration and consultation
skills. The PD program was designed to address the implementation gap and support classroom
teachers’ collaboration. The PD program included a 5-day summer institute and four additional
content modules. In addition, on-site instructional coaching was available approximately every
6- weeks from a member of the research team. This program is like the CAP program in the way
it is setup however the CAP program has monthly meetings with the cohort that is going through
the program and each teacher can receive support from a specialized coach weekly. “There are
three aspects of teacher PD programs; change is gradual; it is a process; and it can be
challenging. The process is likely more cyclical than strictly linear and occurs with incremental
changes in teachers’ efficacy” (Guskey, 2002). Teachers that collaborated with other ESL
teachers stated that they were better prepared for their students and were able to see more
benefits. Collaboration was a key part of the study that help strengthen the teachers’ abilities to
implement the strategies to the students. He et al. (2011) proposes that to enhance teachers
understanding of language and cultural domains, when teaching teachers, they must be equipped
with skills to effectively integrate knowledge into their daily interactions with ESL students.
Having a set of expectation that needs to be in place is part of having a PD that can be
successful.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the literature describes how PD serves teachers depending on if they are
collaborating or have a coach or simply attend a PD and implement the strategies that are being
taught during the PD. One similar part of all the types of PD is that teachers work together to
understand the material presented to them. An effective PD is where teachers can access the
information given to them during PD later. Killion (2017) explained that teachers are less likely
to implement PD that is not focused on curriculum content. In turn, the rate of students’
achievement was low, as these types of programs reduce the teachers’ motivation to learn.
However, students’ achievement is higher when their teachers have a program with observing,
coaching, and implementation. The teachers showed more interest in applying the program in the
classroom. Killion also explains that working with teachers, direct experience in the classroom,
and expertise with the content and teacher learning had incremental growth among teachers and
students.
The CAP has all the components of an effective PD. It includes coaching, collaboration,
and workshops. The teachers get critical feedback on how they are presenting the lessons taught
during the training. The CAP is geared for teachers to help ELLs using the GLAD strategies, and
its framework is a way to frame other professional training in which the district invests to train
teachers. Teachers would have the support needed after attending training and the ability to
access resources to incorporate into their lesson plans.
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Chapter Three: Methodology
This chapter includes a discussion of the methodology used to conduct this study and is
organized into sections describing the sample and population. Two questions guided this study:
1. What features of the CAP coaching model do teachers perceive meeting their strategy
implementation needs?
2. What are the teacher perspectives on the CAP compared to other training they have
received in the district? What is their motive for attending the program?
This section explains the design of the research and the rationale for utilizing a qualitative
approach that involves interview and document review. Creswell and Creswell (2018) stated that
qualitative research study consists of the researcher gathering multiple forms of data, such as
interviews, documents, and audiovisual information, rather than relying on a single data source. I
used interviews to collect data and gain insight into how participants perceived the quality and
usefulness of the training and the decisions they subsequently made to implement the program’s
methods to improve their teaching and potentially how it improves student learning. Also, the
data helped understand the participants’ motivation to attend the program and why they dedicate
time and the energy to implement it. Teachers who participate in the CAP receive coaching
throughout the program.
It is important to understand the perspective of the coaches in this study as well because
they play an important part in this whole study. Coaches set the tone of the learning with the
teachers and must build a trusted relationship with the teachers. Coaching was defined to have
the following elements: a relationship between the coach and learner, deliberate practice,
purposeful practice, purposeful learning, feedback, iteration, and reflective practice. Studies find
that coaches can help teachers become more specialists in understanding data, understand student
35
thinking, and designing instructional responses when they are being coached and having time to
reflect (Marsh & Farrell, 2014). The coaches can give us the view on what they needed to work
with a teacher and develop the trust to have a successful year of observation, coaching and
reflecting with the teachers. It is also important to understand the purpose to interviewing the
director of the program because they were the ones to develop the program and put it in place
with the group of coaches. The director was the one that set up the plan of CAP and used a
model school as a pilot before offering it to the whole district.
The qualitative method to answer the research questions consisted of interviews. Maxwell
(2013) argued that in using qualitative methods, the researcher should include informal data-
gathering strategies, examples, incidental observations, and conversation. “This is particularly
important in an interview study, where such information can provide important contextual
information, a different perspective from the interviews, and a check on the interview data”
(Maxwell, 2013, p. 88).
I interviewed 10 individuals: six teachers, three coaches, and the program director. The
purpose of this study was to analyze whether the CAP has the elements of a successful PD
program. The data provided the information on how program helps teachers implement CAP for
the ELL students. Participant selection was purposeful selection. Per Maxwell (2013), “In this
strategy particular settings, persons or activities are selected deliberately to provide information
that is particularly relevant to your questions and goals, and that can’t be gotten as well from
other choices” (p. 97). The importance of purposeful selection in this study is important because
the individuals are a part of the program which will help in the development of an understanding
of teacher perceptions of whether the program helps them become stronger teachers to help ELD
students get reclassified. The coaches provided insight to help the teachers reflect on their
36
lessons and how they keep the teachers motivated. The program director offered information on
the program’s objectives and how the district sees this program expanding. This study
emphasized the implications of school officials addressing the needs of ELLs and the effect of
the CAP on how teachers approach their instruction.
