This research by RPPL researcher Arielle Boguslav explores the many strategies PL coaches use, synthesizing them into a clear taxonomy that can support our understanding of effective coaching. The accompanying framework is an easy-to-use guide that offers a shared language for reflecting on and improving coaching practice.
Despite the common title of “coach,” definitions of high-quality coaching vary tremendously across models and programs. Yet, few studies make comparisons across different models to understand what is most helpful, for whom, and under what circumstances. As a result, practitioners are left with many options and little evidence-based direction.
The Coaching Moves paper, Parsing Coaching Practice: A Systematic Framework for Describing Coaching Discourse, published in 2024, begins to address these challenges by introducing a taxonomy of coaching “moves,” parsing the concrete details of coach discourse.
The Coaching Moves Framework is an extension of this earlier research and is an accessible tool to help PL coaches, coaching leads, and practitioners reflect on coaching practice, collect data on patterns in coaching strategies, and articulate a shared vision of coaching. By providing concrete language to describe coaching moves, this Framework advances the PL field’s collective knowledge of coaching moves and coaching practice.
Millions of teachers receive coaching each year, but we know very little about the specific strategies the most effective coaches use. Arielle’s work is so important because it provides a clear framework for talking about the work of coaching. Her coaching moves could help schools, districts, and professional learning providers better train and support coaches. A common language that could be used across coaching studies could also help researchers determine the types of moves that help particular teachers working in particular contexts.
Julie cohen
Associate Professor at UVA’s School of Education and Human Development and RPPL Research Advisory Council member
