West, a former math instruction director and deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, and Cameron, a math coach and professional development specialist, inform K-8 coaches, administrators, and teacher leaders about how to be a content coach by using techniques, tools, and strategies to work with individual and small groups of teachers to plan and co-teach lessons, with the aim of improving student learning and achievement. They focus on planning, implementing, and debriefing lessons, and looking for evidence of student learning, as well as the role of reflection and refinement in the coach's and teacher's practice. They revisit the theories explained in West and Staub's Content-Focused Coaching: Transforming Mathematics Lessons (2003), apply them to content areas beyond math, and draw on the methods outlined in the book, as well as their continued work, to detail the conceptual and skill aspects of content and using tools like curriculum materials, standards, and assessments to inform choices. They address building a learning community within and across schools, systems thinking, and change theory, and add new tools and techniques, as well as a new video to accompany the coaching case study, which details the process of preconference, co-teaching the lesson, and postconference. They describe the theory of content coaching, the work of creating coaching initiatives, and defining the roles of those involved, then detail the skill set of coaches for any content area in terms of self-awareness and communication, and how to tune in to the needs and aspirations of teachers. There is no index. Annotation 2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
