Teachers' Experiences of Induction Coaching: A Narrative Retrospective Inquiry

It is well established that beginning teachers need support to bridge the gap from college teacher preparation to the classroom setting (Fletcher & Strong, 2009; Wong, 2003). In fact, lack of support in this transition has been identified as a leading factor that causes beginning teachers to leave the profession at high rates early in their careers (Andrews, Gilbert & Martin, 2006). Research suggests that coaching is an effective way to support beginning teacher’s learning (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). The purpose of this qualitative research is to tell the lived experiences of nine teachers who took part of in a statewide induction coaching program. Using narrative inquiry methodology with semi-structured interviews, the study sought to gain the individual stories of past beginning teachers who worked with an induction coach, identify common themes across beginning teachers’ narratives, and to understand what their retrospective stories tell us about working with their induction coach. Four main implications of the findings include the needs of beginning teachers in the field, phases of coaching in reaction to the needs of beginning teachers, qualities of an induction coach, and the need for coaches to mediate the identities of the beginning teacher.


INTRODUCTION
This study is a narrative inquiry into beginning teachers' experiences working with an induction coach. To remain true to the methodology that I have chosen for conducting the research, narrative inquiry, I will start this journey by reflecting on my own story: "Narrative inquirers need to begin with personal justifications, that is, by justifying the inquiry in the context of their own life experiences, tensions, and personal inquiry puzzles" (Clandinin, 2013, p. 36). This is my story of induction in the teaching profession.

My Narrative
I remember my first day of teaching as if it was yesterday. I had mapped out the journey from my house to the school with meticulous detail, knowing exactly how long it took and where I might hit traffic. I was ready for the first day, my outfit selected and ironed, and my lunch was packed. I went to bed nice and early to be ready. Sometime in the middle of the night, amidst the teacher dreams and tossing and turning, I had turned off my alarm clock. I rolled over and glanced at the clock and it glowed the time I wanted to be leaving my house. I raced around frantically and arrived at school as the students were walking in. My new colleagues were most likely looking at me with disgust, "Who is the brand new teacher who saunters in with the students?" This was just the beginning of what would be a tumultuous first year. Sure, I had support from the team of teachers I was working with, but for that year, I felt like I was constantly running late, and the frantic feeling of that first day never left.
Why wasn't I prepared? What had I done wrong in my training? My 4 th grade student teaching placement had been a great learning experience. And now I was teaching both 5 th and 6 th grade in a middle school. I was not ready for this! Yes, I had aced all my classes, written perfect lesson plans, and read every teacher prep book I could find. But nothing could prepare me for that first year, just a classroom full of students, and me with no curriculum, and no guide.
Throughout the year, I caught every illness that passed through my classes and made multiple trips to the walk-in clinic. I was afraid to be out sick. How would I write lesson plans for a substitute when I did not know what I was doing day-to-day? I had an assigned mentor, and we met once a week after school and talked about basic things-when the quarter ended, whom to ask for copy paper, and how to fill-out report cards. However, we did not talk about students, curriculum, assessments, or data. Yes, it was helpful to meet with her, but she did not know my students and what I faced each day. The other teachers on my team tried to be helpful. They gave me copies of worksheets and projects they used, and I felt obliged to follow their path.
What did I know? I felt like an imposter teaching someone else's lessons. It wasn't me; I had no ownership in what I was teaching (or assigning). I struggled with behavior management on a daily basis. I tried to mimic what the teachers on my team did with the "difficult" students. One was very strict and yelled a lot and the other had a great sense of humor that lured the students in. I did not really feel comfortable in either role.
Even though I was assigned a mentor to work with that first year, she taught in another grade level and was busy with her own classroom needs. She did not know my students and the dynamics of the two teams I was working on. Somehow, I made it through and found other beginning teachers to commiserate with as well as a veteran teacher on one of my teams who took me under her wing and showed me the ropes.
But that first year was difficult. There were many times I questioned my career choice and if I had what it took to make it as a teacher. I know now that I have chosen the greatest profession out there and that with a lot of hard work and dedication I can inspire students in the classroom. However, after sixteen years in public education, working with many beginning teachers as well as student teachers, I am left wondering why our profession does not provide more support for teachers early in their careers.

Statement of the Problem
Like my own personal story of induction into the profession, it is well established that beginning teachers need support to bridge the gap from college teacher preparation to the classroom setting (Fletcher & Strong, 2009;Wong, 2003).
In fact, lack of support in this transition has been identified as a leading factor that causes beginning teachers to leave the profession at high rates early in their careers (Andrews, Gilbert, & Martin, 2006). Wilkins and Clift (2006) report that the teacher attrition problem is epidemic as districts across the county invest significant time and money to recruit and train over 500,000 new teachers every year, only to lose 30% -50% of them within the first five years. Attrition is not the only problem to consider. If we know from research in teacher development that teachers do not have all the skills they need when they finish a teacher preparation program, then why would we send them out into the workforce to go it alone? For the sake of the students and beginning teachers like me, we need to change this pattern in our profession. To provide needed support, many states and school districts have developed formal coaching or mentoring programs for beginning teachers. Quality induction programs can be effective in raising student achievement (Fletcher, Strong & Villar, 2008;Wong, 2005). Although research does suggest benefits of induction programs, few studies glean insight from first-and second-year teachers regarding their initial teaching experience and the support they gained from an induction program.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of my qualitative study is to capture the stories of beginning teachers in Rhode Island who participated in a statewide induction program to support them during this critical time in their careers. Specifically, my goal is to understand the beginning teachers' experiences working with an induction coach, and how working with an induction coach supported them with the transition from being students themselves to becoming teachers of students.

Significance of the Study
To understand the impact of the Rhode Island Induction Program, The New Teacher Center conducted a survey of 262 beginning teachers who took part in the first year of the program. Beginning teachers reported that the focus of their work with induction coaches included observing instruction, discussing classroom management, debriefing the observation, and setting goals (Rhode Island Department of Education, 2012). Beginning teachers reported that help with classroom management and differentiating instruction supports had the most positive impact on student learning.
Ninety-one percent of the beginning teachers who responded to the survey felt that their work with their induction coach positively influenced their teaching practice and increased student learning. While this data is informative and provides a basic understanding of the teachers' perceptions of the program, my goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the beginning teachers experience by capturing their stories of teaching in the first year(s).
Although some research has been conducted on induction and new teacher mentoring, Unruh and Holt (2010) suggest the impact of beginning teacher induction programs on teachers' perceived efficacy is an area not extensively researched. My research addressed narrative descriptions of teachers' perceptions of their first year in terms of self-identity and the relationship they built with their induction coach, as well as the perceived effects coaching had on their growth and development as educators.
When investigating beginning teachers' experiences in an induction program designed to support them in developing and honing the craft of teaching, I draw from theory and research in social learning, adult learning, how novice teachers acquire the skills needed to be successful in the classroom, and how school systems support teachers during their initial years in the profession. In order to fully understand the narratives of beginning teachers, I must highlight the situational identities they find themselves in as a novice in the field of education. This identity as a beginner teacher is also rooted in the context of their surroundings-the school climate, physical working conditions, colleague support, and leadership styles.

Research Puzzles
I have chosen to use narrative inquiry methodology, which requires the researcher to frame a research puzzle rather than a specific set of research questions (Clandinin, 2013). The research puzzles that I seek to understand are: • What are the individual stories of beginning teachers who worked with an induction coach?
• What are the common themes across the narratives of beginning teachers?
• What do the retrospective stories of beginning teachers who participated in the Induction Program tell us about working with their induction coach?

Definitions of Terms
For the purpose of this study, I will use the following definitions: • Induction coaches: Fully released (from classroom teaching responsibilities) veteran teachers with at least six years experience who completed required induction coach training provided by The New Teacher Center, and who were hired by the Rhode Island Department of Education to support fifteen to seventeen first year teachers.
• Beginning Teacher: A Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) certified teacher who has not previously started and ended a school year in the same classroom.
• Coaching/Mentoring: Coaching and mentoring are used interchangeably in the research literature. In discussing coaching/mentoring, I have appropriated the terminology referred to by the researchers cited. RIDE used the term "coaching" as a way to distinguish the induction program from the previous programs that were referred to as "mentoring." They defined "coaching" as supporting the mentee in acquiring and refining the skills and knowledge required for enhanced performance in the classroom.
• Narrative: For the purpose of my research I used the word narrative as defined by Andrews, Squire, and Tamboukou (2013), "individualized, internal representations of phenomena-events, thoughts and feelings" (p. 5).

Organization of Dissertation
I have divided this dissertation into five chapters. Chapter 1introduces the statement of the problem, purpose of the study and research puzzles that focus my investigation. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the literature that pertains to the theoretical framework of the study, as well as the previous research in related fields to coaching, beginning teachers, and teacher development. Chapter 3 provides a detailed overview of the methodology I have chosen, and steps I followed in conducting this research. Chapter 4 presents the findings of my research, followed by a discussion and conclusion in Chapter 5.

Introduction
When investigating beginning teachers' experiences in an induction program designed to support them in developing and honing the craft of teaching, I draw from theory and research. Figure 2.1 represents the theorists I studied in sociocultural learning theory, adult learning theory, and teacher development. I also draw from research addressing how the field supports beginning teachers with respect to induction coaching.

Sociocultural Learning Theory
I framed this study through the lens of sociocultural learning theory, which is used to explain how individuals' cognitive development is related to social interactions and culturally organized activities (Scott & Palincsar, 2009). Vygotsky (1978) suggested we learn through our social interactions and communications with others: " [Vygotsky] was the first modern psychologist to suggest the mechanisms by which culture becomes a part of each person's nature" (Cole & Scribner, 1978, p. 6).
Vygotsky theorized that we learn by watching others and mimicking their actions. At an early age, children begin to imitate the way an adult in their world speaks, uses tools, and moves. As children engage in more complex actions, they have a greater need and reliance on language to complete a task, often times using speech to plan the task. Therefore, learning and cognitive development depend on the social context in which they occur and are heavily dependent on language: "…learning is not development; however properly organized learning results in mental development" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90). Vygotsky believed that to assist in mental development, learning occurs through interaction with a "more knowledgeable other" (MKO). The MKO provides support by working within the novice's Zone of Proximal Development, which is "the distance between the actual development level, as determined by independent problem solving, and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). This theory supports the notion that learning precedes development. Vygotsky held that the role of the MKO is to model and co-construct knowledge alongside the learner in a social, collaborative interaction, rather than simply transmit his or her own knowledge. This occurs best when the MKO challenges the novice to develop just beyond his/her current level of skill, while supporting his/her learning through coaching with feedback.
Later, Bruner (1986) added to Vygotsky's theory of development the idea of instructional scaffolding-temporarily providing support to the learner in order to gain greater independence toward mastering the specific skill. The MKO models the task, gives advice, or guides the novice with intentional talk through each step of the process, purposely lessening the amount of support with each attempt. This gradual release of responsibility, coupled with practice at each step in the process, provides the scaffolding needed for the learner to internalize the process or skill being taught, and to perform it independently. An example of this is a parent teaching a child how to ride a bike. The parent models riding a bike for the child while using language to explain each step. Then the parent scaffolds the child's learning by holding the bike steady as the child begins to practice the movement of pedaling and gaining balance.
The parent coaches with praise and suggestions, releasing the tight grasp gradually to let the child learn to balance. With continued practice and failures, the parent slowly releases the bike when the child keeps it steady and balanced. Rogoff (1990) expanded on the notion of learning through scaffolded, or guided, participation. However, she believed that this interaction does not need to be face to face; rather, the teacher, librarian, classmates and parents who helped shape the writing of the research report as a cultural activity, can guide a student working on a report in isolation. This idea of learning differs greatly from Vygotsky's and Bruner's emphasis on didactic dialogue (Scott & Palincsar, 2009). However, all of these theorists suggest that through repeated, supported practice in challenging situations, the learner becomes skilled at the targeted tasks. Lave and Wenger (1991) further articulated sociocultural learning, focusing on adult learning through an apprenticeship, or through situated learning with an MKO.
They proposed that mastery of knowledge and skill requires newcomers to engage in full participation of the practice alongside an MKO. Over an extended period, the novice observes the MKO, and then eventually completes simple tasks with guidance, with the ultimate goal of mastery. The notion of "learning by doing" is the highest level of authentic learning that can take place, and allows engagement in the sociocultural practice of the community. Lave and Wenger studied the concept of a "Community of Practice," where participants within a common craft or profession come together to share information and experience, in order to learn from each other; "Transformation occurs as participants in the activity assume increasing responsibility for the activity; in essence redefining membership in a community of practice, and, in fact, changing the sociocultural practice itself" (Scott & Palincsar, 2009, p. 13). Bandura (1986) expanded social learning theory to social cognitive theory. His work focuses on how behavior and growth are affected during social activities in context; specifically, he studied self-efficacy. He found that modeling is useful in training by increasing the learner's knowledge and understanding of new strategies, therefore, increasing the learner's self-efficacy. Bandura (1986) stated that when people observe a model performing a behavior, they remember the sequence of events and use this information to guide subsequent behaviors. He believed that people do not learn new behaviors merely by trying them and succeeding or failing; they replicate modeled behaviors based on reward or punishment. Bandura (1986) believed that "identification" occurs when the learner adopts the observed behaviors, values, beliefs, and attitudes of the model over time. Between observing the process and imitating it, the learner uses cognitive functions to mediate the process. The learner relies on mental processes to determine if the desired result was achieved or if a new response is required.
In relation to my study on how beginning teachers learn in the first years of the profession, it is critical to understand sociocultural learning theory. Beginning teachers learn the trade through social interaction with an MKO in the context of a classroom.
They begin by watching an MKO interact with students and then mimic those interactions themselves. Having an MKO to work alongside the novice teachers allows instructional scaffolding to occur as Bruner suggests, supporting the beginning teacher to gain independence as they become more skilled. While student teaching is a structured learning environment for growth to occur, I will discuss research that supports the notion that a student teaching placement is not merely enough time to learn all the skills necessary to become a qualified teacher.

