The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook

Evidence-based and highly effective, coaching helps early childhood practitioners support other professionals and families as they enhance existing knowledge, develop new skills, and promote healthy development of young children. This hands-on guide shows professionals how to conduct skillful coaching in any setting--home, school, or community.

An expanded, more practical follow-up to the groundbreaking Coaching Families and Colleagues in Early Childhood, this is the guidebook that walks professionals step by step through the coaching process and shows them explicitly what best practices look like. Developed by the foremost authorities on coaching and informed by the authors' staff development and technical assistance activities with other professionals, this book directly addresses the real-world challenges of coaching and gives readers concrete guidance on successful strategies and interactions.

Preservice and in-service early childhood professionals will

• master the five characteristics of coaching practices--observation, action, reflection, feedback, and joint planning
• see exactly how to conduct a positive coaching session, with transcripts of successful coaching in action
• learn about the qualities of effective coaches, including openness to experiences, adaptability, empathy, and honesty
• adjust coaching techniques to meet the specific needs of early childhood educators, parents, and caregivers
• incorporate coaching into professional development programs to ensure immediate use of the latest best practices
• understand how coaching differs from other collaborative models, such as consultation, direct teaching, and counseling
• discover cutting-edge early childhood research that demonstrates the effectiveness of a coaching approach

To keep their skills sharp and ensure adherence to best coaching practices, readers will get easy-to-use, photocopiable tools that help them implement coaching consistently and effectively. They'll also have samples so they can see how to use the tools to evaluate and improve their interactions.

With this essential coaching guidebook, every early childhood professional including developmental specialists, Early Head Start and Head Start staff, early literacy specialists, infant mental health specialists, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, service coordinators, speech-language pathologists, and teachers will provide effective support to families and other professionals to enhance developmental outcomes for all young children.

Includes practical forms & tools:

• Coaching Practices Rating Scale--determines how well a practitioner is using coaching practices with families or colleagues
• Coaching Log--helps coaches record and critically analyze a coaching conversation
• Coaching Plan--used to develop the initial coaching plan and the action plans for achieving desired outcomes
• Framework for Reflective Questioning--helps coaches evaluate the entire coaching process, recognizing what worked and what could be done differently next time
• Transcripts of successful coaching in action

Dathan Rush is the Associate Director of the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) at Western Carolina Center and a research associate at the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute in Morganton, North Carolina. Prior to accepting his position at FIPP, Mr. Rush was a clinical assistant professor and personnel development consultant in the Lee Mitchener Tolbert Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. He served as Assistant Director of the Oklahoma SoonerStart Early Intervention Program at the State Department of Health from 1992 to 1999. He served as an editorial board member of the journal Infants and Young Children until 2002 and has published articles in the areas of in-service training, coaching, supporting children and families in natural learning environments, and teaming in early intervention. He is past president and former executive council member of the Oklahoma Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Mr. Rush has presented numerous workshops nationally on topics related to team building, use of a primary coach model of support, training of trainers, coaching, and provision of supports in natural environments.

M’Lisa L. Shelden, PT, Ph.D., is Director of the Family, Infant and Preschool Program (FIPP) at Western Carolina Center and an associate research scientist at the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute in Morganton, North Carolina. Prior to accepting her appointment at FIPP, Dr. Shelden was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She is a graduate Fellow of the ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, and she has also served the Section of Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association. She is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Early Intervention. Dr. Shelden has co-authored several articles related to early intervention teamwork and a chapter related to physical therapy personnel preparation. She presents nationally on topics related to transition, inclusion, coaching, evaluation and assessment, use of a primary coach model, and provision of supports in natural environments.