Increasing Teacher Opportunities to Respond in a Head Start Program Using a Bug-In-Ear Coaching Model

Area of Science:

• Early Childhood Education
• Educational Psychology
• Classroom Management

Background:

• Early childhood teachers require more training in evidence-based practices for kindergarten readiness.
• Insufficient training leads to increased use of exclusionary discipline by preschool teachers.
• Bug-in-ear coaching offers in-the-moment support to enhance teacher skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the effectiveness of bug-in-ear coaching for preschool teachers.
• To increase teachers' use of opportunities to respond during explicit math instruction.
• To assess the impact of coaching on teacher implementation of evidence-based practices.

Main Methods:

• A multiple baseline design across four preschool teachers was employed.
• Bug-in-ear coaching provided real-time support to teachers during math lessons.
• The intervention focused on increasing teachers' rates of opportunities to respond.

Main Results:

• Bug-in-ear coaching increased opportunities to respond for all participating teachers.
• A functional relation was established for two out of the four teachers.
• Teacher-reported satisfaction and desire for continued coaching were high.

Conclusions:

• Bug-in-ear coaching is a viable strategy for improving preschool teachers' instructional practices.
• The intervention effectively increased the use of opportunities to respond, a key academic engagement strategy.
• Teachers found the coaching beneficial for professional development and practice improvement.