Episode 11: Rising to the Occassion
Preschool teacher Candace Land and Paula, a parent, describe Candace's class during remote learning and in-person settings, focusing on relationships and positive social emotional development. (14 min.)
Facilitator Guide
- Early Care and Education Environment Indicators and Elements of High-Quality Inclusion: E2: Family Partnerships, E6: Instruction
- DEC Recommended Practices: Family, Interaction
As you watch this episode, take note of the activities, adaptations, and strategies Candace implements to develop the children's social emotional skills and to connect with families.
Reflection Questions
- Candace Land shares the importance of building relationships in a remote learning environment. What of activities have used or witnessed to help children connect with each other in a remote learning environment. What activities have you used to build relationships with families?
- Although there were many obstacles transitioning to a remote learning environment, Candace appreciated more time to connect with families. How have your relationships with families changed? When families reflect on this time, what do you think they'll say?
- Candace expressed the need to be creative to make learning come to life, and shared how this experience has changed her as an educator. What is are valuable lessons you've learned during the pandemic? How will your classroom approach change as a result?
- Candace explains that she uses coaching strategies with families of children with IEPs to help them identify opportunities in routines and environment to support progress on IEP goals. What questions can you ask families to gain a better understanding of their unique routines, environments, communities, culture, and priorities? How can you use this information to coach families on providing support at home? How can you use this information to make classroom activities, materials, and discussions more meaningful and relevant for children?
- Candace says that teaching remotely required her to think outside of the box, and to use strengths that she normally did not rely on when providing instruction in the classroom. Reflect on a situation when you planned a lesson, and had to adjust to an unexpected change. Describe the situation and how you adjusted or changed your approach. What personal strengths did you rely on to be successful in that situation? What other opportunities during instruction or partnering with families can you identify when you can use those strengths?
Group Activity
What Happens When We Rise to the Occasion
In this episode, Candace reflected that there were many obstacles presented by teaching in an online environment, but that she pushed herself to focus on the things that she could do rather than getting stuck on the things that she could not do. This is a valuable lesson for all professionals.
Think back to a time in your professional life when you were presented with obstacles and chose to focus on what you could do as opposed to what you could not do. What happened? Share that experience in a small group of two to three peers. As time permits, consider the following questions:
- What did you do to reframe the situation?
- How did you use that experience as a lesson learned for similar situations?
- What have you learned from the pandemic that will be useful to inform your future work with children and families?
Share key reflections with the large group.
Additional Resources
Practice Improvement Tools
- Family Checklists (see Family Engagement Practices Checklist, Family Capacity-Building Practices Checklist)
- Interaction Practice Guides for Practitioners (see Accentuating Positive Child Interactions)
