story by Susan Fishman
Assistant Professor JeanMarie Farrow understands that strong classroom practice doesn’t happen in isolation.
Knowing that coaches are an integral part of the teaching process, she and her colleagues conducted a study published in Teacher and Teacher Education to understand what effective coaching looks like, and how to structure coaching in ways that truly influence what happens in classrooms.
“Teachers are adult learners, and teaching is a complex, context-specific craft,” says Farrow. “The ways we support teachers in refining their practice must reflect that complexity.”
The team’s research showed that when coaches represented and decomposed inquiry-based teaching practices, teachers were more likely to improve their instruction. In other words, when coaches made teaching visible — by modeling practices or breaking them down into clear, manageable components — teachers were better able to enact those practices in their own classrooms.
The study also found that showing representations of teaching practice was the coaching move most strongly correlated with teacher implementation. Seeing concrete examples of practice, rather than only discussing them abstractly, appeared to make a meaningful difference in whether teachers implemented new strategies.
According to Farrow, these findings suggest that understanding a practice involves much more than simply telling teachers to implement “best practices.”
“When teachers can visualize instruction in action, they are better able to anticipate challenges, foresee what might not work and adjust proactively to meet students’ needs,” says Farrow. “Practically, this means coaching should intentionally include clear representations of practice — such as modeling, annotated examples or live demonstrations — and purposeful decomposition of complex instructional moves. Rather than relying primarily on discussion or feedback, coaches can make practice visible and break it into manageable parts that teachers can rehearse, reflect on and refine.”
Decomposing a practice helps teachers understand why it works, not just how to do it, according to Farrow.
“When a practice is broken down into its component parts, teachers can see the different ways it can be used to achieve specific instructional goals. This understanding supports more flexible application and allows teachers to adapt the practice to meet the needs of diverse learners. When practices are clearly connected to their underlying function—why a teacher is using them—teaching becomes more intentional.”
The study’s implications are also important for professional development more broadly. Farrow adds that districts and schools may benefit from investing in coaching models that emphasize modeling and structured unpacking of practice.
“When teachers can see instruction in action, understand why it works and anticipate how to adapt it for their students, they are more likely to implement changes with confidence and fidelity,” she said.