Effects of Distance Coaching on Teachers' Use of a Tiered Model of Intervention and Relationships with Child Behavior and Social Skills

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a professional development intervention on teachers' implementation of the Teaching Pyramid model. The Teaching Pyramid is a classroom-wide approach for fostering social-emotional development and addressing challenging behavior. The professional development intervention consisted of training and distance coaching. The study had two goals: (a) to examine the differential effects of training and distance coaching versus training alone on teachers' implementation of the Teaching Pyramid model, and (b) to examine relations between Teaching Pyramid implementation and child behavior and social skills. Participants were 33 Head Start teachers in nine centers that were assigned randomly to one of two treatment groups. Both groups participated in an interactive 1-day training on the Teaching Pyramid model and created individualized action plans. Following training, the training plus coaching group ( n=16) received weekly distance coaching, via electronic mail, on their individualized action plans. The training only group (n=17) created individualized action plans but did not receive follow-up support on those plans. Outcome measures assessed teachers' implementation of the Teaching Pyramid model and changes in classroom social climate and teacher-child interactions. In addition, relations between teachers' implementation and changes in children's challenging behavior and social skills were examined. Two types of teacher-response methods (surveys, focus groups) were used to evaluate teachers' perspectives about and satisfaction with the professional development intervention. Distance coaching was associated with statistically significant improvements in classroom climate. Teachers who participated in distance coaching sessions more frequently had promising improvements in several outcomes. Implications of study findings for professional development research and practice are discussed.