Preschool teachers’ insights about web-based self-coaching versus on-site expert coaching

Abstract

Implementation science defines training and coaching as two important competency components to support fidelity of implementation of evidence-based practices. The present study explores the perspectives of 21 preschool teachers, located in the United States, about the professional development (PD) they received, which included training and coaching. The PD was designed to support their planning, implementation and evaluation of embedded instruction practices for young children with disabilities. The PD involved: 16.5 hours of workshops distributed across four to six weeks; the provision of job-aids; and 16 weeks of on-site coaching or 16 weeks of prompts to engage in self-coaching using a project-developed website. An interpretivist theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism using grounded theory methods was adopted to guide the analysis of focus group data obtained from teachers following their participation in the PD. We describe the components of the PD that teachers characterized as effectively transcending the web-based and on-site coaching, the challenges they experienced with embedded instruction implementation and their recommendations for enhancing coaching. Implications are offered for considering individual and environmental factors that influence knowledge acquisition and practice implementation in the classroom and sustaining teacher learning through follow-up implementation support.

Impact of Coaching on Preservice Teachers’ Use of Embedded Instruction in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms

“…Training high-quality teachers or practitioners who can meet the needs of all young children including those with disabilities has been a challenge for ECSE field (Rhodes & Huston, 2012;Shannon, Snyder, & McLaughlin, 2015). Findings of the current study support the needs for further research and reorganization in preservice teacher training programs.…”

Exploring Coach–Teacher Interactions Within a Practice-Based Coaching Partnership

“…These conversation foci might have been initiated more often by teachers because they provided access to coach support to address an immediate need within the teacher’s classroom. In prior studies of teachers’ perspectives about PBC, preschool teachers reported that they rarely had access to ongoing performance-based feedback and support to address dilemmas in their classrooms, in particular from someone who was knowledgeable about early childhood classrooms (Shannon et al, 2015).…”

“…Several studies have demonstrated the importance of providing both supportive and constructive feedback concurrently when helping teachers acquire and master the use of new teaching practices (e.g., Oborn & Johnson, 2015; Snyder et al, 2018). In the absence of Constructive Verbal Feedback , teachers may not be aware that they are not implementing a teaching practice with fidelity (Shannon et al, 2015). They are also apt to abandon a practice because they do not see immediate positive outcomes as a result of their implementation or do not have access to implementation support (Kretlow & Bartholomew, 2010).…”

Improving Preschool Educators' Interactive Shared Book Reading: Effects of Coaching in Professional Development

“…Workshops typically consist of a limited number of largegroup instructional sessions over a brief period of time, whereas coursework consists of a larger number of instructional sessions over a longer time period. Coaching sessions involve individualized support that takes into account the practice of the educators and provides feedback either on site within the classroom or via the Internet (Dennis & Horn, 2014;Shannon, Snyder, & McLaughlin, 2015).…”