Participants
As part of the study, six teachers were interviewed. These teachers participated in the
CAP for a full year before COVID-19 forced the program to be paused. Interviews were
conducted with three clusters of two teachers and a coach, for a total of 10 interviews. The three
clusters of teachers are from three different elementary schools that have the same demographics.
The demographics that I looked at were the following: the number of students, the number of EL
Learners and social economic status of the school. Each coach has a group of teachers that they
work with at each of these schools. The coaches were selected based on the teachers that had
volunteered to participate because the coaches were the teachers’ coach. The idea was that these
coaches would give their perspective and it could be compared to what the teachers said their
opinion was about the program and if the elements connected.
The director of the CAP gave me access to the list of teachers who participated in the
program. Teachers were purposefully selected by emailing the teachers that participated from the
three different schools that I choose. I emailed 30 teachers to request interviews with them. I
received 10 responses from individuals who indicated interest. To keep the clusters of two
teachers per coach at three different schools, I chose six teachers from three different schools. I
then scheduled the interviews for Zoom meetings with each. All teachers understood that their
privacy would be protected using pseudonyms assigned to them and their schools.
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Participant Characteristics
Table 1 describes the characteristics of the teacher interviewees. All were Hispanic
females, fluent in Spanish and English, who had been teaching in the district for over 10 years.
There were no male teachers interviewed. There was a span of upper grade and primary grade
teachers in each cluster to provide a more in-depth view on how the grade taught affects views
on the program. Another requirement was that all the teachers interviewed had completed a year
of the CAP, and that was met.
The main goal in selecting coaches was to interview the coaches of the teachers
interviewed. The order of the teachers in Table 1 is set in pairs, so for example Coach 1 is
Teacher 1’s and Teacher 2’s coach for the program. Coach 2 is the coach for Teacher 3 and
Teacher 4. Coach 3 is the coach for Teacher 4 and Teacher 6. I purposely set up the table in this
manner. Table 2 presents the characteristics of each coach interviewed. When I sent out the
emails of teachers who had participated in the program, I emailed teachers from three specific
schools. These school demographics were similar.
Table 1
Teachers’ Characteristics
Teacher Grade Teaching experience BCLAD
1 5/6 11 years Yes
2 3 12 years Yes
3 1 15 years Yes
4 4 11 years Yes
5 K 10 years Yes
6 4 20 years Yes
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Table 2
Coaches
Coaches Coaching experience Fluent BCLAD GLAD certified
1 5 years Spanish/English Yes yes
2 6 years Spanish/English Yes yes
3 4 years Spanish/English Yes no
Teachers
Six teachers were interviewed: three sets of two teachers from three different schools. For
each pair of teachers, the coach who worked with them for their last year in the CAP was also
interviewed. This was an important part of the study to be able to connect related themes that
came up in the interview with the teachers and coaches. Findings related to the following
research questions:
1. What features of the CAP coaching model do teachers perceive meeting their strategy
implementation needs?
2. What are the teacher perspectives on the CAP compared to other training they have
received in the district? What is their motive for attending the program?
Teachers, coaches, and the program director were interviewed for this study, in total I
interviewed 10 individuals. The teachers were interviewed separately. I interviewed six teachers
from three different schools and three coaches. The focus was to conduct the interviews with
teachers who attended a full year of training. The coaches were asked to explain the process to
each teacher and how they guided the teachers in reflection when discussing the lessons, they
observed or co-taught. The program director offered information on the program’s development
39
and goals. The director also provided insight on how to scale this program in all content areas
and across the district.
Creswell and Creswell (2018) explained that open-ended interview questions allow
participants to share their ideas freely, meaning they would be inclined to speak unreservedly
about their feelings on the questions’ topics. Table 3 presents the schools’ demographics.
Table 3
Schools
School Student population ELD population Grades
1 600 27% K–6
2 590 29% K–6
3 550 24% K–6
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Site and Participants
There are approximately 1,700 elementary teachers in the SBCUSD. Participation in the
CAP is limited by the number of coaches the district can devote to the program. The district does
not have enough coaches to support all teachers in all schools; therefore, the program has
assigned a certain number of teachers per coach. I interviewed 10 individuals: six teachers, three
coaches, and the program director. Since the CAP has few participants, purposeful selection was
important, so I looked at three schools. This study consisted of interviews with six teachers and
three coaches at three different schools. The program director was also interviewed to understand
her views and expectations when first implementing the program. The three sample schools have
student populations of between 500 and 700 and classes with 24 to 28 students. Creswell and
Creswell (2018) stated that identifying the purposefully selected sites and individuals for a study
will best help the researcher understand the research questions.
Interviews and Limitations
The goal was to have purposefully selected sites and individuals for this study; the
intention was to have the program director recommend the teachers for interviews. Having the
program director recommend the teachers may have been a limitation because the research could
have been altered because of the power dynamics presented in this situation. The power
dynamics could have changed some teachers’ ideas and responses during the interviews. The
coaches I interviewed were based on the teachers that I interviewed since they were their coach.
