Impact and Research
Introduction
Stanford FIND (Filming Interactions to Nurture Development) is grounded in decades of research on child development, adult learning, and the science of coaching. Our approach is informed by rigorous studies demonstrating that responsive adult-child interactions are the foundation of healthy development.
The Science behind Serve and Return
Serve and Return interactions—the responsive, back-and-forth exchanges between adults and young children—are fundamental to brain architecture. When adults notice, respond to, and extend children's initiatives, they strengthen the neural connections that support language, self-regulation, and lifelong learning.
Research shows that these everyday moments of connection have measurable impacts on:
- Brain development and neural synchrony between caregivers and children
- Children's language acquisition and cognitive growth
- Social-emotional development and self-regulation
- Reduction of challenging behaviors
- Long-term health, learning, and behavior outcomes
FIND's evidence base
The FIND Coaching model has been rigorously evaluated through multiple randomized controlled trials, with evidence of effectiveness including:
- Improvements in adult-child interactions
- Improvements in child expressive and receptive language skills
- Decrease in challenging child behavior
- Decreases in adult stress
- Increases in adult self-efficacy
- Increases in adult self-control
Our approach is also informed by meta-analytic research on professional development transfer and coaching effectiveness, ensuring that our design supports lasting behavior change—not just knowledge gain.
Designed for scale
Unlike many evidence-based interventions that remain confined to research settings, FIND is designed for scalable delivery through technology. Our platform maintains fidelity to the research model while making it accessible to thousands of educators simultaneously.
Research Studies and Implementations
Led by co-directors Dr. Scott Rozelle of the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions and Dr. Phil Fisher, developer of FIND and director of the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, this three-year study brings Stanford FIND to rural China for the first time. Working across 100 villages in the Henan Province, the project aims to reach approximately 700 families with children ages zero to three.
The project has three core goals: adapting FIND to the unique cultural and economic context of rural China; evaluating its impact on child development, home language environments, and caregiver mental health; and partnering with local collaborators and government officials to integrate FIND sustainably into existing early childhood programming.
A randomized controlled trial of an adapted evidence-based coaching program for fathers and their young children in the context of home visiting. In partnership with Dr. Holly Schindler, Associate Professor at the University of Washington, Stanford FIND is expanding its reach through a large-scale, five-year randomized controlled trial (RCT). This study is conducted in collaboration with Akin (formerly CHSW) across three locations in Washington State.
The project brings a six session version of FIND to 200 fathers and their children, ages one to three, through flexible home visits designed to strengthen warm, responsive father-child interactions. The study has three core aims: evaluating the impact of FIND on fathers' supportive parenting and related outcomes for both children and parents; identifying what specifically makes FIND effective; and understanding for whom and under what conditions FIND works best.