6. Center director semi-structured interview protocol

Attachment 6

CenTer director semi-structured interview protocol

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

OMB No.: XXXXXXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

SCOPE Case Study

Center Director Interview Protocol

Introduction

An important part of the Study of Coaching Practices in Early Care and Education Settings (SCOPE) study is learning about your experience working with coaches and teachers. The purpose of this interview is to help us understand your background and experiences as a director. Your responses will remain private to the extent allowed by law and will be reported in the aggregate only.

Participation is voluntary; refusing to participate or answer a question will not negatively affect you in any way. The interview will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB number for this information collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX. Thank you for taking the time to candidly and thoughtfully talk with us today, we greatly appreciate your help! Do you have any questions before we begin?

Great! Let’s start with some general information about your role at your program.

1. Please tell me about your roles and responsibilities as a director? [listen for support staff, continuously improve quality, administrative]? [RQ3]

   1. Probe: Do you ever provide coaching to your teaching staff? [RQ3]

   2. IF YES:

      1. If so, how often? Under what circumstances?

      2. Is coaching part of your supervision of teachers—or do you separate your coaching from supervision of teachers?

   3. Probe: Do you provide direct supervision of the coach(es) that work with your teachers?

If director provides coaching, proceed to Coach Module then to Director Module.

If director supervises coaches, proceed to Coach Supervisor Module then Director Module.

If director is neither a coach, nor a coach supervisor, proceed directly to Director Module.

Coach Module

2. Can you tell us about your background and what brought you into coaching in the early childhood field? [D/BI, RQ2]

1. Probe: Based on your response to the survey questions, you have [summarize the relevant information from the survey about degree, training, major, etc.] Is that right? Are there any updates I should note? [D/BI] [Note: if the person did not complete the survey, ask the appropriate survey questions.]

2. Probe: Have you had any training on relationship building? Adult learning? Reflective supervision? Coaching? [RQ2]

Thanks. Now we are going to talk about your current coaching with teachers.

3. I’d like to talk next about what you do as a coach. How frequent are your coaching sessions and what do you do during coaching sessions? [RQ1, RQ4]

   1. Probe: When you completed the web survey, you noted that you typically met with teachers _______[insert frequency from survey], that those meetings/visits were typically ______ [insert length of visit from survey], and you typically work with a teacher for ______ months. Is that still accurate? If not, can you tell me about any changes to the frequency of your coaching visits? [RQ4] [Note: if the person did not complete the survey, ask the appropriate survey questions.]

   2. Probe: How is your coaching delivered? Always in-person, remotely or combination? What factors influence how it is provided? Benefits and drawbacks of technology? [RQ1]

   3. Probe: Is there a routine set of activities that occur at each coaching session? Or does it vary visit to visit? What determines your activities in each coaching session? [RQ1]

   4. Probe: Are there ever instances where you have to change your plan for a visit? What types of scenarios bring about a change in plan? [listen for individualization, responsiveness to teacher needs, relationship building] [RQ1]

   5. Probe: Do you ever document information about your coaching? What information is documented? How often? Is documentation required or optional? Is this documentation something you developed? How is the information used? By whom? How helpful is the documentation to you? [Ask to have copies of blank forms or for a de-identified example. Note if the coach is describing an administrative check, a progress report, case notes, etc.] [RQ1]

   6. Probe: Do teachers volunteer for your coaching? Have you ever coached a teacher who didn’t volunteer for coaching, a teacher who was assigned to do coaching? If so, do you do anything different in your coaching with those teachers? [RQ1]

   7. Probe: Do you have other roles or responsibilities in addition to coaching? Do you supervise any teachers? How do these other roles help/hinder your coaching? [RQ3]

4. Can you tell us about the various topics and strategies you use in your coaching?

   1. Probe: What topics are covered? What’s the process for selecting the topics? Is it connected to larger PD efforts in the program? (ex. the topic selected by teacher; by coach and the teacher in discussion; by leadership; based on assessment; based on curriculum training; based on a program-level goal) [RQ1]

   2. Probe: [Refer to survey responses on use of strategies] You responded in the survey that you utilize [name strategies]. Do you have a plan for how you move through the strategies? How do you decide whether/when to use observation? Modeling? Feedback? Co-teaching? To have a teacher practice new skill? Formal assessment/standard observation? Relationship building? [RQ1] [Note: if the person did not complete the survey, ask the appropriate survey questions.]