However, I used the observations of the interviews to determine if there was an alteration to the
idea that there was a power in the dynamic presented from each interviewee and to fill gaps in
the data. Another limitation is not interviewing more teachers and coaches in the study, because
of time and teachers and coaches respond to volunteer it was limited to a certain amount that was
41
used in the study. Including more interviews in a study will give an opportunity of having more
viewpoints in the questions that were asked during the interviewed. The last limitation was not
including students’ opinion on the delivery of instruction that they received from the teachers
how they felt and what they think they learned in the process of their teachers having access to
coaching for ELD. I submitted the proposal for institutional review board (IRB) approval before
reaching out and scheduling interviews with teachers and coaches.
The interviews I conducted for my study were via Zoom because the university did not
allow in-person interviews due to COVID-19 restrictions for all community/field research. A
limitation in conducting Zoom interviews was the challenge to read and observe an individual
because they were online. There was also the limitation of technology malfunction that could
happen during the interviews. However, the benefit of having the interviews online was the
ability to make it easier for the interviewee to feel comfortable being in front of the interviewer.
Zoom was helpful because scheduling interviews was effortless and limited the teachers’
and coaches’ travel time. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) stated that another strength is that many
computer-mediated communication venues allow video recordings, which can be helpful if one
wants to explore or review nonverbal cues later. The interviews were semi-structured. The open-
ended questions allowed for honest answers on what interviewees experienced in the program.
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) stated that ensuring validity and reliability in qualitative research
involves conducting the investigation ethically. As an employee of the school district, I
understood that there were some limitations on the information the teachers could provide.
However, the research is valid. I did not know the interviewees. I reassured them that their
names would not be shared and that I would not disclose any information to their evaluators. I
42
am also a teacher, and the power dynamics were not an issue because I am not an administrator
or evaluator.
The initial step in research was to obtain approval from the IRB at the University of
Southern California. The first part was the following the IRB review consisted of completing
human subjects research training and submitting an ISTAR application. Then the board signed
off on the ISTAR application and IRB staff conducted a cursory review. Finally, I received a
determination and approval letter. I took this approval to the school district and received
approval to interview the teachers, coaches, and program director.
In conclusion, the research methods for this study helped me understand and answer the
research questions. Understanding how the coaches and teachers work together helps to
determine if the program implements observation, reflection, and implementation as part of a
successful PD program. Teachers also gave their perspectives on the program and compared it to
the other PD they have attended in the district.
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Chapter Four: Findings
The focus of this qualitative research was to understand how the CAP helped teachers
deliver high-quality instruction to ELLs through observation, implementation, reflection, and
coaching. Certain PD programs can be inadequate for teaching teachers how to increase their
instructional capacity because not all programs are crafted in the same manner and can lack the
resources to deliver information clearly. Therefore, it is important to consider the process that
these teachers took on when committing to the CAP. The interviews were conducted with
teachers, coaches, and the CAP program director. Through examining the interview data, five
key themes emerged:
• Communication: Teachers felt that the ability to ask questions and get responses was
done effectively and clearly.
• Materials: The materials were accessible, but the variety was limited for upper Grades
4–6.
• Improvement cycle for student learning: The ability to see the strategies being done
with students was genuine and refreshing. It builds their confidence to attempt to try
the strategies in their own classrooms.
• Inadequate planning time: There is not enough time to plan and adjust the lessons to
fit the needs of all the other requirements for teaching all the subjects in elementary.
• Flexibility: The ability to adjust the strategies and techniques is not recommended by
the CAP developers; however, all teachers interviewed have adjusted to better serve
their students.
The data was triangulated between the interviews that I conducted from the coaches,
teachers, and the director therefore, internal validity was evident (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
44
Creswell and Creswell (2018) argued, “Triangulate different data sources of information by
examining evidence from the sources and using it to build a coherent justification for themes. If
themes are established, then this process can be claimed as adding to validity” (p. 201). The
themes that emerged from analysis are discussed in the analysis section. This chapter presents
the findings obtained from interviews of 10 individuals. This chapter discusses the interviews
with the teachers, coaches, and director. The themes that came up with the coaches and teachers
had similarities and differences. Some of the themes were concepts like trust accountability and
communication. The director and coaches had a common theme of accountability.
he themes in the interview data were communication/relationship, materials, process of
the cycle, planning, and flexibility. After each interview, I transcribed the notes and filled in any
gaps in the notes for accuracy. Once all the interviews were done, I coded all the transcribed
notes to look for the connecting themes that related to the research question. The 2019–2020 and
2020–2021 academic years were affected by the global pandemic. The schools going virtual
affected the CAP and even though the teachers attempted to continue applying what they
learned, some teachers stated that it was difficult. The trainings did stop during this time, but the
support of the coaches continued, and they were available to help the teachers. The teachers
stated that they felt uneasy because of virtual schooling, but the fact that the three coaches were
willing to help and give them ideas on what do to and how to adapt the lessons made them feel
better and more confident. Two teachers said that they stopped using the strategies because they
felt overwhelmed with the number of tasks their administrators expected them to compete.
“Teacher 1 exclaimed it was near to impossible to engage students in regular academic content
let alone trying to get them to do a ELD strategy!” “Teacher 5 stated that making the strategies
technology friendly was easy it was trying to get the students to engage and participate was
45
stressful” These teachers were expected to have students fully engaged and show proof of what
the students were doing they quickly realized it was way more challenging since they had to
focus on all the other contents and making everything technology friendly was time consuming.
