Common Questions About the EMC Project
Below are some answers to common questions from interested coaches, teachers and school administrators. You'll find details about current project activity by following the "Participants" link to the left. For additional information, please contact James Burroughs, the EMC Project Director, at emc@math.montana.edu; (406) 994-3911; or (877) 572-5032.
Q: Why is this study so important?
As a mathematics coach or teacher, you know firsthand about the drive to strengthen K-8 mathematics and science education in the United States. One new strategy taken by many school systems is the use of instructional coaching, yet very little research exists to define what makes a coach effective. What must a coach know about mathematical content, and how to coach mathematics teachers, to be an effective coach? The EMC project will conduct groundbreaking research on knowledge that contributes to successful coaching in these two domains: Coaching Knowledge and Mathematics Content Knowledge. Using EMC research conclusions, school systems around the country will be able to structure coaching programs, and make sound investments, that ultimately result in enhanced student learning in mathematics.
Q: What will be required of participating school districts?
Schools and school districts throughout the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions, upon selection for the study, will be valuable long-term participants in the EMC project. As such, schools and districts will agree to the following commitments:
- The school and/or district will provide at least one coach and three K-8 teachers for participation in the five-year study. Coaches will be randomly assigned to professional development during the study;
- Coaches will conduct at least eight mathematics coaching sessions per teacher per school year—four of which will be in the area of number sense and operations;
- Coaches will follow the EMC Coaching Model (15-minute pre-observation conference; classroom observation; 30-minute post-observation conference);
- Coaches and their teachers will complete various measures annually;
- Teachers will be observed in the classroom by external observers; and
- The school and/or district will provide access to annual student achievement data.
Q: How exactly does this research project work?
Project participants consist of 60 coaches selected from a variety of school districts in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions, plus three K-8 mathematics teachers for each coach in that coach's district who will participate alongside the coach during the five-year period of the study. To begin, participating coaches and teachers will take written assessments, in the form of online surveys, so that researchers can have a "baseline" of coaching knowledge and mathematical content knowledge for each participant. Researchers also will observe participating teachers' classrooms at the outset so they can gauge to what degree teaching practices will change over the course of the study. Coaches will receive an orientation to the EMC Coaching Model early in the study, and teachers will receive information on how to be good "consumers" of coaching.
Throughout the study period, coaches will conduct at least eight mathematics coaching sessions per teacher per school year, four of which will be in the area of number sense and operations. Each session will follow the EMC Coaching Model (explained below). Each year researchers will observe each teacher's classroom at least once. During the five-year period, each coach will undergo two (2) five-day professional development workshops, one in coaching knowledge and the second in mathematical content knowledge (a total of 10 days of professional development, to be attended during the summer according to the schedule outlined in Table 1 below). Both coaches and teachers will complete annual written assessments, in the form of online surveys. The project will pay travel expenses (transportation, lodging, meals) and a daily stipend ($200/day) to coaches attending professional development, and both coaches and teachers will receive a stipend ($100) for written assessments taken at the beginning of the study and at the end of each year.
During the study period and at its conclusion, researchers will compile and analyze data and publish results in peer-reviewed journals.
Q: What are the benefits for participating districts, schools, coaches and teachers?
Coaches and teachers selected for the study, and their schools and districts, receive the following benefits over the course of the five-year project:
- A coaching model that can be used immediately;
- Professional development for coaches on mathematics content and coaching knowledge;
- Instruments and measures provided by the project that can be used to monitor coaching sessions and reflect on the effectiveness of participants’ coaching relationships and structure; and
- Compensation for coaches and their participating teachers.
Q: How are coaches and teachers selected for the study?
The primary consideration for selection will be long-term commitment to participation at the school or district level, as well as commitment from coaches and teachers. We are looking for coaches and teachers with a wide variety of experience in both coaching and mathematics. Because EMC is a five-year study, participants must be willing and able to participate until the study’s conclusion. Each coach will participate with the same three teachers in his or her district over that period.
Q: I coach a lot more than three teachers. Will the other teachers I coach also benefit from my participation in the study?
Absolutely! Although only three teachers will act as participants in the study, the knowledge you gain as a participating coach will carry over to your daily work with all of the mathematics teachers you coach.
Q: I’m a new math coach. If selected, will I receive professional development right away?
In January or February 2010, you will receive training in the EMC Coaching Model at your school site. Project leaders will provide forms and protocols that will provide structure for you and your teachers as you engage in coaching. Your administrator and participating teachers will receive training in the coaching model as well, and teachers will receive information to help them be good “consumers” of coaching. In either the summer of 2010 or 2011 (see Table 1), coaches will receive professional development in either coaching knowledge or mathematics content knowledge, followed by a second week of professional development in the remaining area in either 2012 or 2013.
