8. Teacher/FCC provider semi-structured interview protocol

Attachment 8

Teacher/FCC Provider semi-structured interview protocol

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OMB No.: XXXXXXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

SCOPE Case Study

Teacher/FCC Provider Interview Protocol

Introduction

An important part of the Study of Coaching Practices in Early Care and Education Settings (SCOPE) study is learning about coaching in early childhood education settings, and today we hope to learn about your experience as a teacher/provider receiving coaching. This is 1 of 12 centers/providers we’re visiting to better understand what coaching looks like “on the ground.” We are not evaluating you or your coach in any way. We will look at information across all 12 visits to programs to learn more about what coaching is like in different types of programs. Your responses will remain private; we will not share your individual comments with anyone outside of the research team. When we report the information, we will talk about the findings for the group of programs we visited. We will not include information that would allow someone to know that it was you who said it.

Participation is voluntary; refusing to participate or answer a question will not negatively affect you in any way. The interview will take approximately one hour 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 you the coaching you receive.

Note to interviewer: It is not necessary to ask all probes in this protocol. Teachers/providers may cover the topics in response to the broad question. If the teacher/provider has already addressed the topic of the probe, do not ask it. It is important to keep track of which topic areas are addressed so you know which probes you do not need to ask. The probes are intended to guide the discussion; interviews will not address all probes.

If interviewing a family child care provider, ask the questions in the Family Child Care Provider Module only.

If interviewing a teacher, ask the questions in the Teacher Module only.

Teacher Module

1. How did you first learn that you were going to be working with [name specific coach]? [RQ1, RQ3]

   1. Probe: Who told you? Why were you selected? [RQ1]

   2. Probe: How did you feel about having a coach? Have those feelings changed overtime? Do you like having a coach? Why? Do you want something to be different about the coaching? [RQ1]

   3. Probe: Who is your direct supervisor?

If director, skip to Probe e). If someone other than director, proceed to Probe d), then Probe e).

4. Probe: Is your supervisor involved in coaching? For example, do they talk about coaching with your coach or you? Are you both on the same page in terms of what you could be working on the classroom? Do you feel supported by your supervisor in your coaching? If so, in what ways? If not, why not? What do you like best about your supervisor’s involvement in coaching? Is there something about your supervisor that makes it hard for you to participate in coaching or change your practice? Anything you wish were different about your supervisor’s involvement in coaching? [RQ3]

5. Probe: Is the center director involved in the coaching? For example, do they discuss coaching with your coach or you, are your coach and your director on the same page in terms of what you could be working on the classroom? Do you feel supported by the director in this process? If so, in what ways? If not, why not? What do you like best about the director’s involvement in coaching? Is there something about the director or program that makes it hard for you to participate in coaching or change your practice? Anything you wish were different about the director’s involvement in coaching? [RQ3]

6. Probe: Do you think coaching is valued by your director? Valued by your fellow teachers in the program? [RQ1]

1. Can you tell me what your first session with the coach was like? What was your role in the session? What activities did you do together? Where there any goals set at that time? Did you discuss logistics of coaching or how you would communicate your coach? What were your impressions of your coach after that first session? [listen for levels of trust] [RQ1]

2. Do you have formal goals you are working towards with your coach? [RQ1, RQ3]

   1. Probe: To what extent does the coach explain the importance or relevance of what she wants you to do or change? [RQ1]

   2. Probe: Do you think that the coaching is helping you in areas that are important to the program? How so? [RQ1; RQ3]

   3. Probe: How were goals set? (ex. together; by you; by coach; or by program leadership) [RQ1]

   4. Probe: How well do you think the goals are suited to you as a teacher and the particular needs of you and the children you serve? [RQ1]

3. Do you plan together with your coach for what you’ll accomplish at each visit (ex. homework plans; practice plans; topic for next time)? If so, can you tell us more about what you plan and how? How much do you or your coach plan ahead for your time together? Do you feel like your coach is prepared and has a plan for your coaching time together—or does it seem like your coach is working “on the fly” or without preparing? If there is no formal planning, can you tell us about how you know what to expect in each coaching session? [RQ3]

4. How often do you see your coach? Who determines the schedule of visits? Do you think coaching could have a bigger impact with more visits? Do you think the number of visits could be reduced without undermining the coaching? Would it help you to be able to contact your coach between visits? How and when would you contact them? What would you share with them during these contacts? Are they about coaching or other topics? [RQ1]

5. What kinds of things have you been working on with your coach? [RQ1]

   1. Probe: Do you share information you learned in coaching with others on your teaching team (either your assistant or other teachers at your program)? If so, how do you decide what information to share? Give us an example of something you shared with other teachers in your program? [RQ1]

   2. Probe: Do find coaching has been helpful to your teaching practice? What do you has been most helpful to your teaching practice? In what way has coaching changed your teaching the most? [RQ1]

6. Does your coach provide you with feedback? How often? What’s it like? [RQ1]

   1. Probe: On which topics does your coach provide you with feedback? What formats does it come in? (e.g., written, discussion, texts..)

