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Educators rely on professional development to improve instruction. Research suggests that instructional coaching which utilizes specific coaching practices, such as classroom observation followed by debriefing and goal setting, and integrated strategies such as co-teaching, bring about significant change in instructional practices. The goal of this study was to gauge whether or not the use of a web-based data collection and coaching tool led to changes in focal classroom practices and whether or not improving those practices was, in turn, related to students’ academic and self-regulation gains across the prekindergarten year. To examine the implementation and impact of the coaching app, researchers conducted a cluster-randomized trial, comparing the classroom practices of teachers receiving business-as-usual coaching to those being coached with the app. Classroom observation data showed no significant differences in teachers’ practices across the school year, and student achievement did not differ between conditions. Qualitative data from coach interviews, however, revealed that coaches using the app were more likely to employ integrated coaching strategies associated with improving instruction. The lack of differences in terms of teachers’ practices and students’ assessment gains may be due to a lack of statistical power and inconsistent professional development implementation associated with ongoing disruptions due to the pandemic. Further research examining the effectiveness of educational technologies supporting professional development is needed.
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Cost‐Effectiveness of Early Childhood Interventions to Enhance Preschool: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Head Start Centers Enrolling Historically Underserved Populations
Abstract We evaluate the cost‐effectiveness of two early childhood interventions that use instructional coaching and parent coaching as levers for improvement. The study design allows us to compare the individual effects of each intervention as well as their combined effect on student outcomes. We find that teachers receiving instructional coaching improve their use of evidence‐based instructional practices, while families receiving parent coaching show increases in numerous responsive parenting behaviors associated with positive child outcomes. Both interventions demonstrate positive impacts on students, but only parent coaching shows statistically significant effects across a range of student outcomes. Instructional coaching alone is substantially less costly and may therefore be the most cost‐effective of the three treatment conditions; however, small sample sizes limit our ability to reach definitive conclusions. Policy simulations suggest that implementing these interventions could raise the overall cost‐effectiveness of Head Start by at least 16 percent.
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- PAR ID:
- 10119929
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0276-8739
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 891-917
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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