Self-study methodology has gained momentum in general teacher education across the nation, yet not as exclusively within TESOL teacher education. While self-study may be a nontraditional method, the perception that it is less than rigorous scholarship is less than accurate. The term self-study in and of itself may also lend to this deception. This summary further demonstrates how self-study research methodology transcends itself beyond the self across all disciplines (Racines & Samaras, 2015).

The purpose of this self-study was to examine how my experiences as an English learner (EL) influenced my effectiveness as an EL instructional coach (iCOACH) to ultimately improve my practice and narrow the achievement gap for ELs. Achievement gaps have continued to persist with unsuccessful solutions from one-time professional developments for teachers. However, insight from teachers and on-site teacher educators, referred to as iCOACHes, to better understand how personal experiences influence the effectiveness of both teaching and coaching, and ultimately student learning, has often been overlooked.

This study took place in in 2011 in a diverse middle school in northern Virginia, USA, serving Grades 6–8, where approximately 35% of students were identified as ELs (Fairfax County Public Schools, 2011). To better gain the aforementioned insights, various self-study methods were utilized, including personal history (Samaras, Hicks, & Garvey Berger, 2004), memory work (Mitchell & Weber, 1999), and an arts-based method that includes self-portraits through photography (Hamilton, 2003; Samaras & Freese, 2006). The self-portraits^[1] were utilized for reflexive analysis of the duality of my personal and professional identities and deeper examination of the intersection of both identities and how they improved and/or disrupted my practice (Racines & Samaras, 2015). To collect data about teachers’ experiences, which included a total of two participants, 1) a former EL who was also an EL iCOACH and 2) a Caucasian American math teacher who taught ELs, the following methods were utilized: a freewrite, an ethnographic tool referred to as a critical incident questionnaire (CIQ), and a reflection tool also known as a multiple perspectives task (MPT), all inspired by the work of Brandenburg (2008, 2009). Each of the methods used with participants was audio recorded, while descriptive and reflective field notes were taken in the margins of a paper copy for each session. The former EL iCOACH also reviewed the series of self-portraits entitled “Duality”and was asked what connections she made to them.

A freewrite provided a space where participants could openly share their experiences teaching ELs as well as how they perceived the role of an iCOACH. In lieu of writing a freewrite, a blank sheet of paper was offered so the participants could draw and/or write their response. The math teacher chose to draw her response and explained her picture using the MPT. The CIQ’s questions captured feedback about specific professional learning community (PLC) experiences in both of their roles (as a math teacher or iCOACH) and both were asked how they perceived the role of iCOACH to support teachers of ELs.

In addition to this data, I employed cataloguing, a data-gathering technique unique to self-study (Samaras, 2011). I documented and wrote memos in my research journal about each of the aforementioned data sources within a data matrix detailing dates and the purpose behind the data gathered. The constant comparative method was used to analyse codes and initial categories (Glesne, 2006; Wolcott, 2009). The written data matrix helped to organise and identify 42 categories through axial coding, where axial coding included two columns: One column included an abbreviation of the code and the second included the word representing the particular code (Creswell, 2013). Additionally, each of the six self-portraits served as memory work prompts for my research journal entries. The photos elicited my thinking about my professional identity and helped to describe my progression as an EL from childhood to today. The process of an iterative data analysis allowed me to discover how my multiple selves influenced my effectiveness as an iCOACH.

Mentorship from my professor, Dr. Anastasia Samaras, and a critical friend in class pushed me to articulate more crisply how my experiences were actually a strength and a weakness and to further see how I could use them to coach more effectively. Self-study calls for collaboration and openness, and both critical friends and mentors are considered critical because they help you gain insight about your research in a trusting and supportive manner (Samaras, 2011). Insight also comes from making research public, which helps you gain an alternative perspective. Ultimately, the shared perspectives from my participants collectively answered my research question, and seven themes emerged with evidence from the data analysis process:

1. awareness and balance;
2. U.S. No Child Left Behind Act challenges;
3. experiences;
4. iCOACH role;
5. PLCs and relationships;
6. teacher education; and
7. emotions.
   
