Evaluation of a social interaction coaching program in an integrated day-care setting.
A quick pre-activity coach cue lifts teacher warmth and pulls withdrawn toddlers into peer play.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked with daycare teachers and shy toddlers.
Before each group activity the coach gave a quick prompt.
They used a multiple-baseline design across staff to see if the cue changed teacher actions.
What they found
Teachers used more smiles, praise, and gentle touches right away.
The quiet kids started talking and playing with peers more often.
Gains lasted weeks after coaching ended.
How this fits with other research
Balikci (2026) updates this work. AI self-coaching now gives the same fidelity lift without an expert in the room.
Frantz et al. (2019) widens the target. They coached paraeducators and saw preschoolers speak more, not just play more.
Plant et al. (2007) swapped live prompts for video review. Teachers still boosted child social and cognitive skills, showing the cue can come after the routine.
Sawyer et al. (2014) stretched the idea further. Mentor coaching helped staff support students with severe, multiple disabilities in mixed classrooms.
Why it matters
You can copy the 90-second huddle. Before circle time, tell staff the one social move you want today—label sharing, give a high five, wait for eye contact. Track it for a week. The old study and its newer cousins say brief, routine-linked coaching lifts both adult and child behavior without extra pay or prep.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We used a multiple baseline design across teachers (with a reversal phase for 1 teacher) to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of a structured coaching procedure on the teaching behaviors of 3 day-care teachers. Structured coaching preceding daily caregiver routines resulted in (a) substantial increases in adult delivery of behavioral support of social interaction during group activities with 2- and 4-year-old children and (b) marked collateral increases in positive interactions of socially withdrawn children. Long-term maintenance effects were demonstrated by both the teachers and target children, and social validity measures indicated that the teachers rated coaching very positively on several dimensions. The results are discussed in relation to in-service training of day-care staff, the concept of coaching as a setting event, and the dissemination of teaching technology related to social interaction of young children.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1993 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1993.26-213