Peer Coaching & Change Implementation

The process of change implementation and the measurement of concerns of those involved in change using the C.B.A.M. model have been the topics of many studies conducted during the past two decades. Peer coaching is a relative newcomer, yet has been the focus of several studies. To date, however, comparative information about the change process and its affect on the concerns of teachers involved in peer coaching has not been analyzed. This study examines and compares the Stages of Concern regarding an innovation of teachers with and without peer coaching partners. After a review of significant research, the paper analyzes the effect peer coaching experience and peer coaching team configurations may have on the Stages of Concern about an innovation, and how development through the Stages of Concern differ between peer coaches and nonpeer coaches. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire was mailed to all current peer coaches and to a randomly chosen sample of teachers not involved in the peer coaching project at Ft. Knox Community Schools at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. The data was collected and presented in tabular form to analyze the impact of peer coaching on the Stages of Concern regarding the innovation, process writing. A comparative synopsis of the findings suggest that peer coaching teams may have a tendency to impact the development through the Stages of Concerns. The results were not statistically significant (chi square). No statistical significance was found in comparisons of the effect on the Stages of Concern regarding process writing between first and second year peer coaches and peer coaching team configurations. It was recommended that further research be made into factors that relate to the peer coaching environment\u27s affect on teachers\u27 concerns while implementing change in schools. Six tables and three pages of references are appended