A Comparison of Coach Feedback in On-Site Versus Technologically Mediated Delivery Methods

• In Event: Providing Preschool Teachers With Web-Mediated Professional Development in Early Language and Literacy: Promising Practices

Abstract

Study Objective and Framework

There is substantial interest in early childhood in translating face-to-face coaching models of teacher professional development into web-mediated coaching models. However, we know very little about how coach feedback to teachers, arguably a key ingredient in the effectiveness of coaching, might differ in the web-based context. This study examined the individualized feedback that coaches provided to teachers around early literacy, examining whether there were differences in feedback between web-mediated (remote) and face-to-face (onsite) delivery of coaching.

Analyses examined whether coach feedback on core, extension, and individualization practices differed across remote and onsite coaching sessions. In remote sessions, teachers submitted videotapes of their practice, whereas onsite sessions allowed the coach to visit the classroom. Thus, the video used in remote coaching might be more conducive to providing feedback on core practices, whereas the potentially broader observation lens of onsite coaching sessions might allow the coach to assess practices that extend learning objectives beyond whole group time as well as the learning goals of individual children.

Analyses also explored whether coaches provided more unique or new (not previously mentioned) feedback in either the onsite or remote coaching. More unique feedback may indicate progress in a teacher’s use of evidence-based practices, while feedback that repeats or expands upon information previously offered to the teacher may suggest continued difficulties.

Analyses examined the frequency of new feedback in the coach’s (a) identification of appropriate practices and (b) recommendations for improvements.

Method and Data Sources

The sample included 45 lead teachers in Head Start classrooms who volunteered to participate in a one-semester, coaching-based PD program. Most teachers had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The intervention included 12 coaching sessions (8 remote, 4 onsite) plus a large video library of exemplary practices and an introductory workshop. Two early literacy experts provided coaching. Written records of coaching sessions were coded by research assistants with three forms of reliability check, including an audiotape of onsite sessions.

Major Results

The average percentage of all feedback on core practices and on extension practices was significantly higher in remote coaching than in onsite coaching sessions. The average percentage of feedback on individualization practices was about the same in the two delivery modes. There was a significantly higher average percentage of per-session attention to extension practices and to individual practices in onsite sessions than in remote sessions. Most effect sizes were large (ds = 0.35 to 3.59).

A significantly larger amount of unique feedback was delivered in onsite sessions than in remote sessions. The average number of statements that were repeats or expansions of prior feedback were significantly higher in remote than in onsite sessions. Most effect sizes were large (ds = 1.11 to 2.90).

Scientific Significance

Results suggest that onsite and remote coaching methods served complementary functions in the delivery of coaching. Periodic in-person contact may play a distinctive role in technologically-delivered PD. Future research should determine effects of onsite and remote delivery of coaching.

Author

• Douglas R. Powell, Purdue University