Data Analysis: Teachers
After conducting all the interviews, the interview data were coded and analyzed to find
common themes. The director provided a perspective on what teachers learn from the training
and how it relates to the classroom. The interview data were coded and analyzed which to
determine themes among all interviews. I wrote out the different themes that came up with the
teachers, coaches, and director. There was a pattern that was evident. The common themes arise
in the notes that I took along with quotes that teachers had mentions in the interview.
Communication and Relationships
The first theme that emerged from the interviews related to communication and
relationships with the coaches. All six teachers emphasized that for them to continue the
voluntary program, they needed to feel comfortable and at ease when they attended or spoke to
their coaches. This concept was highly important since all the teachers expressed it more than
once. “Being able to text and get clarification was a relief since many people do not look at
emails” (Teacher 1). Building the relationship with the coaches was important to developing the
trust that they needed to continue the program and feel comfortable. The CAP was volunteer-
based, and the teachers needed to feel comfortable with the coaches and have built the
relationship they with the coaches to continue the program. Teacher 5 expressed the comfort they
felt when the coach gave everyone her phone number “it was a relief that I was not going to have
to log into my computer to check if the email I sent out was answered I do not have my email on
my phone because I like to separate work from homelife” Swift and Kelly (2010) stated that an
46
adult learner is motivated by their immediate needs and interests. This is an important concept
because teachers needed to know that their needs would be validated.
Materials/Supplies
The program consists of developing many instructional materials, including anchor
charts, poems, and construct pictures for the different strategies used in each curriculum unit.
Materials like markers, chart paper, sentence strips, post-it and computer paper are hard to come
by at the different schools because of budget differences. Teacher 6 exclaimed “I told all my
teacher friends that they need to sign up for this training because we get useful things to take
back to the classroom.” Having these can be a luxury, and some teachers are not willing to
purchase items out of their own pocket. “The excitement I felt when they said we can take the
chart paper and markers! I was like man I am coming back to this training. You know these
things are expensive” (Teacher 2). All teachers clarified that receiving journals and markers at
the training sessions was important and made them feel validated.
Improvement Cycle for Student Learning
Teachers are required to teach integrated and designated ELD. All the teachers expressed
that teaching small groups for designated ELD was difficult and time consuming because they
need to teacher all the other content areas. Teacher 3 explained that the training was geared to
teach teachers how to use GLAD strategies to teach integrated and designated ELD proficiently.
During the program, teachers are placed in a classroom with students and a teacher. The teacher
teaches a lesson with the GLAD strategies, pulls the students into a small group, and teaches the
designated ELD” Teacher 2 expressed “the ability to see the strategies being done with students
was genuine and refreshing.” Teachers stated that watching students engage and ask questions
gave them knowledge about what to expect in their classrooms. Knowing what questions the
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students might ask, gave the teachers a deeper level of confidence in trying the strategies. The
coaches gave the teachers positive feedback on what they observe and offer suggestions on how
to capture certain students’ attention or engage them better with the different strategies. The
ability to have someone that is nonevaluative gives the teachers a sense of reassurance in their
abilities as a professional.
Planning Time
According to the teachers that were interviewed the amount of planning needed to use the
CAP strategies is about 6 hours weekly. The teachers expressed that there is not enough time to
plan to use all the strategies daily with the curriculum that the district requires them to use. All
teachers said that they use the strategies while they do designate ELD. However, during
integrated ELD, they tend to alter the strategies because it is whole group, meaning the students
are at different levels. Differentiating that material means they need more planning time.
Elementary teachers only have 95 minutes of planning weekly, but it is normally broken up into
2 days. On one day, they have 50 minutes, and on the other, they have 45 minutes. All the
teachers stated this is not enough time to plan for ELD and that they need more planning time.
The teachers also stated that the coaches could make many of the materials but planning still
takes time.
Flexibility
Only three of the teachers stated that they felt that they could alter the strategies to fit
students’ needs. The other seven of the teachers said that they feared that once the coaches came
in and observed them teaching a lesson in a different manner or using a certain method, they
would get in trouble. The teachers who stated that they felt like it was acceptable to alter the
strategies or not teach them exactly as they were taught had more teaching experience than the
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other teachers. Teachers who felt they could not alter the strategies or stray away from the
routines had more ELD students in their classrooms. Teacher number 2 expressed how she knew
that she was in a different type of training when she had the flexibility to adjust the lessons based
on what her students needed and explained that other PD that she has received never held her
accountable for the strategies that she was supposed to teach the students when she returned to
the classroom.” Teacher 2 expressed “Teachers are like students they need the accountability
part in their own professional learning in order to actually do what they need to do.” Those
teachers expressed they felt pressured to have all students reclassified by the end of the school
year, which was difficult to because some students were not able to get reclassified.
Having a cyclical approach to the program has help the teachers by making sure that they
have the time, flexibility, communication, and materials they need in other to implement the
strategies that are embedded in the program. The teachers expressed how they received all the
help that they needed in the program. They express how they had not attended a training that
offered the help inside the classroom as the CAP did when they were done.
