QSLA Online Coaching Evaluation (2020-2021)
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Quality Start Los Angeles (QSLA) – LA County’s Quality Rating and Improvement System – sought to support early learning providers in its network with the best possible adaptations to a new remote-work environment.
To this end, QSLA leadership invested in the video-based TORSH online coaching software. Coaching partners Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles (CCALA) and Child360 collaborated with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) to implement online coaching in the second half of the 2020-2021 academic school year. To document efforts to scale up this county-wide program and to measure its success, Child360 conducted an evaluation focusing on participants’ experiences, approaches, successes, and lessons learned.
The evaluation focused on:
The experiences of teachers and coaches who took part in online coaching.
What the work of an online coach looked like.
Technical challenges of online coaching.
Ways to support novice online coaches.
Data collection activities included:
Online survey of QSLA teachers.
Online survey of QSLA coaches.
A focus group with online coaches.
Semi-structured interviews with online coaches.
Results from the evaluation will be used to inform onboarding procedures for novice online coaches, the needs of teachers, and online coaching best practices.
Key takeaways:
In general, QSLA coaches felt comfortable using TORSH and alternative methods for online coaching.
Teachers and coaches shared a positive relationship in an online environment.
Teachers needed additional support at the start of the program.
To best support novice coaches, it is important to provide a wide range of learning materials and opportunities to practice online coaching.
Online Coaching Evaluation Resources:
Final Report: Evaluation of QSLA’s Implementation of Online Coaching