Adult Learning Theory
While the basic process of learning through social interactions is the same for adults and children, Knowles (1980) identified the difference in teaching adults to learn (andragogy), and teaching children to learn (pedagogy). Using pedagogy, the teacher is responsible for determining what the child will learn, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if it has been learned (Knowles, 1990). In andragogy, Knowles focused on the needs of adults: the need to know, the learner's self-concept, the role of the learner's experience, their readiness to learn, and their orientation to learning, and motivation. Knowles stressed that adults seek knowledge in subject matter that is relevant to their lives and/or work, and they bring with them prior knowledge and values. Engaging in a problem-centered, hands-on situation, rather than listening to a lecture, is a more powerful approach for adult learners (Knowles, 1990).
When an adult is learning a new skill, a continuum of learning development occurs before that skill is mastered. Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980) suggested a model of skill development that ranges from novice to expertise. As a novice, the learner is inflexible, relying on rules and procedures to guide his or her thinking. The advanced beginner lacks a sense of what is truly important and responsibility for his or her actions, but is beginning to understand when to break rules and when to follow. As competent, the learner has rational goals and sets plans for achieving them. The learner makes conscious choices and has an emotional connection to successes and failures.
As proficient, the learner relies on both intuition and an ability to analyze a situation.
As an expert, the person is able to react in the moment effortlessly. Through repeated experience coping with real situations, the novice is able to move through the skill development stages with the support of an MKO. The novice learns through reflection on the trails and errors they experiences along the way. Peno & Silva Mangiante (2012) added to the Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980) model of skill development with their Purposeful Ongoing Mentoring Model (POMM). Peno and Silva Mangiante (2012) stated that in order to support growth along the novice to expert skill model, an MKO must recognize where a learner is developmentally, set goals with them, and provide them with necessary scaffolding and reflection opportunities (Schön, 1983(Schön, , 1987 to help them develop to the next level of practice (Vygotsky, 1978). Kegan's (1982)  work on their own, and have personal theories that guide them. Later, Kegan (1994) dealt with the demands of everyday life, specifically discussing the difficulties that result from presenting challenging expectations to a person who does not have the support to accomplish the task. He believes that placing demands on someone who is not ready, or does not have the support needed, is ineffective.
In additional support of these problem-solving phases, King and Kitchener (1994) developed the Reflective Judgment Model that identifies seven developmental stages for responding to ill-structured problems. The seven stages are grouped into three levels: preflective thinking, quasireflective thinking, and reflective thinking. In prereflective thinking, knowledge is certain with one correct answer for all questions, often gained through the word of an authority figure. With quasireflective thinking comes the understanding that uncertainty is expected and that knowledge is constructed: this stage is indicative of the majority of college age students. As one moves up in the developmental sequence, he or she becomes more adept at handling situations in the moment. The final stage leads to reflective thinking, a process of reasonable inquiry, including the ability to judge evidence in order to support a decision. King and Kitchener (1994) believe that institutions of higher education are effective in promoting growth toward reflective thinking; however, unless given opportunities to interact with different points of view or become immersed in new experiences, all college students may not reach the higher levels of reasoning.
In connection to my research, it is important to use the lens of adult learning theory in order to understand the needs of beginning teachers once they finish a teacher preparation program. While the work of Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980) indicates that beginning teachers are novices along their model of skill development, that is, often inflexible in their thinking with a strong reliance of the rules they learned preservice, the reality of the profession is that they are most often working alone in a classroom facing a bevy of ill-structured problems at any given moment in the day.
Therefore, the provision of a mentor/coach is vital to novice teachers' continued development as they navigate new situations they may not have encountered preservice.

Teacher Development
For this study, it was essential that I look at adult learning theory with respect to teachers. Teaching offers a unique situation as teachers are faced with ill-structured problems on a daily basis and they must learn to react in the moment (King & Kitchener, 1994). Schön (1983Schön ( , 1987 helped us understand that, because teaching presents many ill-structured problems, teaching is an art that requires knowledge far exceeding merely professional knowledge. Over time, teachers develop the reflective habits of mind that allow them to be successful with each new group of students in a variety of situations. Once teachers recognize a unique situation, they must rely on reflective practices, prior experiences, critical problem solving skills, and the art of improvisation. Schön (1987) and Dewey (1938) agreed that one fully develops the required teaching skills by primarily using a learning-by-doing method. Schön (1987) referred to a reflective practicum in which beginning teachers are supported by an advanced practitioner in the process of learning in action and immersion in the culture of the community. As teachers progress, they begin to reflect-on-action, or think back on how their actions led to the outcome of a given situation. This eventually leads to a more spontaneous knowing-in-action, which involves making decisions based on experience in the field. Eventually, a higher level of knowing comes into play when the practitioner can reflect-in-action, using trial and error. When a novice works with an advanced practitioner in the practicum, there must be a reciprocal reflection-inaction as the novice and MKO interact in the cycle of showing and telling followed by interpretation and experimentation. This support from a MKO allows the novice to continue to develop the four types of knowledge that Shulman (1986) observed are necessary in the classroom setting, which I will discuss next.
Teachers must not only learn to navigate ill-structured problems, they must also learn content, teaching strategies, and child development. Shulman (1986) suggested that teachers must develop four different types of knowledge to be effective in the classroom. The first is subject matter content knowledge. While this type of knowledge develops during undergraduate preparation and encompasses facts and concepts specific to each teacher's certification, all teachers must learn to go beyond explaining the basic structure of the content to their students and instead design experiences for students to explore the "why" of the subject matter (Shulman, 1986).
The second type of knowledge is pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) or the "how" of teaching. Teachers must develop strategies to use in the classroom to engage learners, such as questioning procedures, project-based learning, and classroom structures. The foundation for this type of knowledge is typically established during pre-service education and is later refined through experience. Curricular knowledge is the third type that Shulman (1986) recognized. Teachers must have a basic awareness of a variety of instructional programs, curriculums, and standards during teacher preparation programs, which are further solidified through experience and exposure in the classroom. Shulman's (1986) fourth type of knowledge is that of learners and their diverse characteristics. In order for teachers to be successful in the classroom, they must understand the developmental sequence of learning and have a clear grasp of the age group they are teaching. While a basic understanding of child development is gained in teacher preparation, through experience and reflection teachers learn to provide for the specific needs of various learning styles and levels of development. Shulman (1986) believed these four types of teacher knowledge should be developed simultaneously and recursively as teachers are required to adapt and deliver new curriculum to new students each year. He also suggested that there are three types of propositional knowledge in teaching that relate to the four types of knowledge about teaching. These three types of propositions are principles, maxims, and norms.
Teachers are expected to know what research suggests is best practice in terms of teaching and learning (principles), as well as those ideas that are not confirmed by research but are accumulated wisdom of practice (maxims). For example, a principle of teaching that has been researched is the importance of repeated readings for comprehension, while a maxim might be the often heard "never smile until Christmas." The norms of teaching "guide the work of a teacher, not because they are true in scientific terms, or because they work in practical terms, but because they are morally or ethically right" (Shulman, 1986, p. 11). An example of a norm of teaching is not to embarrass a child in front of peers.
Framing my research in teacher development allows me to understand the complexities of the profession and all that is required of a beginning teacher. The refection that Schön (1983Schön ( , 1987 refers to, and the four types of knowledge that teachers must develop according to Shulman (1986), support the notion that a teacher's learning does not end once a certification has been granted.

Supporting Beginning Teacher Development
If we situate teacher development in terms of what Shulman (1986), Schön (1987, Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980), King and Kitchener (1994), and Kegan (1982) suggest, then we should never expect that teachers are ready for the classroom after a pre-service teaching program. Novice teachers may take two or three years to make the full professional transition from a university classroom to teaching in their own classroom effectively (Menchaca, 2003). Berliner (2004) also underscored that it takes two to three years for the average teacher to reach the advanced beginner stage (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980). Even after approximately five years, very few teachers move beyond the proficient stage on the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980). Constant reflection, sharing, and growth that are appropriate to the level of expertise are required in order for the skills to develop. Because of this, Berliner noted, "…pre-service education may not be the most appropriate place to teach some things, and therefore, we may have to extend our programs of teacher education for some time after our students have entered practice" (Berliner, 1988, p. 27). He suggested it is, therefore, ineffective to expose pre-service teachers to complex learning theories, as they are incapable at that time in their development of understanding the implications that will occur in the field. He also noted that a person can obtain one level of development in a particular context, but when faced with a new situation, the expertise may not transfer (Berliner, 1988). For example, a teacher may become an expert at teaching sixth grade science, but if he or she transition to a second grade classroom, that level of skill needs redeveloping in the new context. Berliner (1988) warned about those who come into education through an alternative certification route because often they have limited classroom experience and a lack of pedagogical knowledge.
Neither theory nor research suggests that beginning teachers are able to react easily in the moment to the many, complex issues that inevitably arise in a classroom on a daily basis (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). Teaching is inherently an ill-structured problem, as teachers face new situations with new complexities every single day.
Beginning teachers are not expected to be at a stage of reacting instantaneously to these issues. Yet, we often leave them alone to fend for themselves, and expect that they can solve problems and make the right decisions in the moment (Dyal & Sewell, 2004). An opportunity to reflect on these uncomfortable and foreign situations would be key to the development of a teacher who can spontaneously react and elicit a positive outcome (Schön, 1987). If beginning teachers are making decisions based on rules and curriculum, they are not able to react in the moment to the needs of the students by adjusting curriculum and managing behavior (Hieber, Gallimore, & Stigler, 2002). Kegan's (1982) theory highlighted the need for adults (teachers) to work with an MKO who will engage them in reflection and teach them to develop their own theories based on specific situations. An MKO must acknowledge where a person is on this continuum. "What is most important for us to know in understanding another, is not the other's experience, but what the experience means to him or her…" (Kegan, 1982, p. 113). As individuals work through problems and experience a variety of social settings, they gain awareness in "meaning making" and they move through the stages of competency. For example, a beginner teacher might not view a behavior problem in the classroom as an issue with student engagement. An MKO must listen to how the beginner teacher interprets the experience and react accordingly, while guiding them to see beyond the behavior to the root of the problem. Through all of this research it is clear that beginning teachers are not developmentally prepared for all the demands of the profession.

Induction Coaching
Research suggests that coaching is an effective way to support the learning of beginning teachers (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Darling-Hammond (1997) suggested that the research supports that quality induction programs pay for themselves with reduced teacher attrition and improved student learning. However, research has also shown that specific components are needed for an induction coaching program to be successful (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). In order to be effective, a trained induction coach must spend extensive time in the beginning teacher's classroom, embedded in the school culture (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). In a study using student test data, Fletcher, Strong, and Villar (2008), showed that coaches working with teachers over a period of two years, rather than just one, led to greater impact on student learning. The training and careful selection of induction coaches also plays a pivotal role in beginning teachers' success. Fletcher and Strong (2009) suggested that the amount of training that mentors receive had a direct impact on their ability to change the instructional practices of the mentee. Additionally, other vital components of an induction program have been identified, such as respect of beginning teachers' practices, induction to school and school culture, clear goal setting, and flexibility in practice (Olebe, 2005). This speaks directly to the need for induction coaches to be trained in reflective practice as well as in the needs of adult learners. It also introduces the importance of induction coaches becoming part of the school culture (Kardos, Johnson, Peske, Kauffman, & Liu, 2001). This component of a successful induction program would seem to suggest that induction coaches should be matched with beginning teachers with similar certification. However, there is disagreement about this in the literature. Rockoff (2008) found little evidence that teacher or student outcomes improve when a coach matches a teacher's subject area or grade. In contrast, Long (2010) suggests the key to a successful process of matching beginning teachers to suitable coaches is based on similar professional content areas, learning styles, age, gender and culture, as well as personality variables. Bianchini and Benner (2009) concluded that having a coach in the same field is essential for deep knowledge to be shared and developed. In a five-year longitudinal study started in the [2007][2008] school year, conducted by Gray and Taie (2015), the percentage of beginning teachers who were currently teaching in each subsequent year was larger among those who were assigned a first-year mentor than among those not assigned a first year mentor.
This suggests that teacher retention rates may improve when mentor support is provided.
Despite our best attempts to adequately prepare teachers in teacher preparation programs, many teachers learn through a "trial by fire" method with their students (Dyal & Sewell, 2002). Research suggests teachers' first independent experience in a classroom setting is a transition from students of teaching, to teachers of students (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). A recurring phenomenon is that beginning teachers report feeling isolated at the onset of their career (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). Those who accept a new teaching position in a school either fail or succeed on their own with little help from the school community (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). Like doctors in a medical residency, beginning teachers need the support of a more knowledgeable other to support them in their development. McNulty and Fox (2010) suggested that forming alliances with fellow teachers in order to establish a support system is a key component of a beginning teacher's success. However, relying informally on a gradelevel colleague in the room next-door puts an undue burden on a beginning teacher who may already be overwhelmed by the expectations of the profession (McNulty & Fox, 2010).
Since the school reforms of the 1980s, there has been a focus on the need to provide greater and more formalized support for new teachers. Hiebert, Gallimore, and Stigler (2002) explored the need for a long-term initiative of professional development in education that is linked to the curriculum, focused on student learning, school-based, and collaborative. Induction coaching is one specific way to support beginning teachers directly in their classrooms and scaffold their development as educators. Ingersoll and Strong (2011) noted: The theory behind induction holds that teaching is complex work, preemployment teacher preparation is rarely sufficient to provide all of the knowledge and skills necessary to successful teaching and a significant portion can only be acquired while on the job. (p. 4) An induction coach is essentially a "teacher of teachers" (Moir, 2003, p. 4).
These trained coaches, released from their classrooms, use their expertise in the field to guide beginning teachers in their development. The objective of the induction coach is to continuously engage the beginning teacher in the cycle on inquiry, which the data tells us involves goal setting, data collection, reflection, and adjustments (Moir, 2003).
Induction coaches can use theories of adult learning, as well as the Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980) model of skill development to better support beginning teachers. In their Purposeful Ongoing Mentoring Model (POMM), Peno and Silva Mangiante (2012) stated that in order to support teachers along the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980) mentors need to recognize where teachers are developmentally, set goals with them, use scaffolding techniques as described in Vygotsky's (1978) Zone of Proximal Development, and provide opportunities for reflection on their performance (Schön, 1987). If coaches work within this system of potential development, they are able to guide the beginner to develop a higher level of skill (Peno & Silva Mangiante, 2012).
According to Gordon (1990), coaches should transition gradually from a directive approach, which includes telling beginners what to do (because novices follow the rules), to a collaborative approach, which includes working together to problem-solve as the beginning teachers become more reflective. Then coaches transition to a nondirective facilitation style as learners begin to react in the moment.
This style includes asking questions and encouraging independence (Gordon, 1990). Glickman (2002) suggests coaches use specific language to lead teachers to autonomy, and provides specific sentence stems for each stage of coaching. Examples of sentence stems include: "What would it look like if…?"; or "What I hear you saying is…" Glickman (2002) outlines three levels of coaching language mirror Gordon's coaching levels: directive, collaborative, and facilitative. These three levels of coaching language that Glickman (2002) suggests allow coaches to react to novices in a developmentally appropriate way as teachers grow in their practice.
Alternative certification programs present an area of concern in teacher induction. While these programs may develop a solid base of understanding regarding content matter, they lack the pedagogy practice needed for teachers to effectively deliver the instruction (Unruh & Holt, 2010). Many states have accepted alternatives to certification in order to fill the increasing demands of teacher vacancies. Induction coaching can provide consistent support to all beginning teachers, not only to improve student learning, but also to retain novice teachers and maintain an effective work force (Unruh & Holt, 2010). This may be particularly important in the case of teachers with alternative certification.

