Coaching is education’s new professional development buzzword – but does the evidence bear out its growing use? Coaching is education’s new professional development buzzword – but does the evidence bear out its growing use? And is it really a best bet for teachers’ professional development? In theory, coaching encourages teachers to improve their practice, much in the way that a teacher would hope pupils improve their learning. Resource intensivenessSchools that implement a coaching model generally tend to assign a teacher or senior leader as a coach.