The effectiveness of E-coaching in rural science classrooms

The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education through the National Center for Research on Rural Education conducted a randomized controlled trial with 119 rural middle and high school science teachers across 109 schools in Nebraska and Iowa to investigate the effects of technology-delivered instructional coaching (e-coaching) focused on guided scientific inquiry. CSI: Coaching Science Inquiry in Rural Schools examined the impact of professional development, consisting of a summer face-to-face institute and e-coaching during the following school year (treatment) versus no CSI-delivered professional development (control) on teacher classroom practice and student inquiry skills. The coaching was grounded in teachers’ day-to-day instruction and addressed their unique instructional needs. Use of low-cost technology also allowed rural teachers ongoing access to coaching in their home or school, without the need for teachers or coaches to travel. Project technology included video capture of classroom instruction using GoPro cameras, cloud computing to share large video files, and real-time videoconferencing to connect teachers with coaches located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The chapter describes the technology utilized as well as research and evaluation findings.