Coaches
The department has six coaches, and I interviewed three of them. I chose the coaches
based on the teacher interviewees. The coaches oversee PD in the CAP program and are
responsible for supporting the teachers, showing them how to implement strategies, and help
them reflect on how they are teaching ELD. The coaches have been working as coaches from 5
to 8 years and have over 10 years of experience in the classroom. There were common themes in
their interview data: trust, communication, feedback, and accountability.
• Trust: For the coaching to work, the teachers must trust the coaches and the work they
are showing them.
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• Communication: It is important to have a clear idea of what is needed and how they
can help the teachers achieve their goals.
• Feedback: It must be stated in a manner that is positive but constructive to build the
capacity of the teachers.
• Accountability: Teachers look for a certain level of accountability when they are
implementing the strategies and want to get feedback.
These are the themes that emerged from the interviews from the coaches. The following
will give further detail on how each of the coaches emphasized on the topics.
Trust
Building trust with the teachers was an important quality that each coach mentioned in.
The coaches all stated that it is essential to have teachers communicate their concerns and
questions, and the only way that could happen is if the teachers trust the coaches. As Ray (2017)
stated “Coaching also develops alignments between organizational values and personal one,
thereby developing trust in each coaching relationship.” (p.31). Coach 3 explained that once
trust is established, then they can see the change that will happen with the teacher and students.
Teachers will commit to fully implementing the strategies, and students’ growth is evident
through the work samples they produce. Trusting the coaches is important to make sure the
teachers can confide in them on what they feel they need help with and their weakness in
teaching. Ensuring that the teachers trust the coaches and the program is central to fruitful
participation and ensuring the teachers’ commitment to the program.
Communication
The program emphasizes three main strategies to keep the training simple and focus on
the end goal which is getting students to write and read using the content material. They are
50
focused on vocabulary and building students’ writing capacity. This is derived with the intention
that it will prepare the students once they take the ELPAC if the teachers use the strategies
correctly. Coach 2 stated, “It is essential to have a clear objective, so the teachers are not
confused” The coaches plan together to make sure that all teachers are receiving the same level
of training.” Coaching allows teachers to build capacity by giving them the chance to think
deeply to solve problems that arise in their classrooms with students who do not understand the
lesson’s content. Speaking to another individual on their ideas to help a student can help teachers
process what they might need to be effective with that student. Communicating is important at all
levels because it makes the teachers believe that their concerns and questions are important and
valid.
Feedback
Feedback is an important part of coaching, and all the coaches emphasized they honored
the teachers as adult learners, identified the teachers’ successful goals and instructional practices,
and had a nonevaluative focus on what students produce. Coach 1 explained that it is important
to maintain a positive and relaxed tone with the teachers for them to embrace the feedback. The
tone of voice in a person can set the mood for all individuals because even if they are not trying
to be rude or mean or condescending, the tone can imply otherwise. Coach 3 stated, “In order to
maintain the feedback productive make sure that we refer to them as suggestions to improvement
not to mandate or require them because ultimately, as a coach, we are only there to help improve
the teachers’ abilities.” Once teachers receive the feedback, they are guided to reflect and think
about how the students are retaining the information and how they are reproducing their
knowledge in other areas. The coaches stated how they show the teachers how to decipher the
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level of work that students produce and how it will differ as they use the strategies with them,
and the students begin to use what they have learned.
Accountability
Teachers’ self-motivation is a key aspect of having a successful coaching experience.
Coach 3 stated, “if a teacher felt like they were being told to do something versus recommended
or suggested, they would not do a good job in doing that one thing.” An essential and
fundamental part of effective coaching is to recognize and honor the teacher’s autonomy as they
teach. Coach 1 expressed the idea that the authors Ryan and Deci (2000) stated,
How people have three innate human needs, competence, autonomy, and relatedness,
which mean that people will feel motivated when they are proficient at what they do;
have a large measure of control over their lives and are involved in positive relationships.
It is important to understand that teachers are constantly evolving, and as a coach, it is
crucial to see it and recognize that when working with a teacher. Coach 2 explained that teachers
often feel like they have no control and have very little input on the materials they are allowed to
use in the classroom, the content they teach, or the teaching techniques: “as the coach, it is my
job to engage and motivate the teachers and ensure that they have a choice in what they are
doing.” The three coaches imply the importance in giving teachers self-confidence to try a new
concept and making sure that the teachers have choices and feel in control of their learning
throughout the process of the program.
Interview With Director of Multilingual Department
One of the director’s responsibilities was to make sure that the teachers were teaching
and implementing ELD during the school day. The director first explains the program and the
concepts. “ELD is set to be taught to ELLs. There are two parts of ELD: designated and
52
integrated. I introduced Project GLAD to the districts as a program geared to help teach teachers
how to teach ELD by using a series of strategies and units in the classroom. Teachers would go
to a 2-day theory training followed by a 5-day demonstration training.” (Director) The director
expressed that all teachers get certified and that the district would appoint schools that would be
exemplary GLAD schools that teachers can visit to see the strategies being implemented.
However, not all teachers bought into the idea that GLAD could helped ELD students and
refused to implement it or just did the bare minimum.
