Practice-Based Coaching Model Overview

Practice-Based Coaching is a support system for teachers that will enhance Teacher-Child Interactions and developmentally appropriate practices. The education team is committed to supporting Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) is a cyclical process for supporting the use of effective practices that lead to positive outcomes for children and families. GHC recognizes that fidelity in coaching is essential and should rely continuously upon the effective practices of observation, modeling, delivery of performance feedback, and use of alliance-building strategies. Further, coaching should occur with sufficient frequency, ensure that teachers are engaged with the coaching session, and be of adequate duration and high quality.  The education team will use the Practice-based coaching method, a cyclical process for guiding practitioners’ use of evidence-based practices for promoting positive child outcomes. While ongoing weekly classroom observations should be conducted by the assigned classroom Education Coordinator or Infant Toddler Specialist, six to eight-week intentional coaching cycles should occur for individual classroom teachers. Each teacher should experience an individualized coaching cycle a minimum of once per school year.  Practice-based coaching involves the following components:

• collaborative partnerships

• shared goals and action planning

• focused observation

• reflection and feedback

 The purpose is to promote the education team’s use of the Pyramid Model Practices.

Components of Coaching 

The GHC education team will use Practice-Based Coaching in the following Components

1. Planning goals and action steps

2. Engaging in focused observation

 3. Reflecting on and sharing feedback about teaching and home visiting practices PBC occurs within the context of a collaborative partnership.

 Each component in the cycle is designed to inform the actions taken by a coach or coach during the subsequent component (or throughout the coaching process). The cyclical nature of PBC emphasizes that expectations and desired outcomes of coaching are regularly reviewed (1) Facilitator Guide and updated. The figure below shows the PBC cycle and illustrates the relationships among the components.

Definitions Coaching Supports 

Universal Promotion: The first tier of the Pyramid Model involves two levels of practices that are critical to promoting the social development of young children. The first level of practice is the provision of nurturing and responsive caregiving relationships to the child. This includes the family or primary caregiver and the caregiver or teacher The first tier of the Pyramid Model involves two levels of practices that are critical to promoting the social development of young children. The first level of practice is the provision of nurturing and responsive caregiving relationships to the child. This includes the family or primary caregiver and the caregiver or teacher.

 Secondary or promotion: level of the Pyramid includes the provision of explicit instruction in social skills and emotional regulation. In early childhood programs, all young children will require adult guidance and instruction to learn how to express their emotions appropriately, play cooperatively with peers, and use social problem-solving strategies. However, for some children, it will be necessary to provide more systematic and focused instruction to teach children social and emotional skills. Children might need more focused instruction on skills such as: identifying and expressing strategies to address broader environmental factors that affect the family and their support of the child.  

Tertiary intervention: is used when children have persistent challenging behavior that is not responsive to interventions at the previous levels, comprehensive interventions are developed to resolve problem behavior and support the development of new skills. At this level of the Pyramid Model, Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is used to develop and implement a plan of intensive, individualized intervention. PBS provides an approach to addressing problem behavior that is individually designed, can be applied within all natural environments by the child’s everyday caregivers and is focused on supporting the child in developing new skills The process begins with convening the team that will develop and implement the child’s support plan. At the center of the team are the family and the child’s teacher or other primary caregivers.

Principles of Coaching 

Coaching Agreements: The coaching cycle requires participation at all school levels to be effective GHC recognizes that Administrators, Teachers, and Education Coaches must be intentional during each coaching cycle. GHC requires each participator to agree to engage in the coaching process in the following ways:

 Instructional Coach’s Responsibilities-

·         Work towards building a positive and collaborative relationship with you.

·         Be respectful, non-judgmental, and supportive as we develop our partnership.

·         Foster a relationship that values your opinions, beliefs, and feedback.

·         Observe in a manner that focuses on your strengths and emerging skills.

·         Develop shared goals and action plans, which include clear and achievable steps.