Impact of Coaching on Teacher Efficacy
Shaughnessy (2004) defined teachers' self-efficacy as "their perceptions about their own capabilities to foster students' learning and engagement" (as cited in Unruh & Holt, 2010, p. 5). Bandura's (1986) research showed that high-perceived selfefficacy leads teachers and students to set higher goals and increases the likelihood that the goals will be achieved. In a study on the effects of coaching on novice teachers' self-efficacy, Bruce and Ross (2008) found that mentoring encouraged teachers to enhance goal setting, take risks, and implement challenging teaching strategies. Ultimately, peer coaching enabled these teachers to move their practice towards standards-based methods, had positive effects on teacher self-efficacy, and caused participants to reflect more explicitly (Bruce & Ross, 2008). This quantitative research focused on the effects of peer coaching with twelve mathematics teachers in grades three and six. Bruce and Ross (2008) came to the conclusion that "individuals who feel that they will be successful on a given task are more likely to be so because they adopt challenging goals, try harder to achieve them, persist despite setbacks, and develop coping mechanisms for managing their emotional states" (p. 347). The study analyzed the impact of positive and constructive feedback from a respected peer, and found that mentoring encouraged teachers to enhance goal setting, take risks, and implement challenging teaching strategies. Ultimately, peer coaching enabled teachers to move their practice towards standards-based methods, had positive effects on teacher self-efficacy, and caused participants to reflect more explicitly. This research suggested the value of a coach working with a beginning teacher to develop effective teaching practices, provide a positive induction into the field, and help improve selfefficacy (Bruce & Ross, 2008).
Feiman-Nemser and Parker (1992) concluded that a fully-released mentor was most effective in improving teaching practice as identified by observations in the field.
A fully-released mentor is a teacher who has been relieved of their own classroom responsibilities in order to coach full time. In a survey study, Kapadia, Coca, and Easton (2007) found that novice teachers in an induction group which included receiving coaching support and attending additional workshops, reported higher levels in induction support, positive teaching experiences, and retention than teachers who were not part of an induction program. Algozzine, Gretes, Queen, and Cowan-Hathcock (2007), using mixed methods to study of third-year teachers, found that the majority indicated induction program activities were effective in providing support for them to be successful in the classroom.
Although these studies on induction coaching are informative, they do not provide detailed narrative descriptions of teachers' perceptions of their first year in terms of self-identity and the relationship with their induction coaches.

Chapter Summary
This chapter discussed the theory and research lens that I used to conduct my research. Knowledge of the ideas of sociocultural learning theory, adult learning theory, teacher development, and induction coaching provides a critical foundation for analyzing the narratives of beginning teachers and the efficacy of induction coaches.
In Chapter 3, I will fully explain the methodology I used to carry out this research.

METHODOLOGY Introduction
After reading the current research on teacher induction, it became clear that it is important to bring to light the stories of beginning teachers' experiences. I researched several methodologies before deciding to utilize narrative analysis. I clearly explain my decision in the research design section of this chapter. This chapter also presents the role of the researcher, selection of participants, data collection, and the data analysis techniques used to address my research puzzles.

Research Design
Much of the existing research about induction coaching uses survey design.
While Likert-type scales intended to capture beginning teachers' satisfaction with induction coaching, retention explanations, and specific components of induction I spent a great deal of time determining which method of qualitative research would best fit the question I wanted to answer: What was the experience of beginning teachers? One possible approach, phenomenology, is the study of people's experience and how they make sense of that experience by relaying how they remember it, feel about it, and describe it when they talk with others (Patton, 2002). While reading about phenomenology I was drawn to a form of this research known as heuristic inquiry which, "brings to the fore the personal experience and insights of the researcher" (Patton, 2002, p. 107). I worried about the access I had to the teachers I wanted to study, and if I would be given the time to immerse into their world in order to completely understand this phenomenon. I also looked into the field of grounded theory, which focuses on, "the process of generating theory rather than a particular theoretical content" (Patton, 2002, p. 125). Grounded theory, developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967), offers specific methods and coding procedures for uncovering a theory. I was concerned about the limited time period in which I was interested-the first year of a teacher's experience. Was this enough of an overall experience in teaching for me to capture significant patterns that change over time? My ability to study this experience in depth was also a concern when considering case study. I knew I was not able to immerse myself in the lives of those I was studying. I also worried that, because the program was over and the teachers were no longer in their first year, I would not be able to capture the experience as required by case study. I then came upon the methodology of narrative inquiry.

Narrative Inquiry
According to Clandinin (2013), "Narrative inquiry is an approach to the study of human lives conceived as a way of honoring lived experience as a source of important knowledge and understanding" (p. 17). Narrative analysis allows for a systematic study of personal experiences and meaning, using the story told as the source of the investigation. People tell stories, or narratives, to make sense of their world and life experiences (Creswell, 2009). The stories told are reconstructions of events based on the subject's interpretation or "truth" (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012), and are socially constructed experiences between the teller and the listener (Vygotsky, 1978). For the sake of clarity, I use the terms story and narrative interchangeably throughout to refer to these first-person accounts of experiences: The term narrative carries many meanings and is used in a variety of ways by different disciplines, often synonymously with story (...) the narrative scholar (pays) analytic attention to how the facts got assembled that way. For whom was this story constructed, how was it made and for what purpose? What cultural discourses does it draw on-take for granted? What does it accomplish? (Riessman & Speedy, 2007, p.428-429) According to Noddings and Withrell (1991), stories "provide us with a picture of real people in real situations, struggling with real problems. They banish the indifference often generated by samples, treatments, and faceless subjects" (p. 280). This methodology involves using first person narratives of research participants as data, often referred to as field text (Clandinin, 2013). Interpretation of these data occurs on three levels; the content of what is said (ideational), how something is said (textual), and the context of the roles of the speaker and listener (interpersonal) (Reismann, 1993).
There are many different foci within narrative research. The first approach views a narrative as an entire life story and uses multiple sources such as interviews, observation, and documents (Denzin, 1989). In a second approach, the narrative is a brief, organized, topically specific story that includes characters, setting, and plot in order to reconstruct facts and events in a person's past (Labov, 1982). A third approach views narrative as including sections of talk, or extended accounts of lives in context, that arise over the course of an interview as a way for the teller to make meaning of the experience (Riessman, 2003). These sections of talk can be broken down into two types of narratives, big and small, which will be explained further in a later section. The fourth, linguistic approach to narrative research is what Gee (2001) calls discourse analysis. This approach focuses on how the narrative is told, specifically looking at the language, intonation, pitch, and pauses, again as a way to make meaning of the experience. While various researchers may use a different view of a narrative, "all require [the researcher] to construct texts for further analysis, that is, select and organize documents, compose field notes, and/or choose sections of interview transcripts for close inspection" (Riessman, 2003, p. 2). Narrative researchers also use a wide variety of analyses.
Thematic analysis. Thematic analysis of narratives focuses on "what" is said, rather than "how it is said" (Reissman, 2003). Similar to grounded theorists, narrative researchers gather many stories and inductively create conceptual groupings from the data. "A typology of narratives organized by theme is the typical representational strategy, with case studies or vignettes providing illustrations" (Reisssman, 2003, p. 2). The thematic approach allows the researcher to theorize across multiple cases, analyzing common themes across participants and events they relay. Often times the thematic analysis is conducted on what Bamberg and Georgakopoulou (2008) refer to as "small stories": Part of the validity of analyzing small stories for purposes of identity research lies in the ways in which this approach opens us up and urges us to scrutinize the inconsistencies, contradictions, moments of trouble and tension, and the tellers' constant navigation and finessing between different versions of selfhood in local contexts (p. 16) Bamberg and Georgakopoulou (2008) refer to small stories as an umbrella term for narrative activities that do not follow the traditional structure of big stories. These small stories include small incidents, elaborations on a topic, explanations, or even tellings on ongoing events.

Structural analysis.
Structural analysis of narratives studies the way the story is told. Here the focus is on language and the organization of the narrative. Labov's (1982) approach is to identify the components of the big story, which are abstract (summary or focus of the story), orientation (time, place, characters, and situation), plot (sequence of events with a turning point), evaluation (commentary from the narrator), resolution (outcome of the plot), and coda (the lesson of the story). Often times, structural analysis is used for a few cases to build theories that include language, and structure that can be missed in thematic analysis (Riessman, 2003). For example if I were to only look at the themes that participants mentioned in their stories, I would miss the meaning behind how they told their stories, including how they positioned themselves in the plot.
Interactional analysis. Interactional analysis emphasizes the interactions between the teller and listener of the story (Riessman, 2003). The focus here is on the co-construction of the story through the interview process where the two participants are engaged in a conversation. It is important to realize that the story is told in a specific context, to a specific person (researcher), and at a specific time and place. One must honor that the story could change if told in a different context. Therefore, the role of the researcher and the way he or she interprets and analyzes the story is critical in the field of narrative analysis.
Performative analysis. In this type of analysis, "Storytelling is seen as a performance-by a 'self' with a past-who involves, persuades, and (perhaps) moves an audience through language and gesture, 'doing' rather than telling alone" (Riessman, 2003). This requires the researcher to look at the way the speakers position themselves throughout the narrative, the presentation of 'self.' Davies and Harre (1990) discuss the idea of positioning as a way of understanding personhood, recognizing that once an individual takes up a particular position, he or she sees the world from the vantage point of that position. They also acknowledge that an individual can take up a variety of positions in various storylines, "in telling a fragment of his or her autobiography a speaker assign parts and characters in the episodes described, both to themselves and to other people, including those taking part in the conversation" (Davis & Harre, 1990, p. 7). Here again, it is vital to look at the role the researcher is playing in the interview from the viewpoint of the participant.
I focus my study on the narratives teachers tell about their first year(s) in the field of education. Certainly, teachers remember their first year in the classroom, but how they choose to tell their story is key to their experience. I used the experiencecentered approach to making meaning of a narrative (Riessman, 1993;Denzin, 1989), rather than the event-focused approach (Labov, 1982). To do this, I used all four types of analysis: thematic, structural, interactional, and performative. Capturing each story allowed me to gain insight into the experience of a first year teacher and the role the induction coach plays in this experience. McKamey (2013) states, "Narrative researchers argue that stories capture the complexity of experience in ways that other methods cannot" (p. 6). McKamey brought together the narrative of several individuals to identify major themes and commonalities across the narratives to expand the understanding of the experience she studied. While my aim is to tell the individual stories of beginning teachers, I also wanted to share the commonalities of these stories as way of synthesizing the experiences of a first year teacher. According to Wells (2011), "Stories are told by someone, to someone else, at one or more points in time, and in a specific historical and cultural context" (p. 23). For this reason, it is critical to take into account who is telling the story, my role as the researcher, and the effect the context and historical nature of the storytelling may play in the analysis.
I have chosen narrative inquiry methodology because it allows me to use my intimate knowledge of the Induction Program in Rhode Island in the analysis of the stories captured in the interview process. As a former induction coach, I understand the type of relationship built between an induction coach and a beginning teacher, the tools used in coaching sessions, and the importance of building trust and respecting boundaries. As a researcher, I wanted to understand induction coaching from the beginning teacher's point of view. However, it was very apparent to me that I could not separate myself from this research completely, acting as an impartial observer.
Rather, I needed to honor my role as a co-author of these stories, using my knowledge of the subject matter to enhance the research. It is through narrative analysis that I found the place where my voice had a role in the process.

Context of the Study
In 2011, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) implemented a comprehensive induction program to coach every beginning teacher in the state. The program was funded for three years by Race to the Top grant funding, which set as one of its requirements that states support beginning teachers. RIDE determined new teachers in Rhode Island's five urban core districts would receive two years of coaching (due to concerns with teacher retention in high need areas), and all other beginning teachers would receive one year of support.
To support these teachers, RIDE initially recruited seventeen teachers from across the state to be induction coaches. Induction coaches were fully released from their teaching assignments, and received 210 hours of professional development from the New Teacher Center (NTC), a non-profit organization working in teacher induction. Coaches received professional development from NTC on the researchbased practices of effective coaching in order to support beginning teachers in setting goals, analyzing student work, communicating with parents, and developing lesson plans, as well as any other individualized support needed. Training from NTC also included working with adults using coaching language (Glickman, 2002) and adopting a problem-centered approach directed by the beginning teacher (Knowles, 1980). Each coach worked with fifteen beginning teachers for approximately 90 minutes per week.
Many coaches worked with teachers in districts outside the coaches' "home" districts, and in teaching areas outside their own certification area.

The Role of the Researcher
I had the opportunity to work as an induction coach for two years (2011)(2012)(2013) and have first-hand knowledge of the development of the program. It is critical that, as I listened to the participants tell their stories, I reflected on my role as an induction coach and the way in which my story interweaved into the context being studied because, "As narrative inquirers, we become part of participants' lives and they part of ours. Therefore, our lives-and who we are and are becoming, on our and their landscapes-are also under study" (Clandinin, 2013, p. 30). Narrative analysis views the role of the researcher as an opportunity rather than a bias. As mentioned previously, interactional analysis focuses on the idea of the co-construction of narratives. In order to remain constantly aware of my role as the researcher I kept a reflexive journal, which included field notes and memos which will be described in the data collection section of this chapter.

Participants
The population for my study was the 350 teachers who received either one or two years of support from an induction coach as part of the Statewide Induction  of participants, and included a copy of the consent form (Appendix E) to be signed by those interested in participating. The sixteen coaches were asked to forward the email and link to a Survey Monkey (Appendix F) to the teachers with whom they had worked. Twenty-six beginning teachers replied to the email request from the other coaches and completed the survey; two of those did not include contact information, and therefore were excluded, leaving 24 potential participants.

Purposeful Sampling
According to Merriam (2009), "purposeful sampling is based on the assumption that the investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore must select a sample from which the most can be learned" (p. 77). If my goal was to capture the stories of participants in the Induction Program, I needed to represent the diversity of the participants. I created a list of attributes to represent a variety of beginning teachers to the extent possible based on school district (urban, suburban, rural), gender, age, certification area, certification route, degree, grade level, opinion of the program, and duration of participation in the program (one and two years of support). From this list I created a pre-screening tool using Survey Monkey (Appendix F), which was included in the emails sent out by coaches. After receiving completed surveys, I selected participants that matched the criteria I had identified.
I chose ten participants because I felt that I had captured all of the different categories I was looking for which might exhaust the typical profiles of all 350 beginning teachers enrolled in the program. However, of the original ten participants contacted, three did not respond to my email and phone request or changed their mind about participation. I replaced those participants with others that had a similar profile.  Table 3.1 indicate the reason why I chose a specific profile. I was pleased to be able to capture a variety of routes to teacher certification, including the traditional college/university teacher preparation route, as well as participants from The New Teacher Project (TNTP), Rhode Island Teach for America (RITFA), Career and Technical Education Certification (CTE), and those with no certification and basic certifications. Participants also included one part-time teacher, as well as represented a diversity of classroom placements including band, automotive, filmmaking, English, science, kindergarten, and special education. Once interviewing began, I learned that one participant, "Jane," primarily worked with a Year 2 coach, who received a different training program than the original 17 coaches. I wanted to keep coaches' training consistent to try to limit the variability as best I could. As a result, I eliminated "Jane" from analysis and moved forward with nine participants' interviews in the data analysis stage.

