Coaching is becoming a common professional development support in early childhood settings. Effective distance coaching may provide more efficient or cost-effective methods of coaching and opportunities for practitioners unable to access... more
Coaching is becoming a common professional development support in early childhood settings. Effective distance coaching may provide more efficient or cost-effective methods of coaching and opportunities for practitioners unable to access in vivo coaching (e.g., rural programs). To determine the current evidence-base for distance coaching, a thorough search of the literature was conducted to identify experimental studies of coaching practitioners via distance methods. Twenty-seven studies were identified and coded for participant, intervention, and design variables. Results include information on how observations were conducted (e.g., video live and video recorded), how feedback was provided (e.g., video conferencing, email, and text), the characteristics of coaches and coaches participating in distance coaching, the rigor of studies included in the review, and the outcomes of distance coaching. Future directions for research on effective distance coaching are discussed.
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Research Interests: Psychology and Coaching
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Coaching is becoming a common professional development strategy to support early childhood (EC) professionals to use evidence-based practices. However, most of the research on coaching professionals in EC settings has been conducted in... more
Coaching is becoming a common professional development strategy to support early childhood (EC) professionals to use evidence-based practices. However, most of the research on coaching professionals in EC settings has been conducted in classroom or center-based EC settings. The authors of this review sought to summarize the current empirical literature on coaching of EC home visitors. Seven studies were identified and coded to determine common factors. Additional research is greatly needed to identify whether coaching home visitors is an evidence-based professional development strategy and the effective components of coaching in home-based programs.
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Positive reinforcement is a research-based practice essential for supporting young children’s use of appropriate behaviors and skills. The application of positive reinforcement also is consistent with recommendations by national... more
Positive reinforcement is a research-based practice essential for supporting young children’s use of appropriate behaviors and skills. The application of positive reinforcement also is consistent with recommendations by national organizations for early childhood and early childhood special education. In this article, we describe eight guidelines for planning, implementing, and evaluating positive reinforcement in early childhood contexts that are based on current research and recommendations of these professional organizations. Examples of the use of guidelines and tools for supporting implementation are provided.
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Although extensive research exists on vocabulary instruction during book reading in preschool classroom, comparatively little research has been conducted on vocabulary exposure in classroom play contexts and child vocabulary outcomes. The... more
Although extensive research exists on vocabulary instruction during book reading in preschool classroom, comparatively little research has been conducted on vocabulary exposure in classroom play contexts and child vocabulary outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine Head Start teacher and child vocabulary use in dyadic play sessions and the relation between teachers’ vocabulary use and children’s vocabulary outcomes. One Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) session for each of 53 teacher–child dyads was transcribed and coded for teacher use of target and sophisticated vocabulary, use of teacher strategies to support vocabulary development, and child use of vocabulary. Descriptive data indicate variability for both teacher and child vocabulary use in the play sessions. Both teacher total number of vocabulary words and vocabulary supports were significantly related to child vocabulary use within sessions. Implications for practice are discussed.
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In this study, we examined the effects of training and coaching via video and email feedback on preservice teachers’ use of recommended practices. Two preservice teachers in an early childhood special education program developed action... more
In this study, we examined the effects of training and coaching via video and email feedback on preservice teachers’ use of recommended practices. Two preservice teachers in an early childhood special education program developed action plans for implementing recommended practices and videotaped their interactions with children in a blended preschool program. Coaches reviewed videos and provided email feedback with video examples of participants’ use of the practices. The training and coaching with email and video feedback was effective in increasing participants’ use of recommended practices. The results of this study strengthen the evidence base for distance coaching as a viable support for preservice teachers.
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Closing the vocabulary gap for young children at risk for reading and language delays due to low socioeconomic status may have far reaching effects, as the relationship between early vocabulary knowledge and later academic achievement has... more
Closing the vocabulary gap for young children at risk for reading and language delays due to low socioeconomic status may have far reaching effects, as the relationship between early vocabulary knowledge and later academic achievement has been well-established. Vocabulary instruction for young children at risk for reading and language delays during classroom play is understudied, but appears to be a useful context for such interventions. A multiple probe design across behaviors replicated across participants was conducted to evaluate the effects of Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) techniques embedded in play sessions on target vocabulary word acquisition for preschool participants. Participants acquired target word sets in an average of 14 sessions, which, in addition to a book with target vocabulary, included interventionist’s use of the words in conversation and prompts to use target words in play routines. Implications for vocabulary instruction during play and future research are ...
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ABSTRACT Young children enter kindergarten with varying levels of readiness and abilities to learn. One factor that contributes to lower levels of school readiness is poverty. One timely, cost-effective, and feasible strategy to boost... more
ABSTRACT Young children enter kindergarten with varying levels of readiness and abilities to learn. One factor that contributes to lower levels of school readiness is poverty. One timely, cost-effective, and feasible strategy to boost school readiness, regardless of exposure to high-quality preschool is to leverage the summer months prior to kindergarten entry and provide comprehensive, evidence-based programming immediately before the school year begins. The current study implemented a community-based summer programme targeted at improving school readiness for 25 four- and five-year-old children in a low-income community. Across the 9-week study, children participated in two types of early literacy activities and the Incredible Years social/emotional learning curriculum. Results indicate that participants demonstrated significant growth across three early literacy skills and were rated as overall stable regarding their behaviour across the summer. These results are discussed along with implications and future directions in this line of research.
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This study examined the effectiveness of a nine-week summer emergent literacy program implemented in a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) summer program that serves families from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants were... more
This study examined the effectiveness of a nine-week summer emergent literacy program implemented in a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) summer program that serves families from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants were four- and five-year-old children attending a YMCA summer camp. After being placed in appropriate respective skill-level groups, children received one-hour, daily emergent literacy instruction from their camp counselors, who were trained as novice reading teachers. The teachers used emergent literacy activities to support letter-naming fluency and growth in letter-sound correspondence recognition in addition to mastery of read-aloud texts. The 28 participants experienced positive growth on both dependent measures (letter-naming fluency and letter-sound fluency), indicating the efficiency of the intervention as a tool for improving school readiness for children from low-income families. Additionally, the results suggest that beginning reading teachers may be able to conduct effective emergent literacy instruction, making the intervention replicable. Limitations and associated future research directions are discussed.
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Abstract Supporting language skills for children who evidence delays in preschool is an important area of focus for school-age reading outcomes. Two preschool teachers were trained to implement a play-based language intervention, Enhanced... more
Abstract Supporting language skills for children who evidence delays in preschool is an important area of focus for school-age reading outcomes. Two preschool teachers were trained to implement a play-based language intervention, Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT), with children from low-income households with delayed language skills. A multiple-baseline single case design study was implemented to measure the effects of coaching and data-based feedback on teachers’ use of EMT practices. One teacher reached criterion levels on all three behaviors, while the second was unable to reach criterion levels on all behaviors due to absences and the end of the school year. Teachers’ use of EMT strategies generalized to lesser extents to uncoached sessions.