·         Remain supportive rather than evaluative.

·         Be respectful and supportive by scheduling coaching visits and/or virtual check-ins, and being prepared for each visit.

·         Discuss ways in which you prefer to be communicated with in advance. I will share my work email and phone number so that you can communicate with me.

Teacher’s Responsibilities

·         Build positive collaborative relationships with the Instructional Coach.

·         Actively engage in conversations and reflect on my teaching practices.

·         Being open to trying new approaches which will influence my teaching practices in positive ways.

·         Work with my Instructional Coach to prioritize goals and steps of implementation.

·         Being open to being observed and receiving feedback. (In-person/virtually/recorded).

·         Commit time to meet with my Instructional Coach (in-person or virtually).

·         Provide ongoing feedback on the coaching process and participate in reflection practices throughout my coaching experience (virtual and/or in writing)

·         Schedule times to meet with you in advance, when possible, when unable to meet submitting a weekly reflection summary.

·         Discuss ways that I prefer to be contacted (email and/or phone).

·         Work with my coach to best identify a day and time for me to meet.

Administrator’s Responsibilities

·         Become involved through active participation and ongoing communication.

·         Model developmentally appropriate practices for young children.

·         Provide opportunities for staff members to engage and participate in job-embedded professional development workshops at a minimum weekly (in-person and/or virtually). Meetings will support individual teaching teams.

·         Support my teacher participant by allowing protected time for the Instructional Coach and teacher to meet.

·         Provide ongoing feedback on the coaching process.

·         Support protected time for new teachers to receive onboarding training.

Coaching to Fidelity 

Supplemental Coaching: Coaching to Fidelity

GHC implements the Coaching to Fidelity guide as a supplemental coaching tool that monitors the practice of its classroom environments and teacher-child interactions. This tool aligns with the expectations of our Grantor Department of Family Services. The Coaching to Fidelity tool should be implemented in the following ways.

·         Effective Coaching of Teachers: Fidelity Tool Rubric and Fidelity Tool Worksheet. The rubric offers information and guidelines for how to score coaches on the fidelity worksheet. The worksheet is a template that observers and coaches can use to collect information on the fidelity of coaching.

 • Effective Coaching: Improving Teacher Practice and Outcomes for All Learners. This brief synthesizes research on coaching and offers a framework of effective coaching practices that should be central to the everyday work of coaches.

• Implementation Guide for Effective Teacher Coaching. The purpose of this guide is to help practitioners systematically implement effective coaching practices. If coaching is designed to improve teaching practice and learning outcomes, it is important to examine how the innovation is implemented.

 Fidelity Coaching Plan Guidance:

• Teacher and Co-teacher must complete the workbook together, but not at the same time.

 • Education Manager will assist 3-5 classrooms; Infant Toddler Specialist will coach 0-3 classrooms.

 • Completed booklets are due; Wednesday, September 30th, and Tuesday, December 15th This will allow Site Manager to create the report. The Purpose and the “Why”.

• Fidelity observations are valuable strategies that support the classroom teacher.

• Fidelity observations provide guidance on classroom structure and many opportunities for effective feedback from the coach to the teacher and teacher to coach.

• Fidelity observations offer supportive suggestions for classrooms.

 • Fidelity offers the same structure and indicators that align with CLASS to support the implementation

Coaching To fidelity Yearly Planning and Implementation Cycle

        Preschool Program 3-5 Fidelity Checklist Item Site Director Observation Schedule Report Due Site Director Coaching Schedule • Physical Environment • Structure • Use August and September October 15th October.

•Teacher-Child Interactions • Families • Teaching Strategies Gold November and December January 15th January

        Infant, Toddler, and Two’s Fidelity Checklist Item Site Director Observation Schedule Report Due Site Director Coaching Schedule • Physical Environment • Structure • Use August and September October 15th October.

•Teacher-Child Interactions • Families • Teaching Strategies Gold November and December January 15th January