Participant Consent
The twenty-four participants understood that by responding to the survey they were giving consent to be a part of the study. This implied consent was explained clearly in the introduction of the survey (Appendix G). In the original email sent with the Survey Monkey link, participants were also given a copy of the signed consent (Appendix E) form to read, should they be chosen for an interview. I began each interview with a short statement about my research and gave participants time to ask any questions about the research and/or process (Appendix H). I then had each participant read and sign two copies of the informed consent document which included a signature to agree to be a part of the study and a signature acknowledging the use of an audio recording device (Appendix E).

Data Collection
Interviews I emailed the ten selected participants and requested they select a time and location for our interview. Nine out of the ten participants chose to meet in a public library; the other teacher requested that the interview take place at her school. Each often takes the position that, "the narrative constitutes reality. It is in telling that we make real phenomena in the stream of consciousness" (Reissman, 1993, p. 22). The interviews were recorded using an audio recording device.
I created and used an interview guide (Riessman, 1993) that included broad questions to help elicit specific stories from the participants and possible follow-up questions as needed (Appendix H). The interview guide included two specific sections. The first section included background questions about the context of the school (school culture, administration support, and colleagues). It was important at this point to capture the context of the school setting so that I could situate working with an induction coach within that context. Clandinin and Connelly (1990) refer to the context as the scene or, "place where the action occurs, where the characters are formed and live out their stories and where cultural and social context play constraining and enabling roles" (p. 8). Setting the scene is vital to understanding the narrative of the participant. I knew that in order to capture this experience I could not isolate the work of the coach from the context of the school environment.
The second section of the interview guide prompted participants to, "start at the beginning and tell me the story of working with your induction coach." During each interview, I asked follow-up questions as needed to elicit further details and narratives. At the end of each interview, I asked if the participant would be willing to answer any additional questions I had after transcription, to member check my initial thoughts on their experiences.
As a novice in interview skills, it became apparent after listening to the recordings that I often interrupted the speech of my interviewee. The majority of the time it was to clarify something, but as I continued with the interviews, this habit became less obtrusive. I also thought back to all the non-verbal cues that I gave the participants during the interviews; shaking my head in agreement or laughing along with them. It was impossible for me to remain completely neutral during the interviews. I knew what it felt like to be a first year teacher: the stress and chaos of the experience. I also could not hide the fact that I was an induction coach and knew the "tools" that they referred to and the lingo of education. I made sure that they knew my involvement with the program from the very first communication and repeated it again at the interview (Appendix H).

Field Notes
I wrote field notes during and immediately after the interview to capture the setting, mood, and overall impression of the interview (Merriam, 2009) (Figure 3.1).
Even in the experience-centered narrative approach, "researchers try to obtain a full

Narrative Sketch
Narrative sketches as a form of memo writing (Figure 3.2) provided a third source of data. These memos were a part of reflexivity, the process of reflecting critically on the self as a researcher (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). My purpose for this was to reflect on my assumptions regarding the research as I analyzed the data. This memo writing helped me to make sense of data I was collecting and offered a place to work through periods of discouragement in the midst of the research (Bogdan & Biklen, 2014). This writing was a way to make sense of the entire interview by writing a descriptive overview, which Clandinin & Connelly (1990) refer to as a 'narrative sketch.' These memos were the start of the performative analysis of the data which I will explain in detail later. I included both direct quotes from the transcripts, as well as my interpretation of the data stating the line number from the transcript as a reference.
Profile #9 Memo-Sarah "Teachers vs. Admin/ Coach & Psychologist" Profile #9 is a RI Teaching Fellow who taught Science in an urban high school and received two years of support with a male coach. She described the first year as, "you're just basically treading water to stay afloat" (28). Her school was in a great deal of turmoil as administration had fired all the teachers and made them reapply for their positions. She states, "I was a new teacher, I was in the new program, so it took a good six months for some of the teachers to even like acknowledge my existence" (34). She had 3 ½ weeks of student teaching in the summer but still, "cannot believe how much work it is" (124). The summer started with 20 fellows and there are 5 left three years later (139). Along with the dysfunctional climate of the school, this teacher was also going through a divorce and did say that he acted as both a coach and a psychologist.
Positioning Context-Great deal of turmoil with all teachers being fired (30) "definitely a big pull, you know, the teachers on one side, the administration on the other" ( 42,180,196,211) Got rid of all department heads (53) Our Science Department is fantastic (53) Being a transformation school, there is always a lot of people coming and going in your classroom (358) " The yearlong course that teaching fellows puts you through was the most unhelpful program in the world" (432) Induction coach "it was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't evaluating me at all" (403). "combination of coach and probably a psychologist on some level" (407) "he was super organized" (409) Year 2 had a different focus (488) Meet on the weekends at Starbucks (524) I need him back this year for classroom management (545) "He was tantamount to the fact that I'm still a teacher. And wanting to be a teacher, making it through that first year and not just burning out" (608). "he was really good at focusing ideas and cleaning them up and then giving me the little bits of tools or outlines or templates" (638) Two years was necessary-time to fine-tune (679) Self "After 3 and ½ weeks of student teaching under my belt, it was terrifying" (398). ADD kicked in (518) Going through divorce (488) Figure 3.2 This figure is an example of a narrative sketch/memo that was used to capture my first thoughts about the interview.

Data Preparation
After conducting each interview, I sent the audio to an online company, Indoswift (http://www.indoswift.com), for transcription. Once I received the transcribed interviews, I followed each transcript while listening to the original recordings to ensure accuracy, and to make any changes that were needed to clean-up the transcript in terms of acronyms, inaccuracies, and to change the names of teachers, colleagues, and schools to protect their anonymity. It was critical that I listened to each recording several times, intimately connecting to them as if I was reliving the interviews. This helped me to gain greater insight into the story of each participant, listening to the words, his or her tone, pauses, and laughter. To stay true to narrative analysis, Wells (2011) believes that it is crucial to include all of the narrator's words rather than a summarized or paraphrased, cleaned up version of the words. I developed a notational system to capture long pauses, sounds such as laughter, and interruptions (Poland, 1995) (Table 3.2).

Analysis
It is difficult in the field of narrative research to find one clear account of how to analyze data (Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2013). There has been a "recent articulation of the divisions within narrative research that has taken the form of posing 'small' against 'big' stories" (Bamberg, 2006;Freeman, 2006;Georgakopoulou, 2007 as cited in Andrews, Squire & Tamboukou, 2013, p. 8). The "small stories" often involve repeated content or themes throughout the interview that occur naturally in the social interaction between interviewee and interviewer. In contrast, the "big stories" are biographical in nature and can be analyzed by chronological structure. Bamburg and Georgakopoulou (2008) are interested in, "how people use small stories in their interactive engagements to construct a sense of who they are, while big stories research analyzes the stories as representations of world and identities" (p. 6). I chose to look at both small and big stories in each individual transcription. Therefore, data analysis occurred in three stages: (a) initial coding, which included the coding of each transcription for small stories as well as big stories, (b) secondary coding, which included grouping the codes into larger themes, and (c) cross-case analysis, which involved finding common themes in stories across participants. The purpose of coding is to make sense of the data by searching for themes and patterns that the researcher finds striking, surprising, or unusual (Creswell, 2009). Following is a more detailed explanation of each stage of coding.
Stage 1: Initial coding. As was mentioned previously, narrative inquiry is divided into four types of analysis: thematic, structural, interactional, and performative. I first focused on thematic and structural analysis. To begin, I identified the big and small stories within each transcript. The first stage of coding involved coding small stories for themes (thematic) and big stories for structure (structural).

Coding small stories. I separately coded each participant's interview transcript
for small stories (Bamburg & Georgakopoulou , 2008) ( Figure 3.3). I used initial coding, making notes in the margins of the transcript, which included labeling topics covered, circling repeated interesting phrases the participants used, or any questions that I had (Merriam, 2009). When labeling themes, I followed an emic strategy of using participants' words as codes and marking them with a certain color pen any time that idea showed up. Each participant told between nine and fifteen different small stories in the interview, which I originally labeled truth statements. Later in my research when I came across the definition of a small story (Bamburg & Georgakopoulou , 2008), I realized that these truth statements were indeed part of the story that each participant was telling. Although these truth statements did not follow a specific storyline with a beginning, middle, and end, each statement was an explanation of the larger story of what the teacher experienced in his or her first year.
It was therefore important to capture these explanations, descriptions, and brief events as small stories that held meaning (Bamburg & Georgakopoulou, 2008). Following the initial coding, I wrote a memo (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) or narrative sketch (Clandinin & Connelly, 1990) for each participant capturing my initial thoughts and reflection on the interview. These memos offered me a chance to reflect on the positioning of the participant throughout the interview. I gathered data on how they positioned themselves as a beginning teacher, their role in the context of the school, as well as the position they took when working with an induction coach.
Coding big stories. I also labeled big stories when they appeared, marking the beginning, middle, and end of the story as well as the coda (Riesmann, 1987). This form of structural analysis allowed me to look further into the narrative to uncover meaning. Not every participant told a big story as a way to explain the first year teaching. I will explain this finding further in the next chapter.
Stage 2: Secondary coding. Using axial coding, I sorted, synthesized, and organized the initial codes into broader categories that made sense within each participant's transcript (Creswell, 2009). The three categories of self, context, and coach followed the structure of the interview guide and therefore can be viewed as a priori (Table 3.3). The category of self, is specific to the participants' identify as a teacher and encompasses their self-perception as a teacher, as well as the emotional and physical effects of being a first year teacher. The second category of context represents the teachers' perceptions of the context of school that includes administrators, colleagues, students, parents, school culture, physical setting, as well as materials including furniture and books. The final category of coach reflects the teachers' perception of the induction coach that they worked with and includes the type of support they received from the coach, the specific activities/tools used during coaching or the emotions felt by the beginning teacher in this experience. This allowed me to take a different view of the data and begin to see common themes occurring across transcripts.

Sarah
Initial Code= Bonding with Students Axial Code= Self Sarah: (01:53) So, a lot of the at the risk of sounding corny Northern (01:55) is like the community center in Brightville, students are there, if they are see our cars are there and so it was great to kind of come in and set up my classroom and have these kids popping in and out and they are interested in figuring out who I am and it was wonderful to meet them. And then the week right before school started, they planned a big charter fishing trip for students and so I was able to go on that. I was kind of...they specifically ask new employees to go just so they have that kind of bonding experience before school even starts so we'd have to spend a day fishing, catching sharks and fun stuff like that with the kids. Figure 3.3. This is an example of a small story from Sarah's transcript that I coded as a story about "self", specifically how she "bonded with students." here was to bring together commonalities among the stories (Josselson, 2006). To do this I had to make decisions regarding which piece of narrative to include that would support the theme that was emerging from the data. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) refer to this as restorying the narrative for the purpose of broadening or generalizing.
After grouping like excerpts of the transcripts together, based on the three categories, I reflected on the data that each person offered.
At this time, I was finding that the participants spoke a great deal about the types of support they received from the induction coach. I wanted to capture this information in a way to highlight the commonalties of the experience of working with a coach. Therefore, I kept track of the types of support the beginning teacher received from his/her induction coach in a tally chart, using the words of the beginning teacher as my headings. I then collapsed those headings into four larger categories: emotional support, classroom management, pedagogical support, and reflection on practice. I totaled the number of teachers and the number of instances the type of support was mentioned for each original heading as well as the larger categories.

Trustworthiness
Due to the nature of my study, it was critical that I uphold high ethical standards in the research process. In order to accomplish this, I used a variety of different methods to insure trustworthiness of the study (Lincoln & Guba, 1986) ( Table 3. 4). The trustworthiness of a qualitative study is established in four areas: credibility, transferability, confirmability, and dependability (Lincoln & Guba, 1986).
Credibility refers to the internal consistency of the research in order to insure rigor in the research process. Transferability is the ability to generalize the research to other contexts, while confirmability deals with the neutrality of the researcher to the extent that is possible. Finally, dependability is the way in which the research is carried out with consistency. These methods occurred simultaneously throughout the research process. Providing enough description to contextualize the study such that readers will be able to determine the extent to which their situations match the research context, and, hence, whether findings can be transferred.

Maximum Variation (Transferability)
Purposefully seeking variation and diversity in sample selection to allow for a greater range of application of the findings by consumers of the research. (Purposeful Sampling)

Reflexivity Journal
It is important in narrative methodology that the researcher captures the data collection process, as well as any feelings, judgments, or questions that arise (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). I kept a reflexivity journal from the beginning stages of my data collection to serve as an audit trail, keeping track of the participant selection process, field notes during interviewing, memos, and stages of data analysis (Figure 3.4). At first this journal was in the shape of an actual paper and pencil journal, going with me Her concerns about the RIDE Evaluation System were strong and persistent. I noticed the many times that she compared the Induction Program with the Evaluation System. What statement was she trying to make here? Figure 3.4.This is a sample from the Reflexivity Journal that I kept throughout the research process to capture my thinking about the process.

Peer Review
I met separately with two colleagues to discuss the process of the study and to confirm emergent findings (Merriam, 2009)

Member Checking
Member checking is an essential component of narrative research in order to be sure that I accurately portray the story of each participant. According to Merriam (2009) "the process involved in member checks is to take your primary analysis back to some of the participants and ask whether your interpretation 'rings true'" (p. 217). I sent each participant an email explaining my reason for contacting them, and requesting that they review the memo and provide feedback (Appendix I). In the memo, I summarized the major findings in their data, using their language whenever possible. I sent a follow-up email after two weeks if I did not receive a response. All of the participants responded, agreed with my capturing of their experience, and had only minor details to add that did not change my initial analysis.

Chapter Summary
I used a narrative analysis approached to examine the stories of nine beginning teachers. I interviewed each participant using an interview guide. After transcribing the interviews, I conducted a multi-stage analysis. First, I coded the interviews thematically for small stories and structurally for large stories. Then, I grouped the initial codes into three focused codes. A cross-case analysis was then conducted, looking for common themes within the three focus codes. The findings from these analyses are presented in Chapter 4.

FINDINGS Introduction
In this chapter, I discuss my findings. There are several layers to the analysis of the data (see Figure 4.1). The first layer involves the individual, small story, thematic analysis of each participant, which also includes a perfomative analysis. The second area of findings relates to the cross-case, small story thematic analysis that is further broken down into three main categories of findings: self, context, and coach.
Finally, the big story structural analysis provides further insight into the lived experiences of beginning teachers.

Individual, Small Story Thematic Analysis Findings
In narrative analysis, it is important to stay true to the individual stories of each participant (Riessman & Speedy, 2007). In order to relay each story as I came to know it, I created participant profiles, which are my recreation of the time and place of the interview and provide a brief summary of the highlights of each participant's story. I have included my own thoughts, reactions, and observations as the co-constructor of each narrative. Kleinmann and Copp (1993) believe that, "taking a process approach to writing and bringing our feelings into the analysis will change our written product…researchers would weave their feelings into the analysis rather than relegate them to be beginning or end of the story" (p. 54). The memos or narrative sketches that are included in this section were member-checked by each participant; therefore, I wanted to keep these summaries intact, so I did not edit post-hoc for typographical errors. As Clandinin and Connelly (1980) suggest, "Because we know that a sense of the entire inquiry is useful context for readers, a descriptive overview is required. A 'narrative sketch,' something like a character sketch except that it applies to the overall inquiry, is useful" (p. 11). I am starting this chapter with the individual profile or narrative sketch so that the reader can come to know these teachers as individuals with specific stories to tell.