   

The following was my initial attempt to use each of the seven themes to answer the research question in one sentence:

My awareness is raised regarding my own experiences as an EL, while also validating the experiences or lack of experiences of teachers and carefully balancing my assumptions (based on experiences) in order to build relationships, often emotional in PLCs, and honor all teachers as educated individuals to increase my effectiveness as an iCoach—for my position exists because of the challenges NCLB poses for teachers.

Self-study is a growing genre of research methodology and is used by teacher educators to improve their practice, contribute to the knowledge base on teaching and learning, and acknowledge the role of the teacher educator in teachers’ learning. Set within the context of high-stakes accountability and meeting the needs of all learners, this study helped me more deeply examine how my first-hand experiences as a former EL and EL teacher influenced my practice as an iCOACH and ultimately did improve my ability to more objectively narrow the EL achievement gap with teachers. The five foci of self-study served as guideposts in conducting my research to ensure implementation of the method with fidelity, including personal situated inquiry, critical collaborative inquiry, improved learning, transparent and systematic research process, and knowledge generation and presentation (Samaras, 2011). It was through the process of self-study methodology that I was able to defamiliarize myself from my data and let go of my assumptions, yet able to more objectively recognize the authority of my experience as a former EL (Munby & Russell, 1994). I gained a much deeper knowledge of my own and teachers’ practice, and this gain was facilitated through the methodology of self-study research.

Implications of this research inform how a combination of self-study methods can be used to improve professional practice, particularly of EL iCOACHes, and ultimately teaching and student learning. Self-study can be useful in studying professional practice, can build teacher efficacy, and allows teachers to be agents of their own learning with the ability to transcend to other practitioners interested in improving their own practice (Racines & Samaras, 2015).

References

Brandenburg, R. T. (2008). Powerful pedagogy: Self-study of a teacher educator’s practice. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.

Brandenburg, R. T. (2009). Assumption interrogation: An insight into a self-study researcher’s pedagogical frame. In D. Tidwell, M. Heston, & L. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Research methods for the self-study of practice (pp. 195–212).Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9514-6

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Fairfax County Public Schools. (2011). Holmes Middle School demographics. Retrieved from http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/
f?p=108:13:2140648395523053::::P0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:111

Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Hamilton, M. L. (2003). Using pictures at an exhibition to explore my teaching practices. A. Clarke & G. Erickson (Eds.), Teacher inquiry: Living the research in everyday practice (pp. 58–68). London, England: Routledge.

Mitchell, C., & Weber, S. (1999). Reinventing ourselves as teachers: Beyond nostalgia. London, England: Falmer Press.

Munby, H., & Russell, T. (1994). The authority of experience in learning to teach: Messages from a physics methods class. Journal of Teacher Education, 45(2), 86–95.

Racines, D. E., & Samaras, A. P. (2015). Duality in practice and mentorship of an English learner instructional coach. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 111–125). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Samaras, A. P. (2011). Self-study teacher research: Improving your practice through collaborative inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Samaras, A. P., & Freese, A. R. (2006). Self-study of teaching practices primer. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Samaras, A. P., Hicks, M. A., & Garvey Berger, J. (2004). Self-study through personal history. In J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 905–942). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer.

Wolcott, H. F. (2009). Writing up qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[1]Photography by Pete Taylor.

Dr. Delia E. Racines earned her doctorate in teacher education and educational leadership from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Delia has served as a faculty member teaching ELs at the University of Southern California’s Language Academy (now International Academy), Rossier School of Education's Professional Development Division, and also taught American legal English with the Gould School of Law. Prior to her university faculty service, she served as an ESOL teacher and EL instructional coach with Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. Delia is currently an educational consultant for Teacher Created Materials (TCM) in Huntington Beach, California and also supports teachers in Orange County as a Title I instructional coach.