Strategies, recommendations, and validation of virtual executive function tasks for use with young children

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased occurrences of distance learning. Likewise, gathering assessment data remotely, which is critical for instructional decision making has become increasingly common during times of COVID-19. Distance learning plans have resulted in schools relying more on audio and/or video engagement as a means to promote learning; these variations in format have considerable implications for the ways in which data are gathered from young students. We first detail our experiences moving from face-to-face interactions with children to remote data collection. Then, we capitalize on data collected over the course of two years to present a natural experiment documenting children’s academic and self-regulation skills before and during COVID-19. We also report parents’ beliefs about parenting, their stressors during times of COVID-19 and their practices to support children’s development during this time.

Method
Families with preschoolers were recruited to participate in the present work during two waves; wave one occurred from September through November 2019 (n=262) and wave-2 data collection started in September and will run through November 2020. See Table 1 for details about child and parent measures collected across both years. Data-analysis will occur between December 2020-February 2021.

Proposed Research Aims
Aim one will be to describe the various challenges and considerations associated with collecting child assessment data in a remote testing context. Our pilot testing for remote administration of the tasks used during the fall of 2019 revealed several insights into the feasibility of obtaining accurate and reliable data using a tablet-based self-regulation battery. We found that digitized versions that relied on reaction times and speeded responses were not compatible with the challenges of remote testing. Specifically, we found substantial lags in reaction times of our self-regulation tasks, and encountered difficulties with young children’s ability to accurately and consistently touch the stimuli presented on their tablets. In general, our team has found that tasks that can be administered and scored via pencil and paper appear to be more amenable to remote testing adaptation. Further, the password protected tablets provided by school districts, that many of the study-participants rely on, prevent many families from downloading applications to run the tasks.

Aim two will be to compare children’s academic and self-regulation skills during the fall of 2019 (prior to school closure) to data collected (remotely) during the fall of 2020. Specifically, we capitalize on data collected over the course of two years to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on preschool children’s academic and self-regulation skills. We will compare students’ scores on specific assessments that were administered across both years (see Table1 and 2 for measures).

This natural experiment will also allow us to understand how family processes and parenting strategies can be impacted by Covid-19. The addition of a Covid-19-related stressors questionnaire (e.g., “my quality of life has decreased”, “my child care needs are being met”) will allow us to present preliminary descriptive data regarding the degree to which parents’ perceptions of the impact of Covid-19 is related to their parenting practices and their children’s outcomes.

Authors

• Sammy Ahmed, University of Rhode Island
  Presenting Author

• Lori E Skibbe, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kyla McRoy, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Burcu H. Tatar, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura Scharphorn, HighScope Educational Research Foundation
  Non-Presenting Author