Profile #1: Rachael
Rachael and I met in a public library. We both rushed in ten minutes late thinking the other was waiting. We sat in a quiet study room with glass walls. Rachel spoke very quietly. In our introduction, I came to realize that her second year placement was in my home district (not in the school I was working in at that time) and I had even taught her brother as a former fourth grade student. Rachael had previously taken notes on the interview guide that I sent her ahead of time, and she often referred to her notes as we spoke. She did not have a lot to say, which made me very discouraged. I began to wonder if she was comfortable sharing with me because of our connections.
In an interesting turn of events, after I shut the tape-recorder off, Rachael continued talking. She told the story of her assigned teacher assistant treating Rachel like a daughter, due to the teacher assistant being older, and Rachel's lack of experience. She spoke about the role the coach played in her dealing with this situation. The coach brought it to her attention after an observation towards the start of the school year. They talked the issue through on several occasions and brainstormed ways of dealing with the problem. Eventually, Rachael was able to talk with the teacher assistant about overstepping her boundaries, and when they came back from winter break, the dynamics were better.
Memo: Rachael overview. Rachael had just completed college and worked part-time in a pre-school position. She was very nervous (193) at first and saw her principal as a savior in the new environment she found herself in, "My principal had to sneak me in because the wax, the floor was still wet, you know, we got yelled at by the custodian" (lines 36-37). She felt isolated in her first year, "I pretty much stayed in my own preschool bubble" (91), partly due to her part-time status and that she was the only pre-school teacher. At first, she did not know what to expect from the coach (152). She viewed the coach as "helpful", but felt that she, "couldn't utilize her as much as, you know, somebody that was full-time" (247). She noted that she still sets up her room the same way she did when she worked with the coach (225) and even wishes she had her back now (248).

Profile #2: Beth
Beth seemed very nervous and kept her coat on throughout the interview as we sat side by side in a study room at a public library. She could not remember many specific stories and she apologized often. She was very friendly and polite with limited eye contact during the interview.
Memo: Beth overview. Beth provided a unique perspective as she spent her first years teaching in a mayoral academy. She reported that as a first year teacher she had, "a lot of support" (21), she went on to state, "I feel like they do have a lot in place there, not necessarily like all helpful, some helpful" (316-317). She said the first year was a blur (337), "There's a lot of collaboration, a lot of professional development, and a lot of meeting type things" (60-61). At first, she struggled with her co-teaching partner, "I felt like I was kind of like still a student teacher" (27-28), and "it was really like a tough situation getting used to co-teaching" (24). While she was nervous that first year (22) Program. She describes her first year as a "roller coaster" (24) and she felt "suffocated" (30) with the limiting nature of the scripted curriculum. When asked about her principal she replied that he "was demanding especially with new teachers" (82). She gained confidence when she began to make the curriculum her own and moved out of the "dungeon" of the basement classroom. After that move, she found support from a colleague, and they would leave the building to get coffee and talk during their unassigned period (116). Her coach, "emotionally supported" (153) her at first, and she referred to her as a "genie" that had everything she needed (197), "I think she just basically wanted to take everyone under her wing…there was a lot of chocolate cake" (286). She relayed that, "I would always get frustrated and (the coach) was always like immediately there and like, okay, but like these are all the things that you did well…she was like see, and I can't see those things because I had been in the moment" (338). She stated that in regards to induction, "the second year was just as needed as the first. It was certainly different, the demand is different" (302).

Profile #6: Sarah
Sarah was waiting inside for me for twenty minutes as I waited outside for her. She did not seem to mind the confusion as she was sitting busying herself with correcting papers when I finally went inside to check for her. We sat side by side in a window cubical in a public library. It was very warm in the library and I worried that she might be as uncomfortable as I was. Sarah was very interested in learning more about a PhD program and asked me many questions about my experience. Throughout the interview, she made comments that she was worried about sounding harsh and seemed to be trying to be politically correct with her answers. She spoke about the new Induction Program in her school that uses coaches from within the school, "the coaches aren't people who were very successful in the classroom, I think that's the nicest way you can say that" (379-380). learning" (310, 480) and that she was, "pigheaded" (129) and not giving up.

Profile #8: Henry
Henry had to cancel our first appointment because his son was sick. We rescheduled for the day before Easter. We sat at a computer stall, facing each other.
He wore casual clothing and made frequent eye contact. The library was busy that day and there was a lot of background noise we had to contend with. He seemed comfortable, easy-going, and smiled a lot. . "Once I saw her worth" (334), he was able to work with her and stated that, "She was extremely flexible" (317). When asked about his coach he stated, "It's a great relationship which we had, you know we're still great, great friends" (344). He describes the effect that coaching had on his growth and development as a teacher as, "leaps and bounds" (407). He even has a binder full of "stuff" from when they worked together that he lets people copy, but always insists that he gets it back (618). When asked if there was anything else that he could have used from the program, he replied, "a second year" (526).

Profile #9: Anne
Anne and I met during the week of school vacation. She was very chatty, but unfortunately our conversation needed to end abruptly because someone else had reserved the private study room we were using. She was professionally dressed, which struck me as interesting because she was on school vacation. Anne was honest and open about her experience, even mentioning several times about her difficulty with focusing on a task due to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Anne spent a great deal of time talking about her certification process as a Rhode Island Teaching Fellow with The New Teacher Project. Her student teaching experience consisted of teaching summer school for three and a half weeks in an area of study she was not comfortable with. She was offered her position in an urban core high school before she finished her student teaching. Throughout the school year she took a yearlong course that in her words, "was the most unhelpful program in the world" (431-432).
Memo: Anne overview. Anne was a RI Teaching Fellow who taught Science in an urban high school and received two years of support with a male coach.
She described the first year of teaching as, "you're just basically treading water to stay afloat" (28). Her school was in a great deal of turmoil as administration had fired all the teachers and made them reapply for their positions, "definitely a big pull, you know, the teachers on one side, the administration on the other" (42,180,196,211). She states, "I was a new teacher, I was in the new program, so it took a good six months for some of the teachers to even like acknowledge my existence" (34). She said, after having three and a half weeks of student teaching in the summer, it was terrifying to start the school year (398), and still, "cannot believe how much work it is" (124). The summer started with 20 fellows and there are five left three years later (139). She commented that, "The year-long course that Teaching Fellows puts you through was the most unhelpful program in the world" (432). When asked about her coach she replied he was a, "combination of coach and probably a psychologist on some level" (407) and, "it was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't evaluating me at all" (403). She went on to say that, "he was super organized" (409) and they would often meet on the weekends at Starbucks (524) where she could focus on the task at hand due to her ADD (518). When they worked together, "he was really good at focusing ideas and cleaning them up and then giving me the little bits of tools or outlines or templates" (638) and ,"He was tantamount to the fact that I'm still a teacher, and wanting to be a teacher, making it through that first year and not just burning out" (608). When asked about the second year of support she replied that the second year had a different focus (488) and she felt two years was necessary-time to fine-tune (679). She even reported that, "I need him back this year for classroom management" (545).

Profile #10: Paul
Paul and I met in a public library on a beautiful, sunny Saturday, the first day of school vacation. He rode his bike to the library, and we both arrived in the parking lot at the same time and made our introductions. He seemed very comfortable and made lots of eye contact as we sat across from each other. Although I did not know him, we went to the same high school (at different times), college program, and he student taught in my school district.
Memo: Paul overview. Paul is a male high school band director in an urban setting. He was tasked with filling the shoes of the beloved previous band director who left without saying goodbye after 20 years (27). He states that, "it was difficult enough to get them on my side" (34) and the students repeated the phrase, "he did it this way". "It took two and a half years to really get the old system out" which lead to a very difficult transition. When asked about the school climate he stated, "It was extremely diverse" (69), and on his duty (assigned supervision), he often saw a lot of tension in the lunchroom (85). At the start of the year, he worked to get a student removed from his class, "He never physically attacked me, but there was always this anger that just came out" (40). He reports that the first year there was, "a big learning curve" (46) and he tried to find the balance with students being, "friendly, but not a friend" (51). When he first met his coach he was a bit resistant, "Why can't I get someone who's a retired music teacher or someone from the school who really knows the culture?" (140). The relationship with the coach grew as she went outside of her call of duty and would come to evening rehearsals to observe and even attended concerts. " She acted as a video camera really because she would tell me exactly what I was doing and I was more aware of myself, aware of things that I was doing well, and aware of things I wasn't doing as well " (201). He also goes on to say that, he was so overwhelmed that first year that he did not take advantage of her (235), and even though there was no change in the support for the second year, "I think it was definitely helpful for the two years" (227).

Performative Analysis Findings
According to Mishler (1999) narratives are identity performances in which, "We express, display, make claims for who we are-and who we would like to be-in the stories we tell and how we tell them" (p. 19). To truly analyze these stories, it is important to look at the identity that the beginning teachers assigned themselves, as well as how they viewed their context and coach. Tables 8, Participant's Identities, illustrates the identity that each participant most clearly defined. Often times, the words I chose to portray the identity came from the beginning teachers themselveswords they mentioned several times in the interview. This is not to say that their identities were stagnant in the interview, but rather one rose to the foreground above the others in summing up the stories they told (Mishler, 1999). Often, the main identity I selected repeated several times in the story the beginning teacher told, or the identity had a significant impact on the decisions he or she made in the first year(s).
When looking at the self-identities, it is critical to keep in mind that these identities are situated in the context of being a first year teacher. Most of the teacher's self-identities are negative in nature, from feeling isolated, to being stifled, and to being an outsider. This supports the research that the first year of teaching is a challenge for most teachers who take on the role of struggling to overcome an obstacle (Dyal & Sewell, 2002;Ingersoll & Smith, 2004).The majority of contextual identities are also negative-suppressed, caged, and not valued. It is interesting to contrast this negativity to the positive coach identitieshelper, confidant, and genie. To help bring this issue to the forefront, I have identified each of the identities as being either positive or negative, as I note in Table 4.1.
The one outlier in this analysis seems to be how Sarah positioned herself. She set the contextual identity of the first year as the "perfect place" and often stated that she felt "connected" to the students, faculty, administration, and coach. She describes the culture of the school: Sarah: It's amazing, yeah (laughter). It's a place where I go and I feel like everybody is working equally as hard from the front office to the principal, (04:00) and so it's inspiring and just motivating to be there because you want to be as awesome as everybody around you and I felt like that from the very beginning. There wasn't really...maybe I fit in with them just as much I feel like they fit in with me but it's been a good fit from the start. I think it was really easy to feel comfortable and to jump in feet first and just it was like a perfect experience to start off my career. (87-93) Sarah's positive self-identity may relate to the positive context of her first year experience. She spoke a great deal about the structure of her school and the amount of support she received as a beginning teacher. She worked on a team of four content teachers and a teaching partner who acted as a teacher assistant and followed one group of students throughout the day who needed extra support. There was also a math coach and literacy coach for each team, as well as an academic lead who met with the team weekly to check in on lesson plans and support the team. This structure of support does not exist in many schools, and I am left wondering if this context was the reason why Sarah had such a positive identity of self in her first year of teaching (Zembylas, 2003).
To contrast this positive contextual identity of Sarah and the effect it had on her identity of self as a first year teacher, I offer the case of Beth. Beth describes that she was "stifled" the first year due to the context she was teaching in. This had a negative effect on her identity of self as a first year teacher. While she knew she was capable in the classroom, her co-teacher treated her as a "student teacher," which cause a great deal of strife between them and led Beth to take on the self identity of feeling "suppressed." It became clear in my analysis that the beginning teachers' identity of self is situated in the context in which they are teaching. This relationship between self and context cannot be separated (Oyserman, Elmor & Smith, 2012). I will talk more about this in the findings of the big stories.

Cross-Case, Small Story, Thematic Findings
When analyzing the data across cases, I grouped the codes into the three thematic categories: self, context, and coach. Each category represents a theme that I noticed across multiple cases within each category. I have included a section of the interview that supports the theme from each participant that spoke about this topic.

Self
The first set of cross-case findings deal with the beginning teachers' identity of self. It is important to pay close attention to the position that individuals take up when relaying stories about their lives as a first year teacher. These teacher self-identities provide insight in to how the beginning teachers handled the situations they were faced with. For instance, did they view themselves as a victim who had no power to control their destiny, or did they face the challenges with an empowered sense of fortitude?  Isolated. The feeling of isolation is often felt by those who are novices in a field (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). Often times it stems from simply not knowing who to reach out to and what questions to ask. This theme emerged early in the interview for most participants. For some it remained an issue throughout the first year(s); others were able to navigate themselves out of the feeling of isolation. Rachael discusses her unique position as a part time teacher who did not grow up in the small town in which she was teaching.

Rachael:
I pretty much stayed in my own preschool bubble. Again, everyone was very friendly and willing to help me out whatever I needed but because I was part time it made it difficult to really even get to know people. Beginning teachers reported feeling defeated due to unruly students, a rigid curriculum, teaching unfamiliar content or simply being so overwhelmed that it became a question of career choice.

Context
From the very start of my research, I knew I wanted to tell the story of first year teachers. Specifically, I was interested in the story of these teachers working with an induction coach. I knew that I could not separate this experience from the context of the school in which they worked. Therefore, it was vital to ask about the context of their experience: administration, colleagues, and physical school structure (Ashforth & Schinoff, 2016). It is in asking about this context that I would be able to situate their work with an induction coach.

Challenges.
Last minute hires, no curriculum, lack of classroom supplies, negative school climate, long hours-those are just a few of the obstacles of a first year teacher. This induction into the world of teaching is not for the faint of heart (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004;Dyal & Sewell, 2002). As you will read later on, for many their coach was the only thing that kept them in the profession. Rachael, a late summer hire, was faced with physical challenges of a room she couldn't set up due to a newly waxed floor.

Coach
As an induction coach, I was curious about the experience of this program from the lens of a beginning teacher. How did they view this person walking into their classrooms? Did they embrace the coach or see the coach as a threat to their individuality and freedom of having their first teaching experience? In these findings, you will learn from the beginning teachers their first impressions of coaching, how their views of the program changed, and the types of support they valued.

