Parsing Coaching Practice: A Systematic Framework for Describing Coaching Discourse

Abstract

Despite the common title of “coach,” definitions of high-quality coaching vary tremendously across models and programs. Yet few studies make comparisons between 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. This is exacerbated by the literature’s focus on more abstract features of coaching practice (e.g., building trust), leaving practitioners to figure out what concrete discourse strategies support these goals. This article begins to address these challenges by introducing a taxonomy of coaching “moves,” parsing the concrete details of coach discourse. While the taxonomy is informed by the literature, it highlights conceptual possibilities rather than providing a list of empirically grounded or “evidence-based” strategies. In doing so, this taxonomy may serve as a common language to guide future work exploring how coach discourse shapes teacher development, synthesizing across studies, and supporting coach practice.