History
The director explained how implementation was not happening, which the director
noticed once she did walk-throughs at different elementary schools. The director mentions the
research from Joyce and Showers’ on how when teachers go to PD, they will only come back
and implement 5 % of what they learned. If they see a demonstration, their implementation will
increase by 20%. Once there is planning and co-teaching happening, the implementation will be
at 80%. Project GLAD has four components: (a) focus and motivation, (b) input, (c) guided
practice, and (d) reading and writing. Most teachers would not go past the input component and
did not do the guided practice or reading and writing. To strengthen students’ abilities in learning
how to read, write and speak in English, the most important part is the guided practice: reading
and writing. The sequence she developed was done for the teachers to have a more direct way to
take the strategies they used in GLAD to the reading and writing because that is the program’s
point. The goal was for students who are learning another language to understand how to read
and write.
The director quoted Joyce and Showers and stated how teaching classroom teachers
needs to be divided into parts:
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According to the two scholars, staff development programs for teachers should be
delivered on more than one occasion over an extended period. As part of the program
design, participants learn collegially, in a cooperative situation with and from each other.
Teachers should be given an ample amount of time to practice newly acquired skills in
relatively controlled and safe environments until a significant degree of confidence and
executive control is acquired. Teachers will learn how to learn and how to regulate new
tactics as they practice them in their classrooms with their students. This takes a
significant amount of coaching, and the coaches need to create a sense of secure safe
environment with the teachers, and they need to feel like they can trust the teacher.
The director realized that breaking up GLAD strategies into a sequence was an idea that could
work. So, she developed the concepts of the strategies using the district’s language arts
curriculum to do the strategies. Then, she asked teachers to volunteer their classrooms and
demonstrate the lessons. Next, she invited a group of teachers to join the cohort and observe the
strategies being implemented. She minimized the amount to the most important and the ones that
were best for the students’ learning. She had the teachers observe them the first half of the day,
and they had the last part of the day to reflect ask question and plan for their own class. The
teachers were then expected to go back to their classrooms and attempt the same strategies.
Then, they would return a month later and collaborate and reflect on how their lesson went with
the other teachers. In the meantime, the coaches are available to guide and demonstrate what
teachers request. The point was to have the teachers comfortable enough to have the coaches
observe them teaching the strategies and help them adjust the lessons as they were teaching. This
would happen for a year, and the cohort of teachers would then attend the actual GLAD training
for 7 days.
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Teacher as a Learner
People learn in different ways, and they share common features as well as elements. One
of the common ideas is that new material and information is more easily learned when it is
related to existing learner knowledge and is relevant to the learner. In the idea of being an adult
learner, people tend to shy away from the power dynamics evident in the school system. The
teachers are very apprehensive about anyone that is telling them what to do versus suggesting
ideas that they can implement in their classrooms. The director stated that it is important to pair
the coaches with teachers who would benefit from the skills the coaches have to offer. She
understands that the teachers must feel like the materials they are bringing back to their
classroom must be relevant to the student’s achievement. Once the teachers implement the
concept with their students, they are then able to share the products with other teachers in their
cohort. The goal is that the training motivates the teachers to use the strategies while teaching the
content and understand how it intertwines together, so they are not double teaching a certain
concept. Teachers feel overwhelmed and think they cannot do it all; however, they do not
because they have the support of the coaches. The support that teachers have in the school sites is
minimal, and they need to feel supported to continue training that requires them to be out of the
class at least once a month.
Coaching
The coaches play a very important role in this program because they are the ones that are
going to get the teachers to understand the strategies and make them understand why the
strategies work with the students. This goes back to adult learning and how adults need to feel
like what they are learning is relevant to what they need. The director stated, “Certain coaches
have a stronger capacity to get people to do things, and as soon as I identified the different
55
capacity in all the coaches, I was able to pair them with the different teachers that attended the
program.” The director meets with the coaches’ multiple times a week to touch base on what is
happening with the teachers or for ideas and suggestions that they might need. There is
accountability with the coaches, and she knows that it is important to make sure there is clear
communication between the coaches and herself. She sets up accountability for the coaches
through a spreadsheet with the different coaches’ names, and they fill them out based on who
they see and what they do with them. She then looks over the spreadsheet, places the teachers in
a color-coded spreadsheet depending on their needs, and assigns a specific coach to work with
them. She also has the teachers do surveys at the end of the sequences because that gives the
coaches and her an idea of what they need more or less of during the training.
The director stated that she knows teachers tend to not have a strong support system at
the school sites because of the different types of administration that they might have and all the
items they need to worry about. The idea is that the coaches are a sense of comfort and reliable
resources that the teachers can use to build their capacity to teach ELD students. It is important
to target the needs of these students for them to succeed in high school.
It is evident that everyone is overwhelmed at the different levels of the education field.
Principals must meet district expectations, yet they are still asking for support for their teachers.
Principals have not attended the program, and the director feels like if they do not attend, they
cannot support what they do not understand. They will not prioritize it, and that is an issue. In
any type of PD program, to see results, one must use the strategies for more than 2 years, and it
cannot be piecemeal because it will not have the same results.
Not all principals understand the concept of being a leader in instruction, and the director
realized that she needs to deal with that fact when promoting the CAP. This program requires
56
planning hours and for teachers to be out of the classroom once a month. Principals are
concerned with test scores and want the academic minutes dedicated to preparing students to take
the state test at the end of the year. The principals are even more concerned about this now
because students are coming back from virtual learning and have learning loss.