First impressions. The majority of teachers interviewed were uncertain about
the program at first. They did not know who this person from RIDE was coming in to "coach" them once a week. Many thought that coaching connected to the evaluation system, and that they were being evaluated; others simply felt like they had too much going on to take time to meet with someone each week. I wonder if this concern was due to the newness of the program or the reluctance any beginner feels being critiqued or having someone watch them. Perhaps there is an idea that only "bad teachers" need support. I sought to understand the lack of a culture that supports teachers and requires them to reflect on their practice in order to grow. Paul was concerned at first about the mismatch of certification with his coach, but found that getting a different perspective from someone who was an expert educator was helpful. Many beginning teachers noted that matching certifications did not really matter; good teaching, is good teaching (Rockoff, 2008). Coaches that went above and beyond the school day and were easily accessible to support their teachers were mentioned in many of the interviews.
Paul: Eventually, I saw that she was from the community, she understood the community, and she was a parent as well. (0:10:00) So, even though when she came into my class and I was doing something musical she might not be able to give me advice on how I can improve it. She was helpful in, for instance, the example that I remember I taught a music theory class and I remember that she wrote out a chart of (alarm goes off briefly) when I was asking certain students for answers, and she would circle who I asked more. Emotional support. After having a "change of heart" many beginning teachers told stories about leaning on the induction coach for emotional support. The goal of any Induction Program is not to merely provide emotional support. Yet, some teachers require this type of coaching just to get through the day, week, or school year (Stansbury & Zimmerman, 2000). Without this emotional support, there is uncertainty as to whether the beginning teacher would have made it through the year.
Beth relays the importance of her coach having her write down her feelings and emotions as a way to combat the stress of the first year. She also speaks of the support she felt just having someone to talk to about the struggles. A second set of eyes. Like a football player on the field, with the coach watching from the sidelines calling out plays, beginning teachers appreciated a "second set of eyes" in the classroom to hone their craft. There is just too much going on in any given classroom to see everything that needs to be addressed. Ultimately, this "second set of eyes", as Shelly referred to it, is there to provide the springboard for reflection. Without this catalyst, most first year teachers let the year fly by without truly reflecting (Schön, 1977(Schön, , 1983.
Shelly reflected on the importance of the coach providing another view of her students in the data she collected which helped her develop behavior plans.
Shelly: (07:53) There was one interaction that was just so helpful to me because my room was so behavioral. She came in one day and all she did was sit and take notes, those students that were my biggest behaviors and every few minutes she would check off what they were doing, who was on task and just collected data for a good hour and a half of their specific behaviors. And that was huge to me because I could really look at each student, see what she collected and just having a second set of eyes to take the time to do that for me so then I could say, "oh wow, I didn't realize the student was doing this or was doing that or who are they fooling with?" Just little things that I couldn't see on my own, that really helped me when she did that because then we could really develop behavior management specific to those students with that data that I would never have been able to collect by myself.
So, that was probably one of the biggest. (147-158) (20:09) Just kind of she would observe how I interacted with the students and how I handled certain behaviors, even little things like when the student was having an issue that I would kneel down and get eye level with them rather than like bending over them, that kind of thing. So, having her there to pick up the little things that I did and tell me, oh, that was really great how you knelt down to their eye level but next time I would use this wording rather than that and so she helped me tweak how I interacted with the students as well and not just student behavior and that was helpful also. (348)(349)(350)(351)(352)(353)(354)(355) Paul also discussed the importance of the coach bringing to light the things that were going well and those areas that needed improvement. Most who taught outside of the urban core and only received one year of support wished that they had a second year to dig deeper with the coach. This supports what we know of teacher development and the need to continue to work with teachers as they progress on the novice to expert skill model (Shulman, 1986;Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980

Summary
When analyzing the data across cases, the findings fell into three thematic categories: self, context, and coach. The beginning teacher's identity of self, centered on the feelings of isolation and defeat; while the reported contextual descriptions focused on challenges and supports. The common themes uncovered when the beginning teachers spoke about their induction coach were identified as first impressions, change of heart, emotional support, second-set of eyes, confidentiality, and want back/regret.

Types of Coaching Support Findings
In analyzing the category of "coach," I came to realize that there were two subcategories of findings that provided interesting data. In the section above, I looked across cases to find the common themes that participants' highlighted about working with a coach. The participants also spoke a great deal about the types of support they received from the induction coaches.   Looking at the specific types of support the beginning teachers received from his/her coach allowed me to see the bigger picture of induction. What did these new teachers need support with? What did the induction coach support them with? After coding each type of support using the participant's language and tracking the number of instances it was referenced within each transcript, I began to see larger categories of support emerge: emotional support, classroom management support, pedagogical support, and reflection support.
Emotional support was often mentioned early in the interview when the beginning teacher was explaining the start of the school year. Emotional support occurred in the form of the coach acting as a sounding board, providing a shoulder to lean on, or even giving advice. The following is an example of a section of the transcript that was coded for emotional support. The following is an example of a section of transcript that was coded for reflection support, or providing the opportunity or prompts for the beginning teacher to reflect. Shelly mentions that her coach introduced her to the tool of journal writing as a means of reflection and that she still uses the tool at the time of the interview, three years later.

Shelly:
And I used just a lot of the reflection pieces that we do with writing things down or even just stopping at some point of the day and thinking about -'okay, how did my morning go? Which is something that you really don't find yourself doing as much as you should. So, there was a lot of emphasis on reflection and looking back and I definitely reflect a lot more now and I still have my journal from the first year that I use.
Shelly: I do. Writing is such a huge outlet for me so that was a really great tool to use that even now I just sit there and just I'll just write out even if it's something completely ridiculous, I just feel like it's a release for me and I think that that was a really good tool to give. (272-284) Once I indentified the four types of coaching support and the codes analyzed by each peer previewer, I tallied each category by the number of beginning teachers that referred to this type of support as well as the total number of instances it was mentioned (Table 4.2). I was looking to see what type of support was referred to the most by beginning teachers.  Table 4.2 shows that pedagogical support and reflection far exceeded that of emotional support. While many beginning teachers started their story talking about the emotional support they received, all nine participants mentioned many instances that fell in the pedagogical and reflection categories. Often, the year started rocky with a lot of support just dealing with day-to-day emotions and setting up the classroom or dealing with behaviors. This support was necessary and part of building the relationship between beginning teacher and coach. Once the teachers had these things under control, they were able to focus on teaching and learning. It would not have made sense for a coach to jump to reflecting on their practice, if they were barely making it through the day. It is up to the coach to make the determination of what area to coach around. Each teacher told a story about needing something different and traveling on the path at a different speed. It is also crucial to consider the other supports, outside of the coach, that they may be receiving; support from other colleagues, a principal, or school appointed mentor. Another factor in the coaching model to consider is the overall school climate that each teacher faces. Some schools are very supportive environments where new teachers can ask questions and teachers share ideas, other schools you will find closed doors where teaches are not comfortable working with others.

Big Story, Structural Findings
Looking at the big narratives across the transcripts allowed me another layer of findings. I have included three narratives that capture different experiences of first year teachers. Within each big story the themes of teacher identity (self), context, and coach emerge. I am using these big narratives to illustrate how connected these themes are in each of the stories and how the identities the beginning teacher assigns to self, context, and coach relate to each other. For each big narrative, a clear pattern to the story emerged including a beginning, middle, end, and coda (Reissman, 1993). I also coded for performative/identity codes when it was appropriate. Again, these codes fell into the three categories of: teacher self-identity, contextual identity, and coach identity.

Big Narrative #1: Henry's Story of Self-Identity
The story of Henry meeting his induction coach, reminds me what it feels like to be the newcomer in any situation. He is excited and nervous at the same time. As an adult learner he brings many years of knowledge and expertise to the table (Knowles, 1980). His identity as a first-year teacher is situated in the context of the school environment as well as the perception in the education world of Career and Tech Ed teachers. I have chosen his big story to illustrate the nature of this interconnectedness, how an individual who is confident in his field can be placed in a new situation and feel entirely different. This is how Henry responded when I asked him to start at the beginning and tell me the story of working with his coach.
Henry: So, this was my whole first, you know whole layout. And of course everybody in the building, they caught a little bit of a wind of it, they're like oh you're going to have somebody looking over your shoulder all day long. Great, you know so, you could see how this is a little played out.
Henry provides the background information to set the stage of his story. He is letting me know that even before he meets his coach, he is getting negative vibes from his colleagues about having someone looking over his shoulder.
Henry: So, I'm a little nervous, simply because, you know, Career and Tech Ed But I'm a little bit taken aback, so I'm standing at the table and Jill, obviously there were a lot of people who were, not in my district but you know...So yeah, they were checking, me and Jill and Emily who's, we went to high school, pretty close to each other, so I knew who she was. We, you know, we kind of grew up in the same neighborhood. So they're like, she knew, she goes, "hey", and I'm like, "hey, how's it going?" "It's going good, where's your induction coach?" So I said, you got me I don't even know where he was. _____11:53 alright? So you know I was still taken a little a back , I was okay you know, probably forgotten, it's cool, it's great. (12:00) So, I said I'm not sure I'm going to get one. Okay? So I'm like cool, I might escape this whole thing right? And Jill is like, "Where are you teaching?" "You know, I teach at the CTC." She's like, "oh, next door." She goes, "alright," she goes, "No promises you might be mine but if my cases, if I've got enough, you know, you are probably going to be on your own." She goes, "Just keep in mind it might not happen." Henry's feeling of being different is exacerbated by the fact that he is not assigned a coach at this meeting. To add to that, Jill states that she is coaching in his district, but he will only be picked up if she has room in her caseload, otherwise, he will be on his own. Here he is faced with the contextual identity that he is not valued as a teacher in this room of beginning teachers and important people, like the In the middle of his story, Henry is finally placed with an induction coach who happens to be a Special Education Teacher. His hesitation about this pairing is clearly apparent, and he wonders how she will be able to support him in an automotive class (Bianchini & Benner, 2009).
Henry: Okay. So, Jill's a comic, comes in the second day and she's like, "okay so, let's not sugar coat this. You're an automotive guy, I'm a special ed guy. I don't know anything about you and you don't know anything about me, but you know what, we're going to make this work." (14:03) I'm like okay. She goes, "As long as you're flexible and we can work on some of, bounce some ideas off each other I think this would work." And that was it. From that day forward, it just, she would give me an idea and I'd sit there and look at it and I'd go, okay, I see what you mean. But can we do it this way? And she goes, yes, now I see what you're talking about. So, we were always, she goes, she put the idea in my head and she's looking, she goes now how can you use that? So she'd put strategies or, or, you know we did the graphic organizers and I went aw yeah, this is good but can I twist this like? And she said absolutely! And it worked. And so, you know, we would kid back and forth, I would drag her into the shop and she had to put the safety glasses on and walk around with the clipboard and you know, it stinks in here, but her dad was in the business, so she knew exactly what she was getting into. (15:00) She was extremely flexible, she was hard at times, but it was, it needed to be hard especially with like classroom management pieces. I mean I certainly don't have angels. But the classroom management pieces, she really drove a lot of them, you've got to try a little hard line, some of these kids, they're going to push you, just to see where you're at and stuff like that. So, we've got to try that line in the sand and make sure you stick with it. She was extremely fair, extremely fair which was really helpful. You know, classroom observations were a little bit frightening at first, especially when she would give me the script, of this is what you said and I was like, you wrote down everything, didn't you. So, it was a little bit frightening at first but by the time the evaluation process came around, it was very helpful. (16:00) Extremely helpful, because I didn't, having someone in my classroom didn't bother me so much anymore, especially being scripted, you know, I'd look at it and be, you know as usual. I know exactly what I was saying, and it was their own paper and so forth and so on and so on. It was extremely helpful, she was flexible, I was extremely flexible simply because once I saw her worth, it was, for me, it was just, I know it was going to help me in every way possible, even down to writing lessons plans and getting ready for the next class. In the middle of her story, Charlotte describes her relief in starting over after she was moved upstairs and experiences a change in self-identity as she is empowered and positive, but then she immediately flashes back continuing to tell about her first classroom and how difficult a situation it was.
Charlotte: So, then moving upstairs to the eighth grade floor was a different sort of chaos. (laughter). A little bit more contained but still chaotic I think.
In our school like the hallways are just always the troublesome place and I mean even four years now, it's still the hallways are just I don't know we don't have it figured out yet.
Here, Charlotte alludes to a school culture problem with chaos in the hallways, when she states "we" don't have it figured out yet. She is identifying as a member of the school culture when she uses the pronoun "we." Charlotte: There was a huge turnover of teachers as well. Charlotte describes her principal as demanding of new teachers. She relays that she was expected to put in long hours and work on Saturdays because she was new and didn't have a family. The problem of bringing all new teachers together without any experienced staff to provide answers or reflect with is an interesting observation.
Charlotte: and I luckily somewhat stumbled upon that because when I was moved to be a push in, the history teacher had been there for several years and for the most part he let me sort of just kind of watch him and he was my guide until like how the faculty maneuvered, how they got along, the school culture, expectations… The science teacher who I also pushed into, she was the first year as well and we had…she had the same sixth graders and the same eighth graders. So, we shared a lot of kids and we could at least like we had the same free too. (08:00) So, I remember like every day on our unassigned (08:04) we would go for a walk and just like ran for the first 10 minutes, buy coffee and like walk back and talk about how everything was going to be better once we got back with coffee (laughter). But we needed like that moment to be outside just kind of let it go and we like talked out a lot of issues with kids together because we…shared the same students.
At the end of her story, Charlotte explains how she found comfort in her colleagues who were there to confide in and support her. Her coda seems to be that stepping outside of the school setting for her free period with another first-year teacher offered her the space she needed to face each day.

Big Narrative #3: Mary's Story of Coaching Identity
In this narrative, when asked to tell the story of working with your coach, Mary tells about one occasion where she received immediate feedback from the coach who was working in the classroom. Validation is key to a novice becoming an expert in an area (Peno & Silva Mangiante, 2012). New teachers need validation that they are handling situations in the proper way.
Mary: I remember one day a student decided to lay on the floor because she was having a bad day and I went to her and I knelt down next to her and I said is everything okay. And the kids in Springdale could have, blended doesn't begin to explain their family situations. So it could have been anything from they were losing their home to just a regular old fight with your mom. (25:03) I don't know and I'm not often told and I don't question. And so I handled it as best as I could and afterwards she said I handled it well and I didn't have a map to go on and it was nice to know I did the right thing. So I remember that.
Mary begins this story by setting the stage with the visual of a high school student laying on the floor. She then quickly jumps to her response of kneeling down next to the student to ask if she is okay. Mary then provides the background information that allows the listener to identify her contextual identity of an urban school with many negative influences that affect students in the school setting. She includes in her story that she is not privy to student information in her role as a teacher who needs to support these students in a classroom setting, and implies that this lack of knowledge makes it difficult to know how to handle a student and her identity of self is lost without a map. At the end of her story her coach validates her handling of the situation and she positions the coach as a guide. The coda to her story is that as a beginning teacher she was lost with how to handle student behaviors, but the coach in her room acted as a guide that validated her approach.

