Abstract
This dissertation examines how mathematics teachers’ lesson goals develop through collaboration with instructional coaches. While goals guide planning and reflection, teachers often struggle to articulate specific and meaningful intentions. Using a three-article design, the first study synthesizes 105 studies on mathematics coaching, highlighting the need to connect coaching to systemic and equity-focused outcomes. The second study analyzes teachers’ initial lesson goals, finding that most emphasized conceptual understanding but lacked specificity. The third study explores how goals evolve during planning conversations, showing that specialists’ facilitation transforms vague intentions into focused, learning-oriented goals. Together, these studies illuminate lesson goals as dynamic and socially constructed, advancing understanding of how coaching supports teacher learning and the development of ambitious mathematics instruction.