Fundamental movement skills and sensory movement strategies to support online learning in early childhood

Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has presented a challenge for parents when helping children to find solutions to problems faced primarily in the learning process and to aid children with being involved in online learning. In some children at an early age, the online learning process becomes tougher because children will experience obstacles, such as difficulty maintaining concentration and being easily distracted;thus, they will not be actively involved in the learning process. The purpose of this study was on actions during the online teaching–learning process in an early childhood class. In this research, the case involved a bounded context and consisted of a preschool group of younger children between 1 and 3 years of age and their preschool teachers. The focus during the observation was on the child–adult interactions during different activities and different times of the day during the online teaching–learning process. The aim was to identify if and to which extent preschool teachers had similar ways of engaging in activities during their interactions with children online using the Zoom platform, especially regarding movement learning. This research was designed as a case study using a qualitative approach. Children who are of early age in their daily life need the ability to move in a systematic and controlled way, such as running, jumping, playing with objects, and self-control. Learning movement with fundamental movements and sensory movements are alternatives for providing children with a sensory experience and a solution to movement learning. These activities are integrated into learning processes in early childhood. Thus, fundamental exercises of skill and sensory movement online in terms of learning participation and independent experiences in children’s early learning classes are crucial to optimize the children’s growth and development, especially in the physical aspect of their early childhood motor development. © 2021, Editura Universitatii din Pitesti. All rights reserved.