Interactional Findings
Researchers of culture and consciousness who use narrative are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. One the one hand, we strive to listen and represent those we study 'on and in their own terms.' On the other hand, we recognize that our role in shaping the ethnographic encounter is huge; that whether consciously or not, we listen and make sense of what we hear according to particular theoretical, ontological, personal, and cultural frameworks and in the context of unequal power relations (Luttrell, 2010, p. 258 (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012;Clandinin, 2013).
One finding that I discovered in the interactional analysis stage was that the three older participants (over the age of 30) spoke in longer narratives. Here, I must take ownership in my role, as it appears that I interrupted their stories less frequently than I did the younger participants (under 30). Did the younger participants view me as an authority figure and not feel as free to speak their minds, or was it that I positioned myself as the authority that needed to guide their stories with interjections and probing questions? Or, could it be that the older participants are more reflective and therefore have more of a story to tell? Two of the three older participants were second career teachers who had many other experiences in the work force to compare to their first teaching experience. The older participants in the research told big stories and often used metaphors to compare teaching to prior experiences. This is interesting to note looking through the lens of adult development in terms of reflection (Schön, 1987 This brings me to my next finding in the interactional analysis stage. I have done extensive memo writing on this finding and have come to identity it as, "Researcher Paralysis," "Because fieldworkers know that their written productsthesis, dissertation, articles, and books-are the basis for their reputations, the fear of analysis may become paralyzing. Some field researchers get so anxious that they put aside their project for a long time or abandon it altogether" (Kleinmann & Copp, 1993, p. 24 seek the truth that came out in the stories I was told. Is it possible to be a "good enough" researcher-that is a person who is aware that she/he has personal stakes and investments in research relationships; who does not shy away from frustrations, anxieties, and disappointments that are part of any relationship; and who seeks to understand (and is able to appreciate) the difference between one's self and another. (Luttrell, 2010, p. 273)

CONCLUSION Introduction
Narrative research is a critical and social project, "emphasiz(ing) the inclusion of hidden and ignored perspectives-the previously silenced 'voices'-of teachers and students" (Barone, 2009, p. 595). It is in this vein that I decided to bring to light the stories of beginning teachers. I knew that by illuminating teachers' experiences, told in both big and short narratives, I could shed light on issues of beginning teachers, and use these stories to enlighten the field of education. The purpose of this study was to tell the stories of beginning teachers, specifically regarding their experiences working with induction coaches.
In this chapter, I will summarize the findings in the stories the beginning teachers told and relate them to theory and research. I will also discuss the limitations of my research, the implications these teachers' stories have for others in the field of education, and recommended directions for future research in the field of education.

Summary of Findings
The stories of these nine beginning teachers tell the tale of the peaks and valleys of the first year(s). It is clear in all of the stories that the context of their teaching placements had a profound impact on their first year(s) in the profession.
Some teachers reported that they had support from administrators and colleagues in terms of resources, lesson planning, and overall guidance to help them navigate the start of their careers. Others felt isolated due to their physical placement in the building, the age difference between colleagues, or not having grade level partners to share ideas with. Several shared that they started the school year without a clear curriculum to teach, materials for students, or even classroom furniture. One district had a deep polarization between administration, veteran teachers, and new hires because all teachers were fired the year before. These contextual stressors had great influence on how the teachers in my study recalled their first year(s) of teaching.
Another concern that emerged during the interviews was the beginning Yet despite this uncertainty, all of the teachers interviewed reconsidered their feelings about the induction coach early into the year. These teachers reported that they bonded with the induction coach and formed a lasting relationship, grateful for the coach's support throughout the first year(s). One teacher even reported that the induction coach must have been trained to handle her resistant attitude at the start because she immediately put the teacher at ease.
In addition to narratives of the emotional support they received from the induction coach, the nine teachers stressed the curriculum and classroom management support. For all of the beginning teachers, there seemed to be a pattern of emotional support followed by classroom management, which then allowed for the focus on pedagogical support. The beginning teachers also spoke about the importance of the induction coach providing the prompting for reflection, either through the weekly debrief sessions or through journal writing. Even two to three years after the experience, they all remembered clearly the types of specific support the induction coach provided that made them better practitioners.
All nine teachers reported that at the end of the year, they wished they had more time with the induction coach. Many regretted that they did not use the coach as much as they could have, and wanted a second year of this intense support. These teachers reported that they were so overwhelmed the first year that they did not appreciate and utilize the coach to his/her fullest. One of the teachers felt that this was due to her own part-time status and another felt it was because she was co-teaching.
She wished the coach had been with her the year she had her "own" classroom.
Narrative research allows us to understand the teachers' culture as well as the identity teachers adopt in the environment. Teaching is a complex profession that often combines personal identity with professional identity. This identity is dependent on the sense of power and "agency" the teacher feels in the school setting. Bandura (1997) defines agency as the capacity to perform intentional acts or reflexive mediation. Often, novice teachers do not have the reflective ability to react in the moment and therefore their negative sense of agency influences their self-identities.
All but one of the teachers in this study reported a negative self-identity, which directly correlated with the negative aspects of the context they were working in. For example, Charlotte's self-identity as a teacher was "stifled" appeared directly related to her context of starting the school year in the "dungeon" basement classroom and having to follow a strict, scripted curriculum. By contrast, Sarah, the one teacher with a positive self-identity, felt "connected" in a context that she described as the "perfect place" to teach. The identity the beginning teachers assumed in their first year(s) was clear in the way they told their stories.

Limitations
The nature of this qualitative study produced some limitations. In order to counteract those limitations I took many steps towards insuring Trustworthiness of the study.

Generalizability
As common with most qualitative studies, the sample size for this study was too small to allow for generalizability across a wider population. I did use purposeful sampling to select my participants, making sure they represented a variety of beginning teachers (gender, age, certification, and placement setting). I used thick description and purposeful sampling to allow for transferability of the findings. Lincoln and Guba (1985) describe thick description as a way of achieving a type of external validity. By describing a phenomenon in sufficient detail, one can begin to evaluate the extent to which the conclusions drawn are transferable to other times, settings, situations, and people.
Another limitation to this study is the selection of participants who all had positive or neutral experiences with the coaching. On the initial survey, I asked if the teacher was satisfied, neutral, or unsatisfied; however, only two of the nine final participants were neutral, and no one reported that they were unsatisfied. The survey went out to all participants of the program, but I did not get responses from those that might have been unsatisfied with the program. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) have coined the term "Hollywood Plot," which occurs when everything in the research turns out well in the end. I cannot assume that every beginning teacher in the Rhode Island Induction Program made a lasting bond with his/her induction coach or even had a positive experience. I can only report the findings of the nine participants that chose to tell their stories.

Credibility
In order to ensure credibility, I member-checked the original memos for correct overall interpretation of the stories by the participants.

Dependability
Two colleagues performed an inquiry audit to check for dependability of the process and product of the research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The audit included checking the raw data and coding for confirmability. I kept a reflexive journal, reviewed by my colleagues, which included information such as the researcher's schedule, logistics, insights, and reasons for methodological decisions (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993).

Researcher Bias
To mitigate bias, I was very careful in choosing the methodology of the study: "Narrative inquiries are always strongly autobiographical. Our research interests come out of our own narratives of experience and shape our narrative inquiry plotlines" (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 121). This methodology allows the researcher to acknowledge how he or she interacted with the data and includes the researcher's perspective in the findings.

Implications
After analyzing the stories of the nine participants, four main implications emerged in my findings: (a) the needs of beginning teachers in the field, (b) phases of coaching in reaction to the needs of beginning teachers, (c) qualities of an induction coach valued by a beginning teacher, and (d) the need for coaches to mediate the identities of the beginning teacher.

Needs of Beginning Teachers
The needs of beginning teachers emerged clearly from these stories. If we want new teachers to be successful and stay in the profession, we must meet their needs along the way. It is critical that beginning teachers work alongside a More Knowledgeable Other (Vygotsky, 1978), or coach, who provides the beginning teacher with reflection, emotional support, pedagogical support, and classroom management guidance across multiple years as the teacher progresses along the skill model from novice to expert (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980).
More knowledgeable other. Vygotsky (1978) asserts the need for a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) to support a novice in the field. It is clear from my research that learning does not stop once individuals are handed a teaching certification. Indeed, a new and more urgent phase of learning begins after certification. All of the participants reported needing the support of the coach as they honed the art of teaching in their first year(s). Learning alongside an MKO bridges the gap from "student of teaching" to "teacher of students" (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004) by providing continuous on-site professional development. One participant, Sarah reported having this guidance of a coach allowed her to work through the struggles. It was particularly reassuring for her to know her coach had succeeded in overcoming similar challenges on the path to becoming a veteran teacher.

Reflection.
Working with an induction coach allows beginning teachers to reflect on their practice amidst the chaos of the first year(s). Schön's (1983Schön's ( , 1987 work supports the idea that teachers need to learn to reflect on their practice with an MKO. In order for teachers to learn to reflect-in-action, they need the scaffolding to make this a natural, innate occurrence (Peno & Silva Mangiante, 2012). Many beginning teachers in the study, like Shelly, reported reflection was a key part of working with a coach. Shelly still uses writing in a journal as a way of reflecting on her teaching practice.
Emotional support. At times, beginning teachers just need a shoulder to lean on and a friendly face to share their stories of woe with. This emotional support is critical at the start of the school year as well as throughout the year as new issues arise. Shelly tells the story of how she almost resigned in October, but her coach helped her to refocus and gave her the support she needed to carry on. All nine beginning teachers mentioned that the emotional support from the coach was essential in the first year(s).
Pedagogical support. Learning to think on your toes and adjust to the students in front of you does not always come naturally for beginning teachers. When looking at the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980), the novice relies on rules and set plans. Kegan (1982)  year. All of the coaches who did not receive two years of support mentioned that they would have liked another year. Beginning teachers need time to develop along the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980) Those in urban core districts who did receive a second year of support, like Charlotte, spoke about the difference between the types of support in the second year. She reported that in the second year of induction support she was able to focus on curriculum and standards with her coach. Anne also spoke about the shift in focus to fine-tuning her skills in the classroom during the second year of support.

Phases of Induction Coach Support
Ellen Moir's (1990) Figure 5.1. Specifically, all of the beginning teachers mentioned the phase of disillusionment that occurred in the fall, followed by a sense of rejuvenation after the winter break.
In analyzing the beginning teachers' stories, I found teachers discussed how the coaches' support tied to where they were in their own thinking about teaching.
Therefore, much like Moir's phases of teaching, the beginning teachers' stories suggest how a coach responds within the first year. Figure 5.2 illustrates the phases of coaching that I observed in the situations that I studied. The beginning teachers all mentioned that the coaches were receptive to their needs as they navigated the roller coaster of their first year(s). including the type of support they would receive. These beginning teachers felt at first that they did not have time to meet with a coach once a week and they were concerned that this person might be evaluating them in some way. Coaches reacted to the initial negative response to coaching through friendly emails and meetings to explain the program. Part of the coaches' role was to put beginning teachers at ease with this feeling of trepidation as they were anticipating their first year of teaching.
Phase two: Change of heart. The second phase of coaching I noted is the "change of heart." In most cases, the beginning teachers changed their minds about induction within the first meeting as evidenced by the continuation of Mary's story where her opinion of her coach was changed at their first meeting. The coach put her immediately at ease and Mary saw the worth in the program, grateful for the support.
Many of the beginning teachers spoke about the coach settling their feelings of resignation about the coaching process in the very first meeting. They spoke about how the coach explained the program as non-evaluative, with no set weekly agenda.
The teachers reflected that they were relieved knowing that the coach was there to provide any support that they needed facing the ill-structured problems in their classrooms. The role of the coach was to react to the feelings of trepidation and offer a space for the beginning teacher to have a change of heart about the coaching model by explaining the process and validating their feelings.
Phase three: Emotional support. The third phase of coaching coincides with the survival stage that Moir (1990) suggests. In this phase, the coach supports the emotional concerns of the beginning teacher. Emotional support at this time in the school year allows the beginning teacher to simply face each day without defeat.
Teaching is not just a technical enterprise, but a highly personal and emotional profession (Nias, 1996). A teacher's personal and professional identity becomes intertwined and emotions must be acknowledged: "Teachers have to take profound personal and professional risks in their everyday teaching practices, and they need to construct defense and support mechanisms to continuously re-construct and re-affirm their identities" (Zembylas, 2003, p. 228). The feelings of inadequacy that a novice may feel can take a toll on a beginning teacher's emotional stability. Sarah relayed that the coach was almost like a therapist at the start of the year when she needed to talk about students in a confidential way with someone that knew and cared for the students as much as she did. Shelly spoke of how she would have resigned in October if her coach had not been there to provide emotional support.
Phase four: Classroom management support. The fourth phase, classroom management support, aligns with Moir's (1990) disillusionment phase of a first year teacher. In this stage, the beginning teacher faces managing classroom behaviors that impede teaching and learning. If the behavior management concerns continue, this can often lead to disillusionment. Charlotte's story illustrates how phase 3, "emotional support", leads into phase 4, "classroom management support" and eventually phase 5, "pedagogical support." First, the coach must support the emotional needs of the beginning teacher. Then the coach and beginning teacher address classroom management needs, followed closely by pedagogical concerns. In looking at the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980), the novice is not able to multi-task, and needs explicit guidance for each component of the complexities of teaching. If the coach attempts to support all areas of need at once, the novice cannot handle the amount of feedback required to address every issue simultaneously.
Phase five: Pedagogical support. Phase five of coaching includes pedagogical support, which often occurs in conjunction with the rejuvenation phase of the first year (Moir, 1990). In this phase, the coach works with the beginning teacher to develop pedagogy. While this learning occurred in pre-service courses, a renewed focus is critical to address the needs of the students in the classroom (Shulman, 1986).
Novice teachers can follow a lesson plan and deliver content, but have difficulty reflecting on students' needs and reacting in the moment. Working alongside a MKO helps the novice to be reflective in the moment and teach in a way that is responsive to the students in the classroom. Beth's story relates to this lack of confidence and the need to work with the coach to make a scripted lesson her own and to more effectively engage the students. The role of the coach is to observe the lesson and then provide feedback and data directed at the effectiveness of the lesson in terms of student learning and engagement.
Phase six: Reflection support. In order to develop on the novice to expert, skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980) one must be reflective (Peno & Silva Mangiante, 2012). Schön (1983) posits the idea that a practitioner first learns to reflect-on-action. This includes taking the time to think about the lesson or day and reflect on what went wrong and what can be done differently to produce a more positive result. Novice teachers do not inherently take the time to reflect-on-action.
Working alongside a MKO, the novice can gain the skills needed to become a reflective practitioner. Ultimately, the goal is for the teacher to be able to reflect-inaction, or think and react in the moment rather than at the end of the lesson or day (Peno & Silva Mangiante, 2012 with the coach without the time crunch. The coach met his concern throughout the first year by meeting with him after school and observing during evening rehearsals. Others wished they had another year of support to continue the unfinished work. In admitting that the work with the coach is unfinished after one year, the beginning teacher is acknowledging that he or she is not finished developing on the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980). Henry related that he would have appreciated a second year of coaching support. He needed the safety of having someone to help answer questions, and he fully acknowledged that you have not mastered the craft of teaching after the first year. His coach continued to check in with him in the following years, providing ongoing support through emails and occasional visits to chat about school as he worked on her car.
Two teachers reported that they were unable to use the coach to full capacity because of their teaching assignments. One teacher was in a co-taught situation and the other, Rachael, was working part-time. Both of these teachers stated that once they had a full-time classroom on their own they wished they could have the coach back in the new setting. Again, the coach assigned to the teachers has continued to check-in informally to provide support in their new roles.
Anne worked with her coach for two years as part of an urban core district.
When asked if the second year was necessary she replied that it was an opportunity to move beyond getting through each day to focus on the craft of teaching. The coach reacted to Anne's growth along the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980), supporting her as she faced new ill-structured problems in the second year and improving the skills she learned in her first year.
It is clear to see in Figure 5.3 how the phases of coaching that I observed overlap with the phases that Moir (1990) presents. These phases are not linear in nature, but rather there is a general corresponding trend to how an induction coach must respond to the needs of a beginning teacher. Indeed, the induction coach could still support a behavior issue in June, and not only emotional support was given at the start of the school year, but instead there is an ebb and flow to induction coaching.

