Early childhood educators' provision of remote learning during COVID-19.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Steed EA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8934718 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:This study explored similarities and differences in how early childhood education (ECE) teachers (n = 947) and early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers (n = 160) provided remote learning to young children and their families following COVID-19 shelter in place orders in the spring of 2020. The most utilized remote learning activities for both ECE and ECSE teachers were the provision of activities for families to use at home, communication with families, online lessons, and singing songs and reading books. Both types of professionals spent more time planning and communicating with families than providing instruction to children. Results of chi-square tests of independence revealed differences in activities provided, how time was spent, and training received by professional role. Open-ended responses revealed particular challenges for ECE and ECSE teachers. Findings are discussed in the context of how the early childhood field adapted quickly to remote learning during COVID-19 and the implications for ongoing technology support for early childhood personnel based on their professional role.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-021-01218-w.
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Project description:To mitigate transmission of COVID-19, rapid changes in instructional delivery moved from in-person to remote instruction. Although literature from before the crisis suggests that online language learners fare at least as well as their face-to-face counterparts, the abrupt shift from face-to-face contexts to remote learning is fundamentally different from planned online learning. Understanding the nature of this shift can inform future online and remote teaching. This national survey study was guided by research questions that explore any substantive change in the practices and perceptions of PreK-12 and post-secondary language teachers’ instruction during COVID-19. It explores any change as related to classroom setting (PreK-12 vs post-secondary) and prior experience with distance education. Data suggest that few language educators reported experiences with or positive perceptions toward teaching online before COVID-19. However, they made numerous adjustments to their typical procedures/policies and expectations while engaged in remote teaching. Educators expressed concerns about student outcomes. PreK-12 teachers and those without prior experience with online teaching were least confident that instructional goals were met despite having reported well-designed courses. Implications for effective remote language teaching are presented for consideration.
| S-EPMC9758514 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Millions were affected by COVID-19 school closures, with parents and schools caught unprepared. Education is expected to play a role in creating equal opportunities, so transferring schooling responsibilities to families may have increased learning inequalities generated by family backgrounds. We examined the time students spent on home learning and explored the role of the schools’ distance teaching provision in explaining differences traditionally attributed to parental education, eligibility for free school meals, ethnic background and single parenthood. Using the Understanding Society COVID-19 dataset, we found children who received free school meals, single-parent families and children with parents with lower formal education qualifications and Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds spent significantly less time on schoolwork. However, schools’ provision of offline and online distance teaching and homework checking significantly increased the time spent on learning and reduced some inequalities, demonstrating the policy relevance of digital preparedness to limit learning loss in school closures.
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Project description:Student engagement in online learning enhance students performance and the outcomes of the learning process in online learning environment. The existed literature revealed various factors influencing student engagement in online leaning, however these studies were before the COVID-19 crisis. The purpose of the current paper is to explore the factors that influence student engagement in online learning during the COVID-19 crisis in middle school settings in developing countries where is a lack of studies about the factors influencing student's engagement in emergency remote learning during the crisis. A qualitative approach was used for data collection and analysis. Semi-structured interviews with 34 participants (14 students, 13 teachers, and 7 parents) were conducted for 20-30 min. Furthermore, online class observations were used for data collection; 13 online classes were observed. Each class was 40 min. A thematic analysis was used to categorize the findings into themes and subthemes. The findings of the study revealed that various factors influence student engagement in online learning during the crisis including infrastructure factors, cultural factors, digital inequality, and the threat to digital privacy. Cultural factors were the important factor that influences females because of parents' culture and their bias against females using online learning compared to male students. Teachers' presence and quality of content were the major factors that influence student engagement, where parental concerns, norms, and traditions emerged as the major factors in the crisis, influencing engagement. Most of the participants reported that teaching and learning online during the crisis has broadened the digital inequality and threatened their digital privacy which influenced negatively student engagement. The limitations of this research included the limited number of participants covering a large geographic area, and the research design using diverse and often limited educational software and delivery methods. Future studies could utilize a mixed-method approach and include more participants.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10639-021-10566-4.
| S-EPMC8077864 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This article describes the development and administration of a survey to identify early childhood educators' successes and barriers when delivering remote instruction (e.g., online whole or small group instruction) during the COVID-19 pandemic to children 2-5 years old. The survey was developed using procedures outlined by the commonly accepted stages of an instrument development process. Content validity was established using four approaches: (a) identification of the purpose of the survey, (b) creation of a blueprint of items, (c) cognitive interviews, and (d) expert panel review. A total of 1,053 early childhood educators began the survey, with 808 (77%) of the responses included because educators met the inclusion criteria of working in the United States and responding to at least one question related to remote instruction. The survey contained 37 closed-ended and six open-ended items covering eight domains: (a) demographic information; (b) preparation, guidelines, and materials for remote learning; (c) caregiver communication and engagement; (d) assessment; (e) instruction; (f) educators' levels of confidence before and after remote learning; (g) access to services (i.e., wraparound and/or special education); and (h) planning for the return to face-to-face instruction. Both quantitative (descriptive, t-test, regression, ANOVA, and Chi-square tests) and consensual qualitative research analyses were applied to summarize the survey results. Findings from this survey indicated that even with limited or no guidance from administrators, educators successfully adapted to remote instruction and their levels of confidence increased over time. Ongoing improvements need to be made to sustain regular communication with all families, to offer access to technology (i.e., devices and internet), to administer assessments or universal screeners, and to provide cohesive guidelines and expectations. Results from this study begin to shed light on early childhood educators' adaptation to remote instruction as a result of COVID-19.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-021-01216-y.
