Date Approved

4-20-2005

Embargo Period

4-18-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in School Administration

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Hurley, Dennis A.

Subject(s)

Oakcrest High School--New Jersey--Mays Landing; High school teachers--New Jersey; Mentoring in education--New Jersey

Disciplines

Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the utilization of Peer Coaching as a tool for increasing teacher communication and promoting the sharing of methodology and content knowledge. Within a high-school setting, scheduling and multiple course-loads kept teachers from capitalizing on the greatest resource that surrounded them; each-other. This program allowed teachers to observe and be observed in a non-threatening, supportive environment outside the domain of supervisors and administrators. Originally designed to focus solely on the History Department, the study came to also include members of the English and Special Education Departments, who work with the history teachers through inclusion and cohort settings. Participating teachers were involved in pre-observation conferences, observations not lasting longer that one teaching period, and post-observation conferences to share their remarks and discuss their findings. Involved parties then completed a survey assessing the value of the process, made recommendations, and identified their desire for a personal interview. The process was consistently identified by participants as a positive step in evaluating performance and increasing communication among the staff. The next step would be to build a peer coaching model into the new-teacher development program and, with the assistance of supervisors, its inclusion as a best-practice tool throughout all departments.

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