OVERVIEW
Foundations of QTurn Coaching and Evaluation
Measuring the quality and impact of out-of-school time programs presents complex challenges. What is quality, exactly? How can we ensure that the tools we use truly capture the environmental conditions that support skill growth, emotional regulation, and equitable development—especially for children affected by stress or adversity?
How do we know when an adult has become a positive influence in a child’s life? We cannot rely on letters written decades later to the mentor who changed everything. Instead, we employ a robust theoretical framework and innovative analytics to spot patterns of positive influence in real time.
A strong framework helps us answer key questions:
OUR FRAMEWORK
Brain, Mind, and the Big Picture
Every child is influenced by both internal and external factors—thoughts, emotions, habits, and attention, as well as environments like youth programs, schools, and broader systems. These settings interact with the child’s moment-to-moment brain states, influencing their developmental trajectory.
QTurn’s Multilevel Person-in-Context ~ neuroperson (MPCn) framework addresses this complexity. It helps us see each child as both an individual and a participant in nested, dynamic systems. By focusing on internal mind-body states like reactivity or emotional openness—and how these states shift over time—we can better understand when and why learning and development occur.
Learn more about the MPCn framework in our working paper, The multilevel person in context ~ neuroperson (MPCn) model: Guidance for quality improvement systems (QIS) focused on socio-emotional skill growth and transfer outcomes.
OUR FOCUS
Children Impacted by Adversity
To support equitable development, we center the experiences of children exposed to adversity, including trauma, poverty, and systemic inequality. This includes children carrying the weight of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and those whose capacity to learn is affected by stress and emotional reactivity.
We recognize two major forms of socio-emotional inequity:
Reactive States
Children who remain in reactive states without support and therefore never access the full benefit of their learning environments
Disrupted Learning
Children who are not reactive but whose learning is disrupted by settings that do not provide the structure or support needed to help peers recover and re-regulate
Our coaching, tools, and evaluation strategies are designed to help programs see and respond to these realities.
HOW WE SPOT OUTCOMES
Powerful Analytical Methods
Traditional evaluation methods—such as correlational studies and psychometric scales—often flatten children’s experiences into averages and static traits. These methods can overlook the most important signals of development: momentary shifts in emotional state, social awareness, and engagement.
At QTurn, we use pattern-centered analytics that describe how children actually experience and move through developmental settings.
These methods allow us to:
Side-by-Side Comparison
Key distinctions between our approach and traditional psychometrics:
Traditional Psychometrics
QTurn’s Pattern-Centered Analytics
Our analytics reveal not just whether programs “work,” but how they work, for whom, and under what conditions. This level of precision is essential for achieving socio-emotional skill equity.