Use these questions to help you determine what coaching will look like in your program. 

Theory of Change and Goals:

• What are the ultimate outcomes coaching aims to achieve?
• How will coaching change instruction in such a way that child outcomes improve?

Target:

• Which staff members receive coaching and how are they chosen?
• How much is coaching differentiated based on staff members’ needs?

Staffing:

• Who are the coaches and what training, guidance, and support do they receive?
• Do coaches serve one site or multiple sites?
• Are coaches employed by the provider or by an outside partner, researcher, or vendor?
• Is coaching their only responsibility or do they serve other roles?
• What skills and expertise do coaches need to have to be effective?

Dosage and Duration:

• How often do coaches and staff meet and for how long?
• Does coaching recur continuously or is it time-limited?

Leadership:

• How do coaches work with program administrators?
• How are leaders coached and supported, and what role do they play in evaluating or coaching classroom educators?

Content:

• What is the content of the coaching?
• Is it limited to certain skills, behaviors, or knowledge areas, such as literacy or social-emotional learning?
• Does the focus change over time?
• How strict or prescriptive are the expectations for the content of the coaching?

Process:

• What adult-learning or behavior-change strategies do coaches use in their interactions with educators?
• How do coaches build relationships and trust with educators?
• How consistent are coaches in their approach? 

Context:

• How does coaching fit into the professional development and staff evaluation strategy, curricula, and structure of the program overall?
• How is coaching funded and is that funding sustainable over the long term?

Venue:

• Do coaches and staff meet in person or use virtual strategies, such as video chat or email?

Measurement and Evaluation:

• How is program success evaluated, and how does that evaluation inform action or changes to coaching approaches?
• What metrics measure the outcomes of coaching?

Source: O'Keefe, B. (2017). Primetime for Coaching: Improving Instructional Coaching in Early Childhood Education. Bellwether Education Partners.