LAUSR

Professional development (PD), which includes coaching, has demonstrated the capacity to affect preschool teachers’ use of evidence-based practices. The present study explored how coaches facilitated conversations within practice-based coaching (PBC) partnerships. A direct behavioral observation coding system was developed to investigate (a) the proportion of time spent in different conversational foci, including who initiated the conversation; (b) coach verbal behaviors; and (c) whether the conversation foci, initiations, and coach verbal behavior changed across three occasions for seven coach–teacher dyads. Results from the present study indicate coaches spent the largest proportion of time engaging in conversations with teachers focused on reflection and feedback, followed by goal setting and action planning. The coaches used verbal behaviors (supportive and constructive feedback, clarifying questions) as required by the coaching protocol across all sampled occasions. Variation in conversation foci, initiations, and coach verbal behavior across three sampled occasions was evident.