Building Teacher Capacity using Authentic Data Teaming with Middle School Reading Language Arts Teachers

This insider action research study explores the perceptions of 7th grade Reading teachers as they build their instructional capacity by authentic data teaming. The study takes place in a suburban public school district in Texas where the student population has seen a significant increase and content mastery student performance has dropped. The sharp increase in students has created a need to hire teachers and many are inexperienced. Therefore, the need to understand ways to build teacher capacity through authentic data teaming practices to design specific, targeted instructional units to meet the mastery needs of students guided the study. The study aim was to understand how teachers perceive the effectiveness of authentic data teaming in addressing the diverse learning needs of students as well as the impact on their instructional efficacy. The literature review explores the challenges of instructional planning in 21st-century classrooms, literacy gaps, and the educator shortage that resulted in unqualified and novice teachers in classrooms. It also discusses the concept of authentic data teaming within the professional learning community (PLC) framework, and the impact of peer coaching in support of the PLC process to build professional growth.