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#2 – Spring 1993

From the Field: Oregon Watch • An Open Letter to the Oregon State Governing Bodies • To Superintendent Norma Paulus from Dr. Biglan • Child-Directed Teaching Methods: A Discriminatory Practice of Western Education • Achievement Effects of the Nongraded Elementary School: Summary of A Best Evidence Synthesis • Why Poor Children Fall Behind in Reading: What Schools Can Do About It • Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator • The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children • What Does “Developmentally Appropriate” Mean? • Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Appraising its Usefulness for Young Children with Disabilities • Clarifying the Developmental Perspective in Response to Carta, Schwartz, Atwater, and McConnell • Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Early Childhood Special Education: Bridging the Gap • Video Review – The Classroom Cure: A Medical Doctor Shows Educators How to Find What Works/About “Failing Grades”: Redirecting Canada’s Educational Debate • Influx of Immigrants Changes School Choice in Holland

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Categories: Volume 12

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What is a Peer Coach?

Peer coaches play a critical role in sustaining strong implementation of Direct Instruction (DI) at the school level. Selected during the first year of implementation, peer coaches are classroom teachers who demonstrate strong instructional practice, effective communication with colleagues, and a willingness to support others. Because they teach the same programs as their peers, they bring practical expertise and shared experience that help build trust and collaboration across the school.

As implementation progresses, peer coaches extend the impact of NIFDI consultants by providing ongoing, school-based support when consultants are not on-site. Their coaching is non-evaluative and focused on improving student outcomes. Peer coaches reinforce effective teaching practices and guide colleagues to make targeted adjustments that directly impact student performance and behavior.

Peer coaches participate in a structured, multi-year training sequence through NIFDI. Over the course of two to three years, they are trained to analyze student performance data, conduct both brief and extended classroom observations, and support data-driven problem solving. Advanced training prepares them to lead grade-level meetings and contribute to broader instructional planning with school leadership.

By developing peer coaches, schools build internal capacity to maintain and strengthen DI implementation over time—ensuring continuity, supporting new staff, and driving sustained student achievement.