COVID-19 and Practicum Students’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Teaching

This session will describe data collection focused on practicum students’ perceived teaching preparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighty-four students completed a survey focused on their teaching preparedness related to alternative classroom experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students also responded to questions focused on the value and stress of teaching during the pandemic. Implications for teacher preparation programs to support practicum students’ experiences and development as a teacher will be explored.

Navigating the Pandemic: How a Lab School Supports Undergraduate Education

Through a reflective, iterative process, and perseverance commitment a University Lab School adapted over 500 field and observational experiences for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students participated in high-quality, relationship-based coaching and mentoring field experiences both virtually and in-person despite constraints. Lab School Director, Master Teacher, and ECE faculty partner will present specific examples from practice and modifications that were made to support undergraduate learning and development, and the iterative process used.

Capturing Creativity in the Time of COVID: Engaging Community College Teachers in the Arts Through Remote Learning

The authors will explore techniques and strategies used to engage community college students in an early childhood education program in remote learning experiences designed to support integration of the creative arts in curriculum planning. We will present artifacts gathered from various projects, including a virtual museum visit and an urban nature walk.

Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs as Supporters of Parent-Child Play

This session presents research on the factors that made it easy or difficult for parents to play with their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The presenters offer recommendations that could be used by teachers in times of social distancing, and less-restricted times of social interactions, to facilitate play exchanges between caregivers and children. The presenters will discuss the role teacher preparation programs play in preparing teachers for this task.

Collaboration for Challenging Times: Young Learners, Families and Universities

Recognizing the challenges faced by Early Childhood Teacher Education and Communities, this session introduces a framework for community collaboration that strengthens communities and university teacher preparation programs simultaneously. Intentionally approaching partnerships with an understanding of how collaboration can strengthen the ecological systems for participants, programs can foster equity, educational advancement, and mutual sustainability.

All in The Family: How Early Childhood Education Teacher Candidates Feel About Family Preparation in Washington State

A 20 minute powerpoint presentation of the research and data collected will be shared, followed by 10 minutes of answering questions.

In this session we present a case study examining how four cohorts of pre-service teachers engaged with their students' and families' funds of knowledge in a rural and Appalachian teacher education setting during the program, and then how those graduates used the ideas of funds of knowledge later after graduation in (a) a similar setting or (b) suburban and urban settings. We discuss our program, how we supported our preservice teachers' learning about funds of knowledge, implications for their outcomes after graduation, and how these inform the ways in which we changed our practices as teacher educators.

Working with Preservice Teachers and Young DLLs and their Families Using Translation Apps

This session has 3 goals: 1) share how one teacher education program integrated translation apps in their curriculum, 2) share how classroom teachers teach their young DLLs how to use translation apps, and 3) share how teachers are using translation apps to communicate with families.