“A Virtual Start to the School Year” by Phil Roeder ©CC BY 2.0
A new study from the Early Childhood Research Network
In a new study, a research team from the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development partnered with the NYC Public Schools’ Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) to examine professional learning (PL) experiences of New York City (NYC) early childhood educators during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). Through surveys and one-on-one interviews, the research team gathered broad and deep information about “outside-in” and “inside-out” PL experiences. “Outside-in” PL includes learning provided by external sources (e.g., group-based training series, individualized coaching), while “inside-out” PL describes support among colleagues (e.g., teacher-teacher interactions). Critically, the pandemic has exerted a significant impact on the nature of PL (e.g., the modality of PL shifted from in-person to virtual), calling for an urgent need to better understand early childhood educators’ professional learning experiences.
“Continuing to invest in effective inside-out and outside-in professional learning strategies is a key way to support the educators caring for our city’s youngest learners.”