| S-EPMC8166892 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The global pandemic caused by the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in spring 2020
| S-EPMC7723736 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We examined how the shift in learning environment from in-person to online classes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, impacted three constructs of student engagement: behavioral engagement, including students' frequency of participating in class discussions, meeting with instructors, and studying with peers outside of class; cognitive engagement, including students' sense of belonging and self-efficacy; and emotional engagement, including students' attitudes toward science, their perceived value of the course, and their stress. Seventy-three undergraduate STEM students from across the country completed five-point Likert-style surveys in these areas of student engagement, both prior to their science course transitioning online and at the end of the spring 2020 semester. We found that while overall behavioral engagement did not change, students participated less frequently in class discussions but met with professors more often outside of class. We saw no significant change in cognitive engagement, indicating that while students' sense of belonging and self-efficacy ideally increases over the course of the semester, in this case, it did not. Most alarmingly, we found a significant decrease in emotional engagement, with students reporting a drastic decline in positive attitudes toward science. Students' reported stress levels remained unchanged, and students reported a slight increase in their perceived value of the science course they were taking. These data shed light on how the transition to online learning had an overall negative impact on undergraduate student engagement in science courses.
| S-EPMC8046661 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Research experience garnered through summer student programs (SSPs) is critical for high school and college student retention in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. However, the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic prevented in-person SSPs in 2020, eliminating these essential experiences that students need to advance their STEM training. In response, we created a remote-learning model that can be broadly adapted for other SSPs. We aimed to uphold our traditional SSP's academic rigor by cultivating critical thinking skills, providing mentorship, and equipping students with tools to serve as public health ambassadors in their communities. We designed the remote SSP around an anchor topic to integrate didactic lectures with research-based independent projects. Program success was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively via content assessments and written feedback. By comparing preassessments to postassessments, we show that students gained general scientific literacy and improved critical thinking skills. Based on qualitative measures, students were satisfied with their mentorship, reported that they would use what they learned through the SSP in the future, indicated that they had the tools to understand and communicate public health information, and, overall, rated the quality of the SSP positively. As the pandemic continues to necessitate remote learning, traditional in-person experiences will need to be adapted to best support students. We have developed a modular and adaptable SSP that upholds the same standards as the traditional SSP by continuing to provide essential experiences necessary to advance students' training in STEM.
| S-EPMC8787761 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Sleep disturbances in early childhood are associated with mood and anxiety disorders. Children also exhibit sleep disruptions, such as nighttime awakenings, nightmares, and difficulties falling asleep, in conjunction with adverse events and stress. Prior studies have examined independently the role of sleep on adaptive processing, as well as the effects of stress on sleep. However, how childhood sleep and children's adaptive behavior (i.e., coping strategies) bidirectionally interact is currently less known. Using a within-subjects design and actigraphy-measured sleep from 16 preschool-aged children (Mage = 56.4 months, SD = 10.8, range: 36-70 months), this study investigated how prior sleep patterns relate to children's coping during a potentially stressful event, the COVID-19 pandemic, and how prior coping skills may influence children's sleep during the pandemic. Children who woke earlier had greater negative expression both before and during the pandemic. During the pandemic, children slept longer and woke later on average compared to before the pandemic. Additionally, for children engaged in at-home learning, sleeping longer was associated with less negative expression. These findings highlight how sleep behaviors and coping strategies are related, and the stability of this relationship under stress.
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Project description:Background: As of August 11, 2020, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected 19,936,210 persons and led to 732,499 deaths worldwide. The impact has been immense, and with no vaccine currently available, the best way to protect our communities is health education. We developed a brief COVID-19 knowledge test for health educators that can be used to assess deficits in clients' understanding of the disease. Methods: COVID-19 Knowledge Test items were developed by the research team and administered to participants. An alternate-choice item format was selected for the knowledge test, and data analysis was based on an American sample of 273 respondents. A detailed analysis of the data was conducted with classical test theory and Rasch analysis. Findings: The final instrument was found to be a unidimensional measure of COVID-19 knowledge. Results provided evidence for absolute model fit and model fit for individual items. All items included on the scale were monotonically increasing and split-half reliability was considered acceptable. Total test information revealed that the test is suitable for individuals with low to average knowledge of COVID-19. Interpretation: Rasch analysis provides support for the COVID-19 Knowledge Test to be used as an assessment tool for health educators. The final version of the test consists of 34 high-quality test items that can be administered in <10 min. Normative data and suggested cutoff scores are also provided.
| S-EPMC7676894 | biostudies-literature