Promoting Student-Teacher Interactions: Exploring a Peer Coaching Model for Teachers in a Preschool Setting.

Area of Science:

• Education
• Psychology
• Child Development

Background:

• Traditional professional development can be costly and unsustainable.
• Peer coaching offers a collaborative and cost-effective alternative for enhancing teaching practices.
• Preschool settings, particularly Head Start programs, can benefit from targeted professional development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate the Colleague Observation And CoacHing (COACH) program, a peer coaching initiative.
• To assess the COACH program's impact on preschool teachers' effectiveness and classroom quality.
• To determine the feasibility and acceptability of peer coaching in a Head Start setting.

Main Methods:

• The COACH program included a training workshop, six peer coaching sessions, and three center meetings.
• Pre-post classroom observations using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) were conducted.
• Twelve classrooms participated in the peer coaching intervention, compared to twelve control classrooms.

Main Results:

• The COACH peer coaching program was perceived as acceptable and feasible by preschool teachers.
• Preliminary findings suggest a potential strengthening of student-teacher interactions.
• Observed improvements in emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support require further investigation.

Conclusions:

• Peer coaching, as implemented in the COACH program, is a viable professional development strategy for preschool teachers.
• The program shows potential for enhancing teacher effectiveness and classroom quality, particularly in student-teacher interactions.
• Further research with larger samples is recommended to confirm and expand upon these findings for improved child outcomes.