Qualities of Induction Coaches
Based on the stories told by the nine participants in this study, four key characteristics are valued in a quality induction coach: they must be flexible, keep confidentiality, be knowledgeable, and be resourceful. These traits indicate the need for a rigorous application and screening process to select coaches, as well as in-depth, on-going support during the coaching process. Just because teachers are experts in their classrooms, "[They] may not know how to make their thinking visible, explain the principles behind their practice, or break down complex teaching moves into components understandable for a beginner" (Feiman-Nemser, 2003, p. 29).
Flexible. Feiman-Nemser & Parker (1992) compared two different models: fully-released mentors, referred to as "educational companions" and on-site mentors not released from their classrooms, called "local guides". The study concluded that the fully-released mentor approach was the most effective in improving teaching practice.
The flexibility that many beginning teachers need is achievable when a coach is fullyreleased from his or her classroom teaching duties and is able to adjust his/her schedule based on the needs of beginning teachers. A fully-released coach is also able to spend time weekly in the beginning teacher's classroom getting to know the students and the teacher's methods. Dedication to the position is also required, as many beginning teachers spoke about meeting with their coaches after school hours, on weekends, or even during evening rehearsals. Another component of flexibility has to do with the coaches' ability to react to the needs of beginning teachers. Induction coaches need regular support and training to maintain the reflective nature of the program. Careful selection of induction coaches who have a reflective nature, as well as initial and on-going training plays a pivotal role in the success of the program. Fletcher and Strong (2009) state that the amount of training the mentors receive has a direct impact on their ability to change instructional practices of the mentee. Most research postulates the theory that the quality of mentor training has a more direct impact on the success of the program than the amount of time spent with the beginning teacher. Part of this training includes the theory of adult learning. Coaches cannot expect to work with beginning teachers in the same way as they work with students.
Understanding the needs of adult learners is important to being an effective coach. In Anne's story, she told about how the coach worked around her ADD and met with her on the weekends when she could focus rather than during the school day.
Confidential. In order to build a trusting relationship between the beginning teacher and induction coach, confidentiality must be maintained. Many beginning teachers spoke about the need to vent issues with someone that was outside of the building or district. One strength of this Rhode Island program was that it was statewide, and induction coaches often worked outside of their home district. Long (2010) suggests that external mentors have an advantage of establishing mutual trust quickly because the mentor does not have direct influence on the beginning teacher's daily work practice (p. 271). Mary spoke about the importance of confidentiality in the coaching relationship, which allowed her to be open to learn from her coach.
Knowledgeable. Based on the stories of these beginning teachers, it did not seem necessary that an induction coach possess the same certification as the beginning teacher. The research of Bianchini and Benner (2009) indicates that in order to be most effective, coaches should be paired with teachers with like certifications. I did not find this to be true in my research. While I did not directly ask if the certification area of the coach was a concern for the beginning teachers, I did ask what the certification of their coach was and many did not exactly know. Others clearly stated that while the certification was different and posed a concern at first, they came to realize that good teaching is good teaching and a certification match was not essential.
What did make a difference was the coach's ability to enable reflection of the lesson by the beginning teacher, and to support with implementing best practices in the classroom. Several beginning teachers commented that a different perspective was often helpful when they were planning lessons or working on classroom management.
The research on the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980) clearly states that coaches must be experts in the field of education, not necessarily in the subject matter. Henry, who taught an automotive course, was hesitant at first about how a special education teacher could support him, but learned that her expertise in teaching could be applied to his subject area.
Resourceful. These beginning teachers reported that their induction coaches were like "genies," providing research and curriculum resources, or connecting the beginning teacher to other expert colleagues. Having a statewide network of induction coaches allowed the coaches to tap into the expertise of colleagues across the state.
Charlotte spoke about her coach reaching out to others in the state to provide support in a specific area. Several beginning teachers mentioned the network of coaches and expertise, specifically related to the statewide seminars that coaches provided as additional professional development.

Role of the Coach in Mediating Identities
Another finding of my research was the role of the coach in mediating the beginning teacher's self-identity as well as context identity. According to Mishler (1999), "We express, display, make claims for who we are-and who we would like to be-in the stories we tell and how we tell them" (p. 19). The identities that are performed in the telling of narratives are socially situated in a context. Zembylas (2003) discusses how teacher identity is formed through talk, social interactions, and self-presentation. In order to support the beginning teacher, the coach acknowledges and works within the confines of the context of the teacher. It is critical to remember that, "whether the early years of teaching are a time of constructive learning or a period of coping, adjustment, and survival depends largely on the working condition and culture of teaching that the new teachers encounter" (Feiman-Nemser, 2003, p. 26). The context the teachers face include administrators, colleagues, school culture, students, parents, physical working conditions, as well as access to materials and curriculum. In order to address the teaching and learning that occurs in the classroom, the coach supports the teacher as he or she navigates the context of the school setting as well as other outside influences of the beginning teacher such as past experiences, family issues, learning styles, and other life stressors as depicted in Figure 5.4.
. If a beginning teacher was struggling with a co-teacher or principal, the coach worked with the teacher to heal the relationship in order to move forward with the coaching work. Beth tells the story of how her coach supported her complex relationship with her co-teacher and how she was able to use those skills later in her career when she was the lead teacher in the classroom working with a novice. At first, Beth felt like a student teacher, powerless to have a voice as a co-teacher in the classroom. Her coach helped her to work with her co-teacher to find a balance of leadership and therefore empower her identity as a certified teacher in the classroom.
Another teacher, Rachael, spoke to me after the tape recorder was turned off about how her coach helped her to navigate a relationship with the teacher assistant in her room. Rachael was a young teacher right out of college working with an older,

Role of Coach in Mediating Identities
Figure 5.4. This figure represents the role of the coach in supporting the beginning teacher to navigate personal identities with contextual/professional identities. experienced teacher assistant who, at times, questioned her leadership in the classroom. Rachael was very intimated by the teacher assistant and sought support from the induction coach. The coach helped her to navigate her identity by role playing the situation and having Rachael talk to the teacher assistant about overstepping her boundaries. Rachael was then able to confront the assistant and change her self-identity to a leader in the classroom environment.
Induction coaches navigate the many self-identities that beginning teachers bring. This is necessary in order to meet all the needs of the beginning teacher. If these dynamics are not addressed, the coaching relationship is not fully effective. Anne spoke about how her coach worked with her learning style and ADD by meeting her on weekends at a Starbucks where she could focus on the work at hand and not the other pressures of the school day and the divorce that she was going through.

Future Research
Sarah told an interesting story of what is going on in her district now with coaching. After the statewide program ended, it was up to district to provide induction support. Many districts hired teachers from within to do this work. Sarah reported that she is unsure of the quality of the program in her school due to lack of qualifications and training of those hired. Sarah also points out the benefit in having someone outside the district do this work so that it remains confidential and allows for networking across the state.
As a follow-up to Rhode Island's Induction Program which ended in 2014, I think it would be beneficial to conduct research now in the state to see what supports are available for teachers, and if the supports are indeed moving the beginning teachers along the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980). A study comparing in-district mentors like those Jane describes would provide a comparison with my current findings of out-of-district mentors.
To further investigate the needs of beginning teachers and to confirm my findings, it would be beneficial to interview induction coaches to hear their stories of working with beginning teachers. Do they mention the same needs as the beginning teachers themselves? Or do the coaches identify a different set of needs for beginning teachers? These insights from the coaches' perspective could triangulate data along with beginning teacher evaluations.
It is also critical to continue to research the impact of multiple years of induction support. While I included teachers with one and two years of support, additional research is needed to determine the appropriate number of years needed.
Perhaps looking at beginning teachers' evaluations after one, two and even three years of induction support would provide insight into this question. After three years of support, is it possible to determine where a teacher is on the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1980)? Would it be possible to connect induction support with receiving tenure and showing competency through the teacher evaluation system?

Chapter Summary
In 2003 the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future stated beginning teachers need a strong residency and induction support in order to be successful in any school setting, yet three years later research shows lack of support is often cited as the main reason why teachers leave the profession too early (Andrews et al., 2006). The stories of the beginning teachers in the RI program demonstrate that coaching was an important part of their development and retention. The teachers clearly discussed needing support in order to grow into experts, working alongside an MKO who provided differentiated support within the context of their teaching was valuable to their learning. As the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future suggests, induction support needs to become part of our culture, something that is expected, accepted, and appreciated when you enter the field of education. As a profession we must also acknowledge that, "Keeping new teachers in teaching is not the same as helping them become good teachers…We must treat the first years of teaching as a phase in learning to teach and surround new teachers with a professional culture that supports teacher learning" (Feiman-Nemser, 2003, p. 25) I offer the words of Charlotte to sum up my research.
Charlotte: I don't think I would have…yeah I don't know how I would have done first without her seriously. I think aside from just getting me through, she made me understand how to look into the profession but like not be defeated by the profession does that makes sense. So, I think especially just like going through the forms doing the analytic the analyzing student work, that would have taken me years to figure out how to do, but she got me there in six months. (17:09) So, she just brought like such an amazing set of skills from like 20 years of teaching that basically like she just give me like the little tidbit every week and then definitely made me the for sure a better teacher a better staff member. It was cool too because she service so many of us. It like brought part of our faculty together too because we would go on dinners and like she would always do some special things for her birthday so it was going to…yeah, so there was a lot of, a lot more than just inside the classroom. It was sort of a culture in itself. (253)(254)(255)(256)(257)(258)(259)(260)(261)(262)(263)(264)(265) I hope this study informs the field of education of the needs of the beginning teachers and the qualities needed in an induction coach, as well as the need to change the culture of induction in the field of education. Beginning teachers need to be supported in the field as they grow along the novice to expert skill model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus).

APPENDIX B
Approval from Rhode Island Department of Education . I realize that you may not have current emails for the teachers, as some may have changed schools or left the field of education. Please forward this email to as many beginning teachers as you can. They will be asked to give consent and fill out a brief background information survey using SurveyMonkey. If they are selected to participate in the study, I will arrange with them a time and location for an interview and garner a signed consent. Attached is the Interview Guide so that you may feel comfortable with the questions that will be asked. The confidentiality of all participants will be upheld and non-identifiable pseudonyms will be used to protect the identity of all beginning teachers, induction coaches, other teachers, and administrators, as well as school and districts.

Email to Beginning Teachers
Dear Former Participant in the Rhode Island Induction Program: My name is Jodi Clark. I am a past induction coach from the Rhode Island Induction Program. I am currently working on my PhD in Education at the University of Rhode Island. In order to complete my dissertation requirement, I am conducting a research study on induction coaching under the guidance of Professor Theresa Deeney, and with the approval of the URI Institutional Review Board and Commissioner Gist. I have asked my fellow induction coaches to reach out to their former beginning teachers to request your participation in my study: Teachers' Experiences of Induction Coaching: A Retrospective Narrative Inquiry. Your participation would require you to give consent and fill out the brief background information survey using the SurveyMonkey link below. If you are selected for the study, I will be contacting you to arrange a time and location of your choice to conduct a one-on-one interview and gain your written consent. The interview should last approximately one hour and will be audio-recorded. A follow-up interview may be requested to verify information.
Thank you so much for your time and interest in my doctoral research. Your participation will be greatly appreciated. I value your input as I research teachers' experiences of induction coaching.
If you are interested in participating in the voluntary research project please, complete the informed consent and survey using the link below. If you have any questions or concerns, you may email me or call (clarkjodi75@gmail.com/ 401-932-7333).

Signed Consent Form Project Title: Teachers' Experiences of Induction Coaching: A Retrospective Narrative Inquiry
CONSENT FORM FOR RESEARCH You are being invited to take part in a research project described below. The student researcher, Jodi Clark, will explain the project to you in detail. You should feel free to ask questions of either Jodi Clark or the Principal Investigator, Professor Theresa Deeney.

Description of the project:
You are being invited to participate in a study of teachers' experiences of induction coaching. The purpose of this study is to understand beginning teachers' experiences with induction coaching by gaining their stories.
What will be done: You will be asked to complete a brief on-line questionnaire asking basic background information. If you are selected to take part in the study, you will be asked to determine an agreeable time and location for a one-on-one interview with the researcher. The interview will last approximately one hour and will be audio-recorded, without using your name. During the interview, the researcher may also take notes, which will be used as part of the study. At a later day, a follow-up interview may be requested to clarify information which will last approximately 30 minutes.

Risks or discomfort:
There are no anticipated risks or discomforts associated with this study. If at any time you are uncomfortable answering a question, you may skip the question or discontinue participation in the study.

Benefits of this study:
The benefit of this study is the chance to reflect on your experiences of working with an induction coach.
Your signature below indicated that you understand that your interview will be audio recorded and what you agree to that recording as specified above. Please sign both consent forms, keeping one for yourself.

Informed Consent
Title of Project: Teachers' Experiences of Induction Coaching: A Retrospective Narrative Inquiry Dear Participant: You have been invited to take part in the research project described below. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Jodi Clark, or Professor Theresa Deeney, the people mainly responsible for this study.
The purpose of this study is to understand beginning teachers' experiences working with an induction coach. This study will involve filling out a questionnaire which should take approximately 15 minutes. Responses to these items will be used to determine selection in the interview process. Once the selection has occurred, all surveys will be destroyed. If selected for an interview, your identity will be protected as well as indentifying qualities.
YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD to be in this research project.
If you decide to take part in this study, your participation will involve filling out a SurveyMonkey pertaining to your background information and experience working with an induction coach.
The possible risks or discomforts of the study are minimal, although you may feel some embarrassment answering questions about private matters. You may withdraw at any time or skip a question.
Although there are no direct benefits of the study, your answers will help determine participants for the interview selection.
Your part in this study is anonymous. That means that your answers to all questions are private. No one else can know if you participated in this study and no one else can find out what your answers were. Scientific reports will be based on group data and will not identify you or any individual as being in this project.
The decision to participate in this research project is up to you. You do not have to participate and you can refuse to answer any question.
Participation in this study is not expected to be harmful or injurious to you. However, if this study causes you any injury, you should write or call the Student Investigator, Jodi Clark at (401) 932-7333 and Faculty Investigator, Theresa Deeney at the