They had to pause the program because of the pandemic, but they are building it up
again with some new aspects. They want to have a GLAD coach at each school to help teachers
teach ELD and ensure that they are following through with the way it is set up to be taught. The
director stated that she understands that some aspects need to be adaptive to specific students and
that everything cannot be taught in a 45-minute window; however, it is important to have
accountability for teachers teaching ELD daily.
Comparison of All Three Groups
It is important to note that the coaches and director had similar views on what motivates
teachers and the most important part of this program. They both stated that teachers are
motivated by seeing information that is closely related to what they are teaching and doing every
day. The teachers must trust the coaches, and the coaches respect this trust to help them develop
to become stronger teachers. Accountability is important, and the coaches and director noticed
that if they show more accountability and regularly check in with the teachers, the teachers are
more successful. Teachers said that what motivated them was the trust they feel with the coaches
and the program itself. They understand that they are not being evaluated yet feel intimidated by
people in higher power when it involves being told what to do and how to do it. Teachers
explained that the coaches made them feel like their equal and they treated them like
professionals. Teachers felt more at ease and confident working with the coaches because the
power dynamic was not evident. The three groups perceived the quality of the programs features
57
in a manner that connected. The three understood that the concept implementation of
accountability was important and what was needed to feel a sense of trust. The clear
communication was also important to give concrete feedback when the teachers were being
observed implementing the strategies that they were taught during the CAP with their own
students in their classrooms. The three groups also explained how having the cyclical approach
to each lesson gave them a stronger understanding and they were able to master each concept as
they constantly implemented it with the students weekly.
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Chapter Five: Discussion
The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify how does the CAP coaching model
met teachers’ needs for implementing the strategies embedded in the program. Research states
that teachers will be more likely to learn and use the information given to them if it is relatable to
their classrooms. When a program includes coaching, it becomes more solid and is more likely to
be effective. Coaching was a central component in the CAP, which gave it the unique style that
other programs do not include.
The second research question was what are the teacher perspectives on the CAP
compared to other training they have received in the district? What is their motive for attending
the program? Teacher expressed the need to have a coach that could model lessons and provided
positive feedback on lessons that teachers were doing in their classroom. Teachers also
expressed that being able to reflect and analysis a lesson with someone else challenge them to
understand the group of students they were teaching and adjust the lessons in the future to fit the
needs of the students. Teachers were motived to continue attending the trainings because the
planning time they received, materials and the amount of coaching they received. They had
resources to keep a connection with the coaches that were experts in the areas they felt they
needed more help in when they taught the ELD students.
I interviewed 10 individuals involved with the CAP. The program was developed by the
director of the multilingual department at SBCUSD. She used the theories of Joyce and Showers
on adult learning and PD in the CAP. Her reasoning behind creating this program was that she
noticed Project GLAD, a PD program that the district invested in, was not being implemented to
the fullest. She also observed that many teachers were not teaching ELD with quality. The focus
was knowledge, theory modeling, and practice in having teachers understand how the strategies
59
from Project GLAD could be implemented in their everyday lessons using the curriculum that
the district had adopted.
Findings
The themes that emerged from the data were trust, communication, accountability, and
feedback. Trust came up in all interviews as an important concept because the teachers wanted to
feel they could trust the coaches. They had to explain what they needed when they were being
observed or when they needed advice on how to teach a lesson. The teachers trusted the coaches,
which was why they wanted to continue the program. The transparency in the program and the
ability to communicate with coaches were easy. The coaches knew that the teachers needed to
feel comfortable enough that they could trust them with their students in their classroom.
Coaches explained to teachers that everything discussed was confidential, and their
administrators were not made aware of any issues they might have in their teaching abilities.
Communication was another theme discussed. The coaches must communicate clearly
with the director and understand what she expects them to accomplish with the teachers. The
contact occurred through emails, weekly meetings, and daily live Google spreadsheets updated
on each teacher’s progress and the coaches’ daily work. Teachers could communicate with the
coaches by calling, texting, or emailing whenever they had a question or needed something for
their lessons.
All participants discussed accountability. The director needed to make sure the teachers
received the training they signed up for, and she made sure that they had feedback tickets based
on the training so the teachers could express their concerns or make suggestion and highlight
what they liked from the training anonymously.
60
The feedback that teachers and coaches received is important to connect the
accountability, communication, and trust themes in the interview data. When teachers receive
feedback from a lesson they present, they will consider information and constructive criticism
that is relevant to their students. Coaches use the feedback that teachers and the director give
them to improve their techniques on approaching the teachers. The director uses the feedback she
receives from the teachers and coaches to adjust the program and add or delete aspects as they
request. Teachers felt like they had a support system when teaching and reflecting on their
lessons with someone gave them the confidence to execute more engaging lessons.
Based on the data, the coaches understood the needs of the teachers and adapted their own
coaching styles, which created an environment where the teachers felt safe. The coaches
explained that having the teachers trust them was the main part of building their relationship.
