Role of a Math Coach
Race, Ho, & Bower (2002) proclaimed “a single mathematics education leader can have an incredible impact on the development and effectiveness of others (p.15-16). The term "coach" is often associated with sports, but in education it is often used interchangeably with the term “leader.” In schools, coaches work with teachers to improve instruction, pedagogy and understanding of mathematical content, with the intended outcome of students improving their academic skills and this idea of hiring coaches in schools to improve academic skills is widely accepted (West & Staub, 2003). The only problem that occurs is when people create false mental images of what a coach is. These biases will influence their thoughts and actions (Hull, Balka & Miles, 2009).
The primary intent of utilizing a mathematics coach is to provide teachers with the presence of a knowledgeable, pedagogical expert, as well as having a person with a broad understanding of how students learn mathematics, which can help and lead teachers at their school site. The function of a mathematics coach is to change the culture of teacher isolation where previously no observations or feedback were provided, and consequently move to a continuous collaboration with other peers and professionals to increase best practices in instruction within the school (Neufeld & Roper, 2003). The mathematics coach will address topics related to mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment, providing support to school staff ensuring improvement of instruction, which will, in turn, increase student learning, and finally, close the achievement gap (Marzano, Walters, & McNulty, 2005).
Although coaches are not always part of the regular school staff, many schools are creatively finding funding to have coaches at their sites, and others are using their Title I funds to fund school coaches or cultivating on-site teacher leaders as ways to get support to a small professional learning community to advance test scores (Keller, 2007).
While we have defined the role and importance of a mathematics coach, both principal and coach are required to strengthen teaching (Grant & Davenport, 2008). The importance of these two positions working together is “The principal can work with the math coach to set priorities, be strategic about putting support structures into place that are designed to strengthen math teaching practice and student performance, work with the coach to set norms for teachers’ participation in math professional development, as well as their collaboration with the math coach and each other and participate as a fellow learner. (Grant & Davenport, 2008, p. 37).