Instructional Coach Interview Protocol

OMB Number: 1850-0952 v.1; Expiration XX/XX/XXXX

Attachment III. Strategies to Improve Reading (STIR): Instructional Coach Interview Protocol  

The research team will use the following protocol to conduct two in-depth 45-minute interview with principals participating in STIR. Interviews with principals will occur in November 2024 and March 2025 to capture feedback about the STIR components, including the STIR Institute and professional learning communities.

Participant name:		Interview date:
Participant school:		Start time:
Interviewer name:		End time:

Introduction 

Hello, I am __________________________ with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest.

Thank you for deciding to participate in this interview. The purpose of this interview is to provide Strategies to Improve Reading (STIR) developers with feedback from instructional coaches about their experience participating in the STIR training and coaching model. The information collected from the interview will be reported back to the STIR development team, but no identifying information about your name, school, or district will be attached to the reports.

The interview will last approximately 30 minutes. Your participation in this interview is voluntary. You may stop at any time or choose not to answer a question you do not want to answer. To facilitate our notetaking, we would like to audio-record our conversation today. After the transcription of our conversation, the digital file will be destroyed. Do I have permission to record you? [Note: If the respondent wishes not to be recorded, take notes but do not proceed with recording. If the respondent consents to being recorded, please record the interview.]

Do you have any questions before we begin?

Section 1: Implementation facilitators and barriers

I’d like to start by getting a sense of the supports you’ve received and barriers you’ve faced in implementing recommended practices shared by STIR.

1. What, if any, changes have you made in your instructional coaching as a result of the STIR Institute, communities of practice/professional learning communities, and/or working with your STIR coach?

   1. PROBE: This could include changes in how you monitor implementation of instructional strategies and routines, to how you conduct walk-throughs or classroom observations, to how you conduct data reviews with teachers, or other changes in how you train and support your staff.

2. FOLLOW-UP: What kinds of supports did you receive that helped you in making those changes?

a. PROBE: This could include supports from your principal, vice principal, district, peers, or resources from other professional development opportunities.

3. What recommended practices has STIR shared that have been challenging to implement?

   1. PROBE: This could include evidence-based practices for monitoring implementation of instructional strategies and routines, for conducting walkthroughs, and for conducting data reviews.

4. FOLLOW-UP: What makes those practices challenging to implement?

   1. PROBE: Barriers could include contextual barriers, such as a lack of support from school or district leaders.

Section 2: Experience of the STIR professional learning communities

I’d now like to focus on understanding your experience of the STIR professional learning communities (PLCs).

1. Can you briefly describe how you partner with your STIR coach to plan and implement the PLC sessions?

2. What aspects of this partnership model and/or the PLCs are most helpful to you as you work to support your teachers in using evidence-based practice for early literacy instruction?

   1. PROBE: Aspects of the partnership model could include planning meetings, opportunities to cofacilitate, opportunities to contextualize the content and materials within the school context, and so on.

   2. PROBE: Aspects of the PLCs could include the content covered, activities and materials, flipped-classroom format, length/timing/pacing of the session, and so on.

   3. PROBE: Evidence-based practices could include use of instructional routines, incorporating cultural responsiveness into literacy instruction, or use of formative and screening data to inform instruction.

3. Are there any aspects of your community, district, and/or school that you think help facilitate this partnership model and/or teacher engagement in the PLC sessions?

   1. PROBE: Facilitators could include alignment with school or district initiatives, school or district buy-in, and so on.

4. What aspects of this partnership model and/or the PLCs are least helpful to you as you work to support your teachers in using evidence-based practice for early literacy instruction?

   1. See PROBE for question 2.

5. Are there any aspects of your community, district, and/or school that you think are barriers to this partnership model and/or teacher engagement in the PLC sessions?

   1. PROBE: Barriers could include lack of alignment with school or district initiatives, competing professional development opportunities, quantity of assessments, and so on.

Closing out

Before we end the interview, is there anything else you would like the STIR team to know about your experience of STIR?