Preservice Teachers Engage Parents in At-Home Learning: “We Are in This Together!”

Abstract

During pandemic school closures, preservice teachers designed activity plans to support the at-home learning of children in early elementary grades and recognized parents as vital to supporting their children’s learning. This article uses data from a multiple case study of preservice teachers’ planning during an alternate practicum. Drawing on models of family vibrancy and parent engagement that arise from funds of knowledge and parent knowledge theories, we highlight how preservice teachers included parents in reciprocal and democratic ways that honoured diverse family’s contexts and their knowledge of their children. Results illustrate the importance of asset-oriented, flexible pedagogies that include meaningful parent partnerships both during and beyond the pandemic.

Learning to Teach Outside the Box: Exploring Newness in Literacies Pedagogies in a Pandemic

“…This rapid shift was surprising for us and our students as our PSTs were prepared to return to their classrooms following the March Break holiday. In Nova Scotia, the lockdowns created challenges for communication as highspeed internet is not universally available in this rural province (McKee et al, 2022). These conditions and others contributed to an isolating experience for many.…”

“…These assignments were shared with Faculty Advisors and were not implemented in classrooms or shared with the families or partnering inservice teachers. This decision was due to concern raised by the provincial Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) that the unprecedented and stressful changes to teaching and learning for inservice teachers produced conditions too challenging for the mentoring of PSTs (McKee et al, 2022). Though not implemented, the lesson plans were planned with the children in their Fall practicum classrooms in mind.…”

“…This guidance considered the lesson planning for inclass instruction in pre-pandemic conditions as normal or typical and positioned this planning as a resource for the new context. The FoE guidance for PSTs to maintain learning outcomes mirrored the guidance the provincial DEECD gave to inservice teachers in planning for at-home instruction (McKee et al, 2022). Further, the FoE encouraged PSTs to consider how parents and families might be a part of the lessons they designed to support at-home learning (McKee et al, 2022).…”

“…The FoE guidance for PSTs to maintain learning outcomes mirrored the guidance the provincial DEECD gave to inservice teachers in planning for at-home instruction (McKee et al, 2022). Further, the FoE encouraged PSTs to consider how parents and families might be a part of the lessons they designed to support at-home learning (McKee et al, 2022). In this way, the FoE required traditional elements to lesson planning such as curriculum outcomes, but also invited PSTs to determine what elements of lesson planning should shift in the context.…”

“…For example, the lesson-plansas-children's-book provided by Marie departed from a traditional linear format (e.g., Ruys et al, 2012) as the boxes of her lesson plan format from Assignment 1 (Figure 2) were literally dismantled to produce something visually unique (Figure 3). Within this format, boundaries were further redefined as the lesson plan function shifted to a communication tool with/for parents and children and invited learning to take place on couches and outdoor spaces in/around the home (McKee et al, 2022). In addition to including new spaces for learning, the lesson plan format promoted opportunities for children and families to interpret and adapt the lessons to respond to their unique circumstances through the inclusion of hyperlinks, suggestions for additional practice, and invitations for video calls.…”