When coaching an adult learner, it is important to remember to make every part of the material
relatable. This is considered “Just in time training to include a number of different methods and
strategies used in context of real-life challenges and in response to learners request for guidance
or mentoring” (Trivette et al., 2009, p. 2). Coaches need to tailor the coaching in response to a
request specific to an immediate concern or need, and that is a key quality that the coaches must
have to be successful with the teachers. This notion should be adopted by all the coaches across
content areas. Looking at Figure 2 the CAP cycle gives a specific method that can be adopted to
any content area and used at any level in education. The teachers in the classroom can also adopt
the model to use with the students. The students would be the ones that would learn a concept
and through a similar idea of a cyclical approach they would observe, have guided practice,
model and then reflect. This idea gives the students a sense of empowerment of their own
61
learning. Figure 2 explains each process and how it’s used in the CAP program. Figure 2
presents the program’s cycle.
Figure 2
CAP Cycle
62
The CAP was paused because of the pandemic. It will be brought back at the start of
2022–2023 school year. The director said that they will make larger adjustments to the program
and market it to more teachers. The methods used to deliver information confirms research by
Darling-Hammond et al. (2017), found that effective learning is “active learning utilizing adult
learning theory, supports collaboration, typically in job-embedded context, uses models and
modeling of effective practice, provides coaching and expert support, offers opportunities for
feedback and reflection and is of sustained duration” (p. 4).
Recommendations
It is evident that coaching is a key part of the training that any teacher receives. Teachers
will be more likely to implement the strategies that they are being taught. It is evident through
the research that to have a successful PD, teachers must have follow-up and coaching. I
recommend that they continue with the CAP and implement it through the whole district and
across content. Teachers were motivated to continue their learning because of the relationships
that they developed with the coaches and how they trusted them with their learning. The process
was planned and executed to encourage the teachers to return to the training. Professional
development and training should always include follow-up and coaching opportunities. I believe
that every school should have at least four coaches on staff: two for upper grade and two for
lower grades. Teachers would be assigned to them based on the teachers’ needs and the coaches’
expertise. The coaches would serve as a support system to help teachers be well rounded and
know if they are doing it correctly. That is the question many teachers asked themselves daily,
and the lack of supportive coworkers or administrators can take a toll on their mental state as
well as the quality of their teaching. Coaches will alleviate the feeling of the unknown, which
can be exhausting and stressful.
63
The coaching model met teachers’ needs in implementing the program’s strategies and
made the teachers feel like they could become experts in teaching ELD using GLAD strategies.
Teachers believed the CAP program was very successful compared to other training they
received in the district because of the amount of coaching and follow-up training they received.
The communication was strong, and the subject of ELD was relevant to what they needed to feel
successful teaching it. Teacher expressed that teaching ELD could be stressful because not all
students were ELD students. Through the program, they understood integrated versus designated
ELD lessons, and the coaches demonstrated it further in their classrooms. Their motivation to
continue in the program was the ease of planning their ELD lessons and understand what was
required. In addition, the teachers felt they were teaching correctly since they were using the
curriculum that the district adopted.
The concepts and models used have all the elements of successful PD. I would like to
extend this study to examine the achievement of the students who receive the lessons from the
teachers in the program. Ideally all teachers would be trained in CAP and every student would
receive high-quality instruction in ELD. The students’ reading and writing skills would be
tracked to monitor improved throughout elementary school. This study could be extended to
examine the students who have been taught by teachers who went through this program.
This program was on pause because of the pandemic and now in 2022–2023 school year
the program is being reopened and offered to teachers. The coaching for the teachers that started
the program did not stop through the pandemic it was not fully implemented because of the
overwhelming responsibilities that teachers had to adapt to when teaching virtually. This is the
2nd year since schools have been open to in-person and the program is starting up again. I
believe that it will continue and revamp to fit the teachers’ new needs.
64
Conclusion
In conclusion coaching is an important part of any PD that is given to teachers. This
study shows us that teachers understand how to deliver information that they receive from a PD
training, however they need to have the support to develop and continue using the strategies and
skills that they are being taught. Teachers will actively participate in a program that will show
them how to teach if they are supportive and feel motivated because they see how it helps their
students in their own classroom. When conducting a PD in any area of education it should have
follow up sessions to make sure teachers feel supported and acknowledged if they have a
question and concern. CAP is a program that had all the components that were needed in other to
support teachers in the classroom.
65
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Abstract (if available)
Abstract
This qualitative study reviewed a professional development program developed by the San Bernardino Unified School District to improve English language learner instruction using guided language acquisition design (GLAD) strategies. I interviewed a group of teachers, their instructional coaches, and the program director to understand their motivation to participate in the program and to understand how they thought it compared to the traditional professional development experiences they have had in the past. The teachers indicated that they appreciated the relationship they developed with the program coaches. The trust that was built between teachers and coaches led to clear communication which was essential for the teachers who found themselves eager to learn and take risks in applying the concepts and strategies they learned in their own classrooms. The results showed that a professional development program should consist of modeling, coaching, support, feedback, and reflection. This study found that teachers want to be able to feel like they will not be judged if they fail at applying a new strategy, they want to feel supported and that lack of immediate success in program implementation will not hurt their teaching evaluations. The Cyclical Approach Program has all the components of successful professional development, and it has made the teachers feel motivated enough to stay in the program to enhance and strengthen their ability to be successful.
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Pereyra, Denise
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A cyclical approach to professional development: a case study of the San Bernardino School District
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2023-05
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