A closer look at outdoor play in Japan, Turkey, and the United States.

The benefits of outdoor play for children’s development and learning are well-known internationally, yet research shows that children worldwide engage in less outdoor play and activities at home, school, and communities. This presentation shares data from a descriptive cross-cultural analysis of the regulations, recommendations, and practices supporting outdoor play in three countries, Japan, Turkey, and the United States. Learning from different countries’ perspectives enhances our understanding of the affordances and challenges of outdoor play.

Deliberating on cultural transmission in the care practices of one-year-olds in the United States and Hong Kong.

The purpose of this presentation is to share research from an ethnographic study examining cultural variations and early child care based cultural transmission that can be seen in the care practices of 1-year-olds in the U.S. and Hong Kong and to discuss implications from the results for teacher education.

How well is this working? Teacher perceptions of efficacy in the age of virtual teaching.

This study identifies early childhood teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in a virtual space; specific strategies that were implemented in order to actively engage diverse groups of students in learning; and how students’ learning was assessed in a virtual environment.

Preparing teachers to work with emergent bilinguals.

Presenters will share the objectives, procedures, and experiences delivering a 5 session professional development to Head Start teachers regarding techniques to work with emergent bilinguals and their families.

Teaching during a pandemic: Interviews with kindergarten teachers regarding teaching, family involvement, and self care.

This research presentation will share findings from a pilot study that examines the modifications made in educational practices in kindergarten during the pandemic and the teachers’ perceptions of their successes and challenges in implementing developmentally appropriate education, engaging with families, and finding time for self-care. Implications for early childhood teacher preparation will be discussed.

Story Drama: The impact of adopting a theatre inspired playful literacy practice.

This phenomenological case study sought to better understand four preschool teachers’ experience implementing story drama, a theater-inspired teaching practice that is learner-centered, process-emphasized, and play-based, into their literacy curriculum with support from coaching. The results reveal engaging in story drama with support from coaching impacted teachers’ intentional planning of play experiences, relationships with children and colleagues, literacy teaching practices, and joy at work.

Pre-service early childhood educators have been found to lack expertise and confidence with using inquiry-based strategies that foster emergent visual literacy and historical thinking with young children. This qualitative video-based research project explores the use of remote micro-teaching to develop the competencies of early childhood educators to create dynamic and stimulating learning environments with an emphasis on inquiry, creativity, and reflectivity.

Piaget, my superhero: How science of learning transformed my practice.

The teacher researcher and her mentor will engage the audience by presenting the information using an inquiry approach with innovative online practices. Participants will be motivated to engage in reflection about their practice. Practical application will also include sharing resources for games and materials which meet the criteria for constructivist and inquiry approaches.

Collaborative capacity-building in preschool integrated STEM and Literacy.

Early STEM educational experiences are drivers of later learning, but many teachers feel underprepared to incorporate STEM into their teaching. Our virtual Preschool STEM Institute aimed to build capacity via working with coaches and teacher educators who will return to support their own teachers. We will discuss our collaborative, integrated, and interactive approach, present results and benefits for the over 500 teachers who will implement interdisciplinary practices, and outline implications for the workforce.