   3. Probe: Do you use an assessment tool to collect any information about the teacher’s skills as part of your coaching? If so, how (ex. assessment tool)? [If assessment tool mentioned, ask] Who developed the tool? How often do you collect this information? How do you use the information (ex. determine needs/strengths; have teachers self-assess their needs/strengths; track growth?) [RQ1]

   4. Probe: Can you tell us about how you provide feedback to teachers? Format (ex. written; oral; tech-based)? Do you use technology to provide feedback? If so, how? Are there formal tools to provide feedback? When/how often do you provide feedback? How comfortable are you with giving feedback? How did you learn to give feedback? How receptive are teachers/providers to feedback? Do you tend to offer feedback in the same way or do you do it differently in some situations? [If differently, ask] How does it differ and why? [RQ1]

   5. Probe: We know that coaching can vary. Can you tell us about what aspects of coaching tend to vary and why? How do you approach the topics, strategies, assessments, or feedback differently when you are not face-to-face with the teacher/provider? [RQ1]

5. Are there areas you feel you could use more training and experience that would help you support the teachers you are working with now? [RQ2]

   1. Probe: What type of teachers do you currently work with? How prepared do you feel to work with different types of teachers/providers (ex. new vs. veteran teachers/providers; teachers who don’t speak English as their primary language?

   2. Probe: How prepared to you feel to address cultural and language needs of teachers/providers? To be able to follow a particular coaching approach? What content areas do you feel most prepared to address? Least prepared to address? [RQ2]

   3. Probe: What supports have been most helpful to you (ex. materials from coursework, getting advice from peers, reading articles, discussions with supervisor)? [RQ2]

   4. Probe: What other training or experiences would you like to have? [RQ2]

6. Where do you turn when you are trying to solve a problem or overcome a challenge in your coaching? Can you describe a time when you used this resource? [RQ2]

   1. Probe: Can you describe the types of ongoing support you have access to? Meet or reflect with supervisor? Meet or talk with other coaches? How effective do you find these supports? [RQ2]

7. Have there been any materials, training, or people that have been especially helpful in your initial and ongoing development as a coach? [RQ2]

1. Probe: Did you have any orientation to coaching when you first started coaching? [RQ2]

2. Probe: How did you learn about these resources? Do you still have access to them? [RQ2]

8. Are there written materials that guide your coaching? [RQ2]

1. Probe: If so, what are they (ex. manual)? How do you use these materials? [Ask for a copy or a citation/source, if possible.] [RQ2]

9. How do you know when you are being successful as a coach? [RQ2]

   1. Probe: Quality of the relationship with the teacher? Seeing change on an assessment? Seeing a change in teacher practices? Feedback from a teacher? Do you have evidence that teachers sustain the change? [RQ2]

   2. Probe: Could you give us some examples of how teachers’ behaviors have changed in the last 6 months as a result of your coaching? [RQ2]

10. Tell us about how you first begin working with a teacher or provider. [RQ1, RQ3]

1. Probe: Do you gather any information about the program or teacher before the first visit? If so, what and how? And how do you use that information? [RQ3]

2. Probe: Activities on first visit? If it varies, how so and why? [listen for whether the coach explains the importance of new skills; does relationship building activities] [RQ1]

3. Probe: What’s the process for setting goals? To what extent does the teacher have influence in goal setting? Who else influences goal setting? [RQ1, RQ3]

11. How do you communicate with teachers? Providers? Directors? [RQ1, RQ3]

    1. Probe: Email? Text? Skype/Facetime? Call? In-person meetings?[RQ1]

    2. Probe: What do you do to help the teacher/provider trust you? (RQ3]

    3. Probe: Examples of how you have adjusted your coaching for a teacher/provider who was from a different cultural group or spoke a different language? [RQ1]

If director does not supervise coaches, proceed to Director Module.

If director supervises coaches, proceed to Coach Supervisor Module then to Director Module.

Next, we’re going to switch to questions about your role in supervising coaches.

