The field of expertise studies offers several models from which to develop training programs that accelerate the development of novice performers in a variety of domains. This research study implemented two methods of expertise-based training in a course to develop undergraduate peer academic coaches through a ten-week program. An existing training curriculum was enhanced by implementing results gleaned from a preliminary expert performance study, in which the superior, reproducible performance of seasoned professionals (counselors and academic advisors working with undergraduate students at a large Midwestern research university) was analyzed. Part-task, observational training activities were created for the expertise-based (XBT) training group while whole-task, simulation-based activities were created for the expert performance based (ExPerT) training group. Trainee performance in four targeted skill sets (asking questions, reflective listening, noticing reactions, and providing feedback) indicated few significant differences between the XBT and ExPerT training groups. The ExPerT group demonstrated a greater number of evocative statements, aimed at helping coaching clients change behaviors. Overall, the utility of the expert performance approach in developing training in various domains is promising, particularly if an appropriate balance of part-task and whole-task training activities can be found.

Academic coaching has demonstrated positive relationships with college students' academic engagement and performance. A university campus in Puerto Rico implemented academic coaching for at-risk students, but the program has not been studied for its impact on student engagement. Guided by self-regulation theory and constructivism, this quasi-experimental study examined differences in engagement and identification of best teaching behaviors between students who experienced academic coaching (n = 115) and those who did not (n = 55). Students completed the Classroom Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE) before and after the 4-week instructional unit and the Instructor Behavior Checklist (IBC) after the instructional unit. The data from the CLASSE and IBC were analyzed using mixed analysis of variance for engagement activities and student identification of effective teaching practices. There were no significant findings relating academic coaching to engagement; however, the experimental group identified significantly more best teaching practices used by their instructor. A Pearson correlation also yielded a significant positive relationship between students' engagement and the identification of instructor best practices. Based on these findings, a professional development program was created for instructors, which fosters student engagement and learning by encouraging instructor best practices through a classroom coaching model. The findings from this study may promote positive social change by helping to prepare faculty to integrate academic coaching and best teaching practices related to student engagement.

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore the roles, responsibilities, and perceptions of writing coaches, a form of embedded professional development, which had the opportunity to assist teachers in deepening their pedagogical knowledge of writing instruction. Furthermore, this inquiry sought to describe middle school teachers' (N = 235) perceptions of how writing coaches may have impacted their beliefs and pedagogy with regard to writing instruction. At the time I conducted this case study, no extant literature existed to describe the roles, responsibilities, or perceptions of writing coaches, and this inquiry sought to fill that void. In an intrinsic case study, the researcher's own interests guide the inquiry. Qualitative data from interviews, observations, and archival data informed the inquiry. Furthermore, a non-experimental quantitative survey complemented the qualitative data. I analyzed qualitative data as I collected it through constant-comparative analysis beginning with open coding of individual cases, proceeding to axial coding across site cases, and finishing with selective coding across site cases, at which point I integrated relevant empirical research. I reported descriptive statistics for the non-experimental quantitative survey data. The findings of this inquiry do not generalize to other populations, but the results of data analysis may inform future study and practice. I uncovered teachers regarded the writing coaches in this inquiry positively, but did not explicitly communicate any change in beliefs or practice with regard to writing instruction. Furthermore, I discovered although writing coaches are deemed "coaches," they spend more of their time performing responsibilities which categorize them as teachers and administrators. A posteriori data trends revealed writing coaches faced many challenges: high-stakes testing, unclear roles and responsibilities, balance of their many roles and responsibilities, micromanagement, and inability to impact teacher practice. Lastly, I outline a model, which requires future testing under experimental conditions, to explain how the challenges writing coaches face may serve to lower their loci of control, perceptions of effectiveness, and job satisfaction. The themes I discovered through data analysis led me to make recommendations with regard to future research and practice. This inquiry described three writing coaches' roles, responsibilities, and perceptions, but future study, both qualitative and quantitative, is needed to more fully describe and explore the phenomenon. The model I developed through qualitative data collect and analysis would require testing in inquiries with an experimental design. I recommend future research in the causal cascade to discover how the efforts of writing coaches and other academic coaches may impact teacher pedagogy and practice and eventually student learning. Furthermore, I endorse future studies into academic coaches' loci of control and challenges. Although this study sought to explore the roles, perceptions, and perceived impact of writing coaches, it truly became a study of the challenges perceived by writing coaches and the factors which may contribute to job dissatisfaction and perceived ineffectiveness. For this reason, I make specific recommendations to support writing coaches in their attempts to perform their jobs excellently.

Academic coaching has demonstrated positive relationships with college students' academic engagement and performance. A university campus in Puerto Rico implemented academic coaching for at-risk students, but the program has not been studied for its impact on student engagement. Guided by self-regulation theory and constructivism, this quasi-experimental study examined differences in engagement and identification of best teaching behaviors between students who experienced academic coaching (n = 115) and those who did not (n = 55). Students completed the Classroom Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE) before and after the 4-week instructional unit and the Instructor Behavior Checklist (IBC) after the instructional unit. The data from the CLASSE and IBC were analyzed using mixed analysis of variance for engagement activities and student identification of effective teaching practices. There were no significant findings relating academic coaching to engagement; however, the experimental group identified significantly more best teaching practices used by their instructor. A Pearson correlation also yielded a significant positive relationship between students' engagement and the identification of instructor best practices. Based on these findings, a professional development program was created for instructors, which fosters student engagement and learning by encouraging instructor best practices through a classroom coaching model. The findings from this study may promote positive social change by helping to prepare faculty to integrate academic coaching and best teaching practices related to student engagement.

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Preparing undergraduate students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields continues to be a national priority. This project analyzed the effects of virtual metacognitive academic coaching between graduate student coaches and undergraduate STEM majors with Executive Function disorders at a large, four-year university. The project team analyzed the persistence of the undergraduate students in their major, as well as the graduate students’ abilities to transfer the coaching experiences to K-12 settings. A mixed-methods design evaluated qualitative (i.e. student/coaches’ surveys and interviews) outcomes for undergraduate STEM majors and for graduate students. The goal of this project is to develop iteratively a model of scalable supports that can be utilized to support undergraduates with disabilities in STEM majors’ at large universities such as UCF. Graduate student coaches paired with undergraduate STEM majors with Executive Function disorders (n=26) worked collaboratively throughout one semester to developed strategies that supported the success of the undergraduate students’ coursework. Both coaches and students provided examples of positive effects of the academic coaching process that supported student course work and created experiences that the graduate students could use in a K-12 setting.