Episode 8: Noah and Pop-Pop Go to Preschool
Mother and grandfather to Noah, Sarah and Randy describe their family's approach to supporting Noah in attending virtual preschool. (13 min.)
Facilitator Guide
- Early Care and Education Environment Indicators and Elements of High-Quality Inclusion: E2: Family Partnerships, E6: Instruction
- DEC Recommended Practices: Environment, Family, Instruction, Interaction, Teaming and Collaboration
As you watch this episode, take note of the various engagement strategies used by family members and teachers: verbally, visually, physically, and environmentally. Also, pay attention to the ways the school staff are building family partnerships.
Reflection Questions
- This video provides numerous examples of embedding instruction into daily routines. How have you been intentional about embedding instruction into daily routines?
- Noah's mom credited communication as helping her to feel connected to Noah's learning, even while at work. What opportunities do you have to ensure bidirectional communication and connections with families?
- Noah's teachers were intentional to include high engagement and personalized activities into each session. What's an example of how you have incorporated personalization to enhance engagement?
- Noah's principal shared that families should not have to sacrifice putting their child in a high-quality center for putting food on the table. What supports does your program provide to ensure access for all, regardless of income?
- What examples of high-quality teaching practices did you observe in the video?
- The instructional support Noah's mother and Pop-Pop provide are crucial for Noah's successful participation and learning. What examples of instructional support did you observe Noah's mother and Pop-Pop provide for Noah?
- How did Noah's teacher engage his family in providing instructional support when Noah missed his class time? What are other ways to partner with adult family members to provide instructional support for children in their home/community environment and routines?
Group Activity
Note to facilitator: Share the instructions prior to the video and ask participants to jot down three to five examples of child and family engagement strategies. Following the video, divide the group into two smaller discussion groups (one for child engagement strategies and another for family engagement strategies), and ask participants to share the examples they jotted down. Return to the large group to share key ideas Identified in the smaller groups.
This episode offers many examples of engagement remotely - with the child and with the family. As you watch the video, make a list of child engagement strategies and family engagement strategies. For example, the teacher used a visual schedule with the children so that they would know what to expect during the session. She also engaged the family by providing a detailed, written schedule for the week so the family could help prepare the child.
- Which strategies resonated for you? Did you discover strategies that you might want to use in your own personal or professional life?
- What are some of the reasons that engaging family members can help to enhance the experience for the child?
- Did you notice similarities between the engagement strategies that the teachers used for the child versus the strategies used for the family members?
- Consider how you engage with others remotely, either as a teacher, colleague, friend, or family member. What did you learn about the strategies that you use for engaging others from a distance either in your personal or professional life?
Alternate Activity
While watching the video, jot down words and phrases that you hear Noah's mother and grandfather use to describe his teachers and their efforts.
Looking over this list, discuss the following:
- What are some ways teachers and practitioners can build and improve relationships and communication with families so that families can use those same words and phrases to describe them?
- What other words and phrases would you hope that families use to describe you and your efforts?
Additional Resources
Practice Improvement Tools
Other Resources
- Reaffirming Key Early Childhood Practices During a Pandemic (ECTA Center)
- Supporting Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic (IRIS Center)