   2. Probe: Does your coach seem comfortable providing feedback? Can you provide an example of a time your coach gave you feedback? What feedback makes you feel great? What feedback was hard to hear? Are they clear in the feedback provided? Do you trust that their feedback is accurate? Is feedback clearly linked to what you were coached on? Is feedback a collaborative conversation? Does feedback sometimes feel like a presentation of things you did wrong? Does your coach provide helpful suggestions that make sense? Does your coach highlight things you do well and should do more of?

   3. Probe: What do you find most useful about the feedback? Is there anything that’s not useful in the feedback? How have you used the feedback? How easy do you think it is to make the changes the coach would like you to make based on feedback? Why? [RQ1]

7. To what extent do you have a chance to practice new things you learned from coaching in between or after coaching sessions? Do you have a way of keeping track of what you tried and how it went? How do you use the information? [RQ1]

8. Can you provide 1-2 examples of something you have changed because of your work with this coach? [RQ4]

9. Roughly what percentage of children in your classroom are from low-income families? What percentage are English Language Learners? Children with disabilities?. Are there aspects about the children you work with that make it easier or harder to make changes based on coaching? [RQ3]

10. Are you involved with any other training or professional development outside of this coaching? [RQ3]

    1. Probe: If yes, do you think that the coaching you receive is related to/aligned with other professional development efforts you’re involved in? If so, how does this help? If not, does the disconnect make it harder for you to work with the coach or change your practice? If so, how? [RQ3]

Thank you. Now we are going to ask a few general questions about your relationship with your coach.

12. How does your coach communicate with you (ex. email; phone; text; in-person visits)? [RQ1]

    1. Probe: How effective do you find that communication? Which method works best? [RQ1]

    2. Probe: Have there ever been instances where you’ve needed to reschedule or cancel a visit? What were the reason(s) for needing to reschedule or cancel? How have you communicated this to the coach?

13. In general, how would you characterize the relationship you have with your coach? [RQ4]

    1. Probe: What do you like about the relationship? And what’s hard? [RQ4]

14. Have you ever worked with a different coach? [RQ3]

    1. Probe: If yes, how was that similar or different to working with this coach? [RQ3]

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

15. Is there anything else that you think is important to support successful coaching? Are there things that you think it is important for a coach to train about? Anything you need to help you in coaching? [RQ3]

16. Is there anything else that you think makes it hard for coaching to happen or be successful? Anything the director/program leader could do differently? Anything the coach could do differently? [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…

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

Family Child Care Provider Module

1. We’re visiting your program because you are receiving coaching. Can you please tell us how you found out about the coaching and how you got connected with the coach? [RQ1]

   1. Probe: Did you select this particular coaching approach? If so, why did you choose it? If not, who did select it? Did you have other choices? Did you select the particular coach who is working with the program? [RQ1]

   2. Probe: Did you request any changes in the coaching? If so, what were they and why did you want these changes? Were the changes made? Is there anything that you would like to change about coaching that you have requested yet? [RQ1]

   3. Probe: How did you feel about having a coach? Have those feelings changed overtime? [RQ1]

2. Do you know of other local resources, outside of coaching, can you access to support your work with preschool children? [RQ3]

   1. Probe: [ask only if she is aware of resources] How appropriate do you think those resources are for you and your program? [RQ3]

   2. Probe: Are you part of a network or group of family child care or child care providers? If yes, can you tell us a little about the network and group and its purpose? How useful is it to you and what you do? How much has it effected how you work with the preschool-aged children at your center? [RQ3]

   3. Probe: If you have questions about how to work with preschoolers, is there anyone else besides your coach that you can talk to? [RQ3]

3. Do you have other adults who help you care for children? [RQ1]

   1. Probe: What is their role, if any, in the coaching that you’re receiving? [RQ1]

4. Have you ever used something you’ve learned in coaching to help you change something about your program or classroom? If so, please describe an example. [RQ3]