Coach Supervisor Module

12. Can you please tell me a little about your background and how you became a coach supervisor? [D/BI, RQ2]

    1. Probe: Do you have any past experience as a teacher, program director, or coach? Have you had any training or support on how to supervise coaches? Adult learning? Building relationships? Diversity? [RQ2]

    2. What percentage of your time do you spend supervising coaches? What other responsibilities do you have? [RQ2]

    3. How long has your program had a supervisor for coaches? How many coaches do you supervise? [RQ2]

13. Can you tell me how coaches are recruited and selected? [RQ2]

    1. Probe: What is the job description? [ask for a copy if possible] What is most important to consider when selecting someone for a coaching position? [RQ2]

14. What happens on a person’s first day on the job as a coach? [RQ2]

    1. Probe: [If orientation or training is mentioned, ask] Describe what is covered and how long it is. [RQ2]

15. Can you describe your role as a coach supervisor? [RQ2]

    1. Probe: Do your coaches come to find you when they have a need or do you have an established meeting time? How frequently do you have supervisory check-ins? Content covered? What’s your supervisory style? [listen to hear if they use reflective supervision] Do you supervise coaches individually or in groups? [RQ2]

    2. Probe: What issue or concern is brought up the most among the coaches you supervise? How is it addressed? [RQ2]

    3. Probe: Do the coaches you supervise work independently or do you provide supports for their work? If you offer supports, what’s most important for you to do to support coaches? Are there other supports that you think are important for coaches, besides what you offer through supervision? Do coaches have a chance to talk with other coaches either formally or informally about their work? [RQ2]

    4. Probe: What’s your biggest challenge in supervising coaches? [RQ2]

16. How do you know whether a coach is performing well? [RQ2]

    1. Probe: How do you define what it means to be “performing well?” Is there anything in writing about this? How do you know whether a coach is effective in changing teacher practice? What tools, if any, do you use to assess a coach’s performance? [RQ2]

17. Who decides what coaching should look like? [RQ1]

    1. Probe: How much does a coach have a say about what coaching topic they work on and on the coaching process? How much does a teacher have a say about what topic to work on and on the coaching process?

    2. Probe: Are there written materials (ex. manual; guidebook)? If so, who wrote them? How do you use them? How helpful do you think they are? [RQ1]

    3. Probe: How strictly do you have the coach follow the guidelines in the written materials? Under what circumstances do you not follow the instructions in the written materials? Under what circumstances would coaches not follow the instructions in the written materials? [RQ1]

18. Do you and the coaches use data to help make decisions regarding coaching? If so, what data? And how is it used? [RQ3]

19. What types of information do coaches have to document? [RQ3] [ask for example of forms, logs, if any]

1. Probe: How is the information used? By whom? How helpful do coaches perceive the documentation? [RQ3]

2. Probe: Any documentation of goals? Progress? Process? Dates and length of coaching? Other?

Now we’re going to ask you some questions about your role as the director of the center.

Director Module

20. Can you please tell us how you got connected with the coaching approach used at your center? [RQ1]

1. Probe: Did you select the coaching approach being used currently in your program? Who did you work with to develop your program’s coaching approach?

2. Did you have other choices (ex. choices in frequency; topics; coach activities; who is being coached)? [If director is not the coach] Did you get to select the coach who is working with the program? [RQ1]

3. Probe: Have you requested or made changes in the coaching? If so, what requests have you had? And were the changes made? [RQ1]

21. What is your role in coaching at your program (other than providing coaching and coach supervision, if discussed above)? [listen for examples of selecting teachers to receive coaching, goal setting at the individual or program level, joining some sessions with teacher and coach, providing support in between coaching sessions]? [RQ3]

1. Probe: On a continuum of 1 to 10, with 1 being “hands off” and 10 being “very involved” in coaching, where would you place yourself and why? [RQ3]

2. Probe: What decisions do you make about coaching in the program? [RQ3]

1. What information helps you make decisions about coaching? [RQ3]

   1. How is that information collected?

3. Probe: Is there anyone else in the program who helps makes decisions about coaching or is involved with coaching in some way? [RQ3]

1. If so, who, and what is their role?

4. Probe: Does your program have more than one type of coaching? If your program participates in more than one type of coaching, does your role change depending on the type of coaching? If so, how? How did you make the decision to have more than one type of coaching?

5. Probe: What informed your coaching choices? Did you confer with teachers/other directors regarding coaching design and approach? How much of an impact does funding have on your coaching decisions? What would you change in your program’s coaching if you had more funding?

