Abstract
Based on the experience of an early childhood educator and the current scholarly research, this chapter describes what can be done to effectively teach K-3 students from a distance. From the learning management systems that forgot to optimize their servers for an onslaught of hundreds of thousands of more students, to the schools that wanted to reopen but could not afford to buy air purifiers any more than they could buy soap or toilet paper for student bathrooms, no one in U.S. schools was prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Stakeholders need to stop saying virtual learning does not work for these students, and implement effective strategies moving forward. In this chapter, the current literature on online learning is reviewed as a guide for effective K-3 teaching, and examples are provided of successful tools from experiences of the authors as K-3 teachers and parents.
TopBackground
For the past few years, there has been a push to implement social-emotional learning in the classroom (Wenz-Gross et al., 2018). This is crucial for early childhood education online. Social-emotional learning is a methodology that helps students to learn more about their own emotions and to better understand the emotions of others to achieve more positive social and emotional outcomes in and outside of the classroom. While most schools officially have at least one dedicated counselor, the truth is they unofficially have tens of counselors in their school because teachers often serve as the first person to attend to a child’s emotional needs.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Application (App): Applications in this context are instructional software available for students on computers, tablets, or mobile devices.
Gamification: An instructional design strategy which borrows elements from gaming.
Learning Management System (LMS): A LMS is an online portal that allows students, parents, and teachers to access instructional materials, assessments, and educational data in an organized fashion.
Academic Self-Regulation: A student’s ability to regulate their thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to be successful in academic contexts.
Hybrid Learning: Learning that takes place inside a brick-and-mortar school, as well as online environments. Also called blended learning.
Professional Development (PD): PD is continuing education whether mandated or voluntary that helps the educator better facilitate learning and carry out their other duties.
Virtual Learning: Learning that takes place online without in-person components.