Leveraging Virtual Learning Environments to Strengthen Pre-Service Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Program Pivots Due to COVID-19 Empowers Future Practice

Lea Ann Christenson,Janese Daniels,Hannah Cawley

doi:10.26522/jiste.v25i2.3666

Abstract

This critical reflection illuminates the planning, delivery, and evaluation of the ‘pivots’ an early childhood teacher preparation program made in response to the shift to virtual learning necessitated by the lock down measures prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge was to shift two undergraduate courses from in person to a virtual format, including an inperson internship to an entirely virtual experience while maintaining a high-quality program which meets the certification requirements and professional standards. The process of moving the courses and internship to a virtual setting gave us the unique opportunity to step back and reflect on the essential conceptual knowledge and understandings necessary for teacher candidates to meet professional standards leading to certification and to becoming competent and caring professionals. Results of our critical reflection include lessons learned by the two instructors and department chair on the effective leveraging of technology to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19 leading to modifications to our program post pandemic.

Highlights

March 11, 2020 is a day that will be long remembered around the world; it was the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the growing number of people infected around the world with COVID-19 as a pandemic
Universities across the United States immediately began to transition to virtual instruction, as did Pre-Kindergarten-12th grade schools (i.e.: schools for 4-18 year-old students)
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented all of us with challenges and it seems that everyone has lost something important to them during the pandemic and early childhood classrooms (Soltero-Gonzalez, 2021) and university teacher preparation programs for early childhood educators are no exception (Nazerian, 2020)

Summary

Introduction

March 11, 2020 is a day that will be long remembered around the world; it was the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the growing number of people infected around the world with COVID-19 as a pandemic. Our teacher candidates complete a three-semester sequence of coursework, including clinical experiences in partner schools, which would lead to a full-time 16-week student teaching internship. This decision was made in mid-August and left Term 6 students without any placement or connection to children and families in public schools After this last-minute decision, the faculty and department chair began to think creatively about how we could provide a meaningful experience to our 1-day/week candidates. Because our teacher candidates would not be in classrooms; Lesson Observation Critiques assignments were added which included asynchronous class time spent viewing videos of exemplary teaching in pre-Kindergarten and kindergarten settings with guided reflections to assist the students in deconstruction of best practices This assignment was deconstructed in during synchronous class each week via whole and small group instruction. The discussions included ways in which these best practices could be implemented in the family engagement sessions

Discussion

Conclusion

13. What specific strategies will be used to engage children during session?