22. When do teachers meet with coaches and how is that decided? [RQ3]

1. Probe: Do you need to do anything to help ensure that teachers meet with coaches? Does your program do administrative things to help support coaching? [listen for use of paid planning time, availability of substitute teachers/floaters to cover classrooms, director covering the classroom during the session]? [RQ3]

   1. Do coaches primarily meet with teachers in the classroom or another location?

23. What was the process in deciding which teachers should receive coaching? [RQ3]

1. Probe: Do you/your coach use any tools or data to help you decide who receives coaching? [RQ3]

2. Probe: How is the decision communicated to staff? [RQ3]

24. What role does coaching play in your program? What is coaching doing for your program? [RQ3]

1. Probe: [If the director says that coaching is connected to the larger goals of the program, ask] How is coaching connected to the program goals?

2. Probe: [If the directors says that coaching is connected to the program’s curriculum, ask] How is coaching connected to the curriculum? If there are connections, who is responsible for making these connections?

3. Probe: If there are multiple types of coaching happening in your program, are they coordinated? If so, by whom and how?

4. Does your coach (Do your coaches) do other work for your program besides coaching?

25. How enthusiastic were you about coaching for your program when it started? What made you cautious about trying coaching for your program?

    1. Probe: How enthusiastic are you about it now? What are your remaining concerns about coaching your program?

26. What benefits and drawbacks do you see in the coaching at your program? Do you think coaching has made a real difference for your teachers and your program? What are the limits of the impact coaching has for your center?

27. How do you know if the coaching is working or not? [RQ4]

1. Probe: What kind of teacher or classroom changes do you expect to see? How long do you think it will take to see a change? Are there tools or data you use to determine if changes have been made? Feedback from teachers? [RQ4]

2. Probe: Based on your experience, how likely is it that coaching works or not? Why?

28. What other coaching or professional development resources are available to your program? [RQ3]

1. Probe: Are any of these resources available for free or does the program need to pay for them? [RQ3]

2. Probe: Are they easy or difficult to access (ex. in community; long wait list)? [RQ3]

3. Probe: How satisfied are you with the resources available? [RQ3]

   1. What else would be useful to you? And how would you like to get resources (ex. website; email; person)?

   2. What about coaching do you struggle with—and can’t find help in answering?

Thank you. We’re going to close with a few reflection questions about coaching.

29. What factors do you think most influence the success of coaching in changing teachers’ practice? [RQ1, RQ2, RQ3]

1. Probe: What are program-level features that improve the success of coaching? Program-level factors? If so, what? (ex. director involvement in coaching; sense of continuous learning culture; understanding coaching and change take time; time for coaching) [RQ3]

2. Probe: What about the teachers impacts the success of coaching? Makes it harder or easier for a coach? Teacher characteristics or openness to change? If so, what? (ex. teacher involvement in coaching; internal motivation to change; involvement or support of other staff in coaching; readiness to change; understanding coaching and change take time) [RQ3]

3. Probe: What classroom characteristics make it easier/harder to coach? If so, what? (ex. child demographics; ratio) [RQ3]

4. Probe: What coaching strategies make the biggest difference in coaching (ex. observation; feedback)?

5. Probe: Are there aspects of the coaching approach or activities that make it easier/harder to coach? If so, what? (ex. required features; materials) [RQ1]

6. Probe: Coach background and training? If so, what? (ex. adult learning styles; cultural competency) [RQ2]

7. Probe: Specific coaching activities? If so, what? (ex. feedback; modeling; reflection) [RQ1]

8. Probe: Coach background and training? If so, what? (ex. adult learning styles; cultural competency) [RQ2]

9. Probe: Other barriers or supports? (ex. lack of space in the program) [RQ3]

Thank you. We really appreciate everything you’ve done to help us better understand coaching. Before we end our conversation, I’d like to ask you one final question…

30. Is there anything else about coaching that you think is important for us to know?

Case Study Research Questions: Legend for Reviewers

1. RQ1 = Research Question 1: Which features are evident in practice?

3. RQ2 = Research Question 2: What coaching supports are evident in practice?

5. RQ3 = Research Question 3: What program or system-level contextual factors influence the implementation of coaching?

7. RQ4 = Research Question 4: What outputs from the coaching are evident in practice?

9. D/BI = Demographics and Background Information

11. Note: Questions 2 and 3 have been identified as the most important ones to address.