5. Can you tell me what your first session with the coach was like? What was your role in the session? What activities did you do together? Were there any goals set at that time? Did you discuss logistics of coaching or how you would meet and communicate your coach? What were your impressions of your coach after that first session? [listen for levels of trust] [RQ1]

6. Do you have formal goals you are working towards with your coach? [RQ1, RQ3]

   1. Probe: How were goals set? (ex. together; by you; by coach; or by program leadership) [RQ1]

   2. Probe: To what extent does the coach explain the importance or relevance of what she wants you to do or change? [RQ1]

   3. Probe: Do you think that the coaching is helping you in areas that are important to your family child care? How so? [RQ1; RQ3]

   4. Probe: How well do you think the goals are suited to you as a provider and the particular needs of you and the children you serve? [RQ1]

7. Do you and your coach plan together for what you’ll accomplish at each visit (ex. homework plans; practice plans; topic for next time)? If so, can you tell us more about what you plan and how? How much do you or your coach plan ahead for your time together? Do you feel like your coach is prepared and has a plan for your coaching time together—or does it seem like your coach is working “on the fly” or without preparing? If there is no formal planning, can you tell us about how you know what to expect in each coaching session? [RQ3]

8. How often do you see your coach? Who determines the schedule of visits? Do you ever feel the need to cancel for any reason? Does the coach ever cancel their visit? How frequently do you communicate with your coach between in-person visits? Do you feel comfortable/allowed to contact your coach between each scheduled visit? Do you have their contact information? When was the last time you contacted the coach in between sessions? [RQ1]

9. What kinds of things have you been working on with your coach? [RQ1]

   1. Probe: Do you share information from coaching with others on your teaching team (either your assistant or other teachers at your program)? If so, how do you decide what information to share? Give us an example of something you shared with other teachers in your program? [RQ1]

   2. Probe: What do you find has been most helpful to your teaching practice? In what way has coaching changed your teaching the most? [RQ1]

10. Does your coach provide you with feedback? How often? What’s it like? [RQ1]

    1. Probe: On which topics does your coach provide you with feedback? What formats does it come in?

    2. Probe: Does your coach seem comfortable providing feedback? Are they clear in the feedback provided? Do you trust that their feedback is accurate? Is feedback clearly linked to what you were coached on? Is feedback more of a collaborative conversation, or does it sometimes feel like a presentation of things you did wrong? Does your coach provide helpful suggestions that make sense?

    3. Probe: What do you find most useful about the feedback? Is there anything that’s not useful in the feedback? How have you used the feedback? How easy do you think it is to make the changes the coach would like you to make based on feedback? Why? [RQ1]

11. To what extent do you have a chance to practice new things from coaching in between or after coaching sessions? Do you have a way of keeping track of what you tried and how it went? How do you use the information? Does your coach encourage you to practice? Do they check specifically about practice you have done? [RQ1]

12. Can you provide 1-2 examples of something you have changed because of your work with this coach? [RQ4]

13. Roughly what percentage of children in your program are from low-income families? What percentage are English Language Learners? Children with disabilities?. Are there aspects about the children you work with that make it easier or harder to make changes based on coaching? [RQ3]

14. Are you involved with any other training or professional development outside of this coaching? [RQ3]

    1. Probe: If yes, do you think that the coaching you receive is related to/aligned with other professional development efforts you’re involved in? If so, how does this help? If not, does the disconnect make it harder for you to work with the coach or change your practice? If so, how? [RQ3]

Thank you. Now we are going to ask a few general questions about your relationship with your coach.

15. How does your coach communicate with you (ex. email; phone; text; in-person visits)? [RQ1]

    1. Probe: How effective do you find that communication? [RQ1]

    2. Probe: Have there ever been instances where you’ve needed to reschedule or cancel a visit? What were the reason(s) for needing to reschedule or cancel? How have you communicated this to the coach?

16. In general, how would you characterize the relationship you have with your coach? [RQ4]

    1. Probe: What do you like about the relationship? And what’s hard? [RQ4]

17. Have you ever worked with a different coach? [RQ3]

    1. Probe: If yes, how was that similar or different to working with this coach? [RQ3]

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

18. Is there anything else that you think is important to support successful coaching? [RQ3]

19. Is there anything else that you think makes it hard for coaching to happen or be successful? Anything the director/program leader could do differently? Anything the coach could do differently? [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…

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

Case Study Research Questions: Legend for Reviewers

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

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

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

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

D/BI = Demographics and Background Information

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

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