Drawing from and Expanding their Toolboxes: Preschool Teachers’ Traditional Strategies, Unconventional Opportunities, and Novel Challenges in Scaffolding Young Children’s Social and Emotional Learning During Remote Instruction Amidst COVID-19

Abstract

Building on aspects of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory centering around social interaction and adult scaffolding as essential to children’s learning, this study investigated the most prominently used strategies by eight teachers to scaffold social and emotional learning (SEL) in preschool children (ages 3–4) in the context of remote instruction during the 2021–2022 school year amidst COVID-19. These teachers (seven females and one male) came from two urban preschools funded by their local Board of Education in the state of New Jersey in the United States. These teachers (ages 28–44 years, M = 32 years) varied in teaching experience from five to 29 years ( M = 13 years). Each teacher was interviewed for an average of 40 min virtually via Zoom. The interviews were digitally recorded and then transcribed for analysis. A thematic analysis of the data revealed that the three most salient strategies the teachers implemented to virtually scaffold the children’s SEL were: (1) involving book reading and discussion, (2) utilizing visuals, and (3) engaging in targeted conversations. In addition to adapting these three traditional strategies applied during in-person instruction to remote instruction, the teachers creatively and appropriately leveraged online resources to further scaffold and enhance children’s SEL in the unconventional virtual environment, thereby expanding their toolboxes. Despite their intentional efforts, these teachers found that there were unconventional opportunities and novel challenges in scaffolding children’s SEL during remote instruction not traditionally found during in-person instruction. Collectively, the findings of this study suggest that in-person instruction, due to its social nature, is still the most optimal condition for promoting children’s SEL.

Does Online Implementation Make a Difference in the Effects of a Mental Health Curriculum at Schools?

“…Asynchronous adaptations included the execution of part of the activity and extra resources. These adaptations from teachers align with those suggested by Currie and colleagues [42] for the online delivery of social and emotional skills programs, and Chen and Adams [44].…”

“…Chen and Adams [ 44 ] interviewed preschool teachers to identify strategies implemented in online schooling to promote children’s social and emotional development. The strategies more frequently mentioned were reading a book followed by a discussion, the use of visuals, and engagement in targeted conversations [ 44 ]. Teachers also noted that with remote learning, they expanded their teaching tools [ 44 ].…”

“…The strategies more frequently mentioned were reading a book followed by a discussion, the use of visuals, and engagement in targeted conversations [ 44 ]. Teachers also noted that with remote learning, they expanded their teaching tools [ 44 ].…”

The COVID-19 pandemic and measurement of preschoolers’ executive functions.

“…Teachers experienced unique stressors during the COVID pandemic including new modes of instruction and new forms of communication with caregivers and students (Robinson et al, 2023). Preschool teachers also reported difficulties with managing children’s behavior within hybrid or virtual formats because they could not use typical methods for helping children attend to content or calm down if upset (Chen & Adams, 2023; Yildiz et al, 2023). This changing context of instruction and communication, in addition to heightened stress, may have sensitized teachers to EF impairments, resulting in reports of decreased EF skills over time.…”

Artificial intelligence as a double-edged sword: Wielding the POWER principles to maximize its positive effects and minimize its negative effects

“…Research has consistently attested that human interaction is critical for children to develop the social and emotional skills needed to interact competently with others (e.g. Chen and Adams, 2022; Chen and Badolato, 2023; Chen and O’Donnell, 2022). Thus, children should seekout AI only as a support system when needed, rather than relying on it overly at the expense of turning to their parents, teachers, and peers for academic and emotional assistance.…”