Dr. Martha Elford

Dr. Martha D. Elford is a co-founder and consultant with VECTOR Coaching and an internationally recognized expert in virtual coaching who recently co-authored the book, Implementing a Virtual Coaching Model for Teacher Professional Development (Myers, Rowland, Elford, 2021). Dr. Elford served as an Instructional Coach with the Kansas Coaching Project directed by Jim Knight. 

In addition to coaching, she has experience as a classroom teacher and a reading specialist. As a post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Elford supervised two research projects: A Poses Foundation grant studying Instructional Coaching and an IES grant for TeachLivE, the use of simulation in teacher preparation programs. She formerly served as Program Designer for the Online High Incidence Disabilities Teacher Education Practicum Program at the University of Kansas. Her research interests include the impact of coaching on professional growth for pre- and in-service teachers, and using virtual learning environments, such as Virtual Professional Performance (VPP) Lab for teacher preparation and professional development. Dr. Elford participated as a Fulbright Specialist for Fulbright Finland where she collaborated with scholars to explore the use of video for coaching and feedback in teacher preparation.

Elford is the co-author of GET Feedback: Giving, Exhibiting, and Teaching Feedback in Special Education Teacher Preparation.

Currently, Dr. Elford serves as non-tenure track faculty at Southern Illinois University Department of Teaching and Learning.