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This article describes the development and administration of a survey to identify early childhood educators’ successes and barriers when delivering remote instruction (e.g., online whole or small group instruction) during the COVID-19 pandemic to children 2–5 years old. The survey was developed using procedures outlined by the commonly accepted stages of an instrument development process. Content validity was established using four approaches: (a) identification of the purpose of the survey, (b) creation of a blueprint of items, (c) cognitive interviews, and (d) expert panel review. A total of 1,053 early childhood educators began the survey, with 808 (77%) of the responses included because educators met the inclusion criteria of working in the United States and responding to at least one question related to remote instruction. The survey contained 37 closed-ended and six open-ended items covering eight domains: (a) demographic information; (b) preparation, guidelines, and materials for remote learning; (c) caregiver communication and engagement; (d) assessment; (e) instruction; (f) educators’ levels of confidence before and after remote learning; (g) access to services (i.e., wraparound and/or special education); and (h) planning for the return to face-to-face instruction. Both quantitative (descriptive, t-test, regression, ANOVA, and Chi-square tests) and consensual qualitative research analyses were applied to summarize the survey results. Findings from this survey indicated that even with limited or no guidance from administrators, educators successfully adapted to remote instruction and their levels of confidence increased over time. Ongoing improvements need to be made to sustain regular communication with all families, to offer access to technology (i.e., devices and internet), to administer assessments or universal screeners, and to provide cohesive guidelines and expectations. Results from this study begin to shed light on early childhood educators’ adaptation to remote instruction as a result of COVID-19. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-021-01216-y.

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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) may reduce appetite and caloric intake. However, it is used as an adjunct treatment for depression by stimulation of the left DLPFC. As a result, its safety in mental health and its impact on quality of life of subjects with excess weight needs to be addressed. Objective: To assess the effect of repeated tDCS of the right DLPFC on mood, daytime sleepiness, anxiety and quality of life in subjects with excessive weight on a hypocaloric diet. Methods: We randomly assigned 28 participants to receive 20 sessions of active or sham tDCS for 20 consecutive weekdays. Anode and cathode electrodes were respectively placed on the right and left DLPFC. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a daytime sleepiness questionnaire (DSQ), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S) and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were administered before (t0) and after (t20) the intervention period. Results: There were no statistically significant changes in BDI, DSQ, STAI-S and SF-36 subscales between the groups throughout the study (Figure 1A and 1B). Conclusion: The absence of significant changes in the scales suggests that tDCS is not associated with impairment in mental health and quality of life in this population. ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT02683902. Disclosure G.R. Natividade: None. C. de Araujo: None. R.C. Fitz: None. A.F. Osório: None. P.N. Merello: None. P. Schestatsky: None. F. Gerchman: Speaker's Bureau; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc. Other Relationship; Self; Sanofi-Aventis. Funding Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (FIPE15-0119)

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