Table 1. Random Assignment Professional Development Schedule
Coaches will be randomly assigned to either Group 1 or Group 2 upon acceptance.
| YEAR | GROUP 1 | GROUP 2 |
| Jan-Feb 2010 | Coaching Orientation* | Coaching Orientation* |
| Summer 2010 | Mathematics PD | |
| Summer 2011 | Coaching PD | |
| Summer 2012 | Coaching PD | |
| Summer 2013 | Mathematics PD |
*Provided on-site for participating coaches, teachers and administrators
Q: Why do I have to wait until as late as 2011 before receiving professional development?
The EMC project is founded on the belief that instructional coaching is an important means for strengthening the teaching of mathematics. To study instructional coaching’s true effects, we need to devote enough time to the project. Rest assured, you will receive support throughout the project. And with your patient participation according to the project’s experimental research design, you will play an important role in pioneering research examining the types of knowledge that are important for instructional coaches in mathematics.
Q: Our district already has a coaching model that works for us. Are our teachers and coaches right for this study?
Possibly. To participate in the EMC study, you must agree to use the EMC Coaching Model with the three identified teachers at least eight times per year in mathematics. Four of these coaching cycles must be in the area of number sense and operations.
Q: What is the EMC Coaching Model?
The EMC project uses the following definition of a mathematics coach:
“A mathematics coach is an on-site professional developer who enhances teacher quality through collaboration focusing on research-based, reform-based, and standards-based instructional strategies and mathematics content that includes the why, what and how of teaching mathematics.”
The EMC Coaching Model will use a three-phase cycle that includes 1.) a pre-conference of at least 15 minutes focused on planning for an upcoming lesson, with emphasis on the teacher’s stated goals, objectives and needs; 2.) classroom observation of a lesson; and 3.) a post-conference of at least 30 minutes reflecting on the planned teacher actions, with a transition into the next coaching cycle. Coaching sessions will focus on aspects of standards-based teaching as defined by NCTM Teaching, Process and Content Standards, not on generic pedagogy such as classroom management.
Q: Will the EMC study be compatible with other professional development and support I get from my school or district?
Yes. You should continue to engage in the types of support your district would normally provide for coaches, teachers and administrators. EMC training and professional development are designed to complement, not replace, your district’s existing efforts at training and professional development in coaching.
Q: How much additional work will this create for me, and how will I be compensated?
Participating coaches and teachers will engage in 15-minute pre-conference and 30-minute post-conference sessions as part of the coaching cycle, according to the EMC Coaching Model. For many teachers and coaches, this time commitment is already part of existing coaching efforts. In addition, coaches and teachers will complete assessments, using online forms, once per school year (twice in the year 2009–10). Each coach and teacher will receive a $100 stipend for their time and effort expended in these assessments each year. Coaches also will receive a stipend ($200/day) for each of the 10 days of professional development they attend during the five-year study (see Table 1).
Q: I’ve been a Reading First coach and am now an instructional coach. Will I receive support in coaching mathematics content?
Yes. If selected, you will be randomly assigned to receive professional development in mathematics content in the area of number and operations in either 2010 or 2013 (see Table 1).
Q: Can you tell me more about the mathematics content I would learn?
The mathematics professional development in the EMC study is focused on standards-based and reform teaching. It is centered upon the content of number and operations, with sessions covering number sense, computation, fraction concepts, percents and decimals, and proportional reasoning. Sessions will emphasize models, representations, appropriate use of manipulatives and appropriate applications.
Q: Because I’ve worked as a Reading First coach, do I need to attend the professional development on coaching knowledge?
Yes. All participants will receive both kinds of professional development during the five-year study. Professional development in coaching knowledge is designed to support all coaches with varying levels of coaching knowledge. Ongoing research about effective coaching reveals new information all the time, so you will definitely learn new practices that you can apply to your daily work.
Q: My principal usually comes to professional development with me. Is this possible with the EMC project?
EMC can only fund coaches to attend the week-long professional development sessions. However, if your district would normally pay for your principal to attend professional development, you may continue to do this as part of the EMC study.
Q: Who are the researchers who are involved with the project?
The EMC Research Team consists of mathematics professionals at Montana State University in Bozeman and RMC Research Corporation in Denver. Please see this page for more information about the team.
Want to Know More?
For additional information on the EMC project, contact James Burroughs, EMC Project Director, at emc@math.montana.edu; (406) 994-3911; or (877) 572-5032.