Zoom-ing with Padlet: Overcoming challenges to deliver emergency remote teaching to young learners in Trinidad

Abstract

When school closure was mandated due to COVID-19, staff at a university lab preschool in Trinidad rapidly switched to remote teaching. Although the six teachers were experienced early childhood educators, they were unfamiliar with teaching remotely using video conferencing tools and websites. Guided by a consultant and an educational technologist, an indigenous remote early childhood program for 3- to 4-year-old learners was introduced using the Padlet platform and Zoom. This qualitative descriptive case study investigated the challenges teachers experienced and how they adapted to provide continuity in teaching in a changed pedagogical context. Using the Resilience in Human Development theoretical framework the research questions asked: What were the challenges experienced by early childhood teachers in delivering their first emergency remote teaching program? And, how did teachers overcome the challenges which arose in delivering emergency remote teaching to young learners? Guided by Creswell’s (2016) recommendation to collect and analyze data from multiple sources, teacher questionnaires, written teacher reflections, parent questionnaires, and feedback provided by a consultant were the data sources. Findings revealed themes related to five teacher challenges and four parent challenges. The strategies used to overcome the challenges included: Becoming proactive, Introducing Innovations, and Tapping into motivation. Policy implications and recommendations to support continuity in teaching during emergencies at the school and national levels are included.