Raise your hand if you saw the last fourth of your 2019-20 school year being conducted fully remotely. Yes, nobody saw this coming, but distance learning and a stronger reliance on technology is the new normal of education. Along with the new normal has also come the constant burden of uncertainty. We are uncertain about all long-term academic and social effects of the distance learning experiment on kids and, of course, the emotional effects on teachers. Plus, in many states, they’re even uncertain if the schools will be able to reopen in the fall. As digital learning continues to evolve and teachers (hopefully) find some semblance of a comfort zone, it’s clear that, for now at least, remote education is the new normal.
Learning to Embrace Remote Learning
Everything about education underwent a drastic shift at some point in mid-March—a time that now seems so long back. Online resources were forwarded faster than they were vetted, assignments were accessible only online, and grades basically evaporated. Some effects of remote learning we could've predicted—like additional distractions, steep learning curves with managing synchronous instruction online, and even with figuring out how to meet the needs of every child. Teachers really couldn’t imagine, however, what it would be like to be away from their students, to no longer enjoy small talk with their peers, or to cancel birthdays and, now, graduations. But, many of them are still trying to embrace the situation as best they can.
We’re nearing the end of the school year now and hoping that remote learning does not continue into next fall. This might go without saying and we’re sure that many educators have either dealt with this already or are prepared to do so, but assignments are going to be late. It’s tough on students and parents to manage everything—especially when meeting with teachers for just a few minutes daily. Internet issues will happen too and, whether it’s teachers or students, somebody’s Zoom background will probably feature something distracting. While teachers certainly cannot control everything (nor should they have to worry about trying), they can try to affect how students receive their assignments in a positive way. By consolidating all their resources and routinely providing them in the same format and in the same place, children will develop a routine more easily and always know where to look.
Another important element for remote learning is communication—and not so much a ton of it, but rather effective communication. Establishing a class email chain or a forum in which everybody could pose their questions, find their answers, and maybe even vent a little could do a lot in keeping things organized. We know there are many unique situations from this whole experience and find it useful to try to stay positive. Maybe, as a teacher, you miss students tremendously, but they still rely on you for guidance, for learning, and maybe even in more ways. Taking some time just to chat with them and ask what’s been challenging could sometimes really help. Maybe they’ll even ask the same to you and a powerful moment of sharing can take place. Hopefully, this ends soon, but remembering to keep a positive mindset, expect chaos, and powering forward are all anyone asks.
Tips for the Transition
Parents, teachers, and even politicians all around the world are constantly calling for improvements to our education systems. We can spend forever talking about all the ways this education system could improve, but we’ll save that for later. At the moment, we’re seeing firsthand that, when forced into a need to change and adapt, we can shift what exists. Since at-home learning is essentially their new normal, this has forced both students and teachers to move away from the perceptions they’ve always had of schools and of their school day. Simple things, like rows of desks, backpacks, group lessons, and seeing friends are not part of the education experience for the time being and, while online learning can help you keep some elements of education alive, it’s tough to help students think of it as normal.
We can, however, try some new things to make the learning from home transition go smoothly. One thing is helping children understand that, while their learning is different, it’s still the same learning. If they can start to understand that they’re simply learning in a personal space instead of a public space, it could help them with making more sense of it. Children aren’t cut off from their peers and educators—the way in which they communicate is just different. Also, since this is a huge adjustment, one-size-fits-all teaching is not an ideal option. Differentiation has become much more important in remote learning and allowing students to learn at their own pace is crucial. Each child learns best in their unique way whether that’s with video, reading, or verbal instruction. So, ensuring remote learning is adaptable can help each of them out.
While we see everyone's busy, we will say that family members can potentially help make distance learning more active. When students can get physical interaction with the outside world as part of their education or even some real-life examples, they’ll start understanding that, no matter the conditions, their learning can't stop. Finally, we know that testing and grades are essentially gone in remote learning, and that means that implementing simple but enlightening formative assessments is key. Kids could show what they’ve learned in a variety of ways, including through presentations, demonstrations, or even by playing games. Teachers still need to know that students are making progress and learning what they need to know. That is why all of these elements (plus plenty of others) are a part of remote learning.
Online Learning and Sound Pedagogy
You may think that without the option to use technology to stay connected, education wouldn’t be possible at the moment. That may be true, but, without sound pedagogical practices from educators, there wouldn’t be much progress going on remotely. It didn’t take long to figure out that simply having this communication technology in place won't necessarily translate to productivity. As our teachers had resource after resource sent their ways, things didn’t get much clearer. It takes time and practice to learn to use new teaching tools effectively and this isn't any different when it comes to distance learning—if anything, it’s more difficult. So, whether remote education is synchronous or synchronous, it’s the way in which teachers connect with their students and deliver instruction that is probably the most important part of remote learning.
There are certain elements of teaching in traditional, face-to-face settings that don't necessarily translate to online learning. One example of something we had to change is long-winded lectures educators commonly led in a classroom. It’s tough enough to keep the attention of kids with this method in physical schools, but it’s even tougher remotely. One way to combat this is to shorten the lengths of lessons (maybe by as much as half) and make sure all children are engaged by regularly asking questions or requesting feedback. This approach can work well if teaching to an entire class, to small groups, or in a one-on-one setting. Students will lose focus with many distractions at home—a new normal teachers can address if they haven't already.
Another element of education (as we know) that's now different is grading. As such, teachers are no longer teaching for the test and can put a greater focus on competency-based approaches. This also allows them to spend some more time reviewing the purpose of assignments and assessments with students as well as determining each student’s true understanding of all the content. Teachers have to rethink how they assess students, combining elements of personalization and competency-based insights to determine how they're progressing. Aside from that, they are also relying more than ever on sound communication—with children, with each other, with parents, and with administrators so that everybody (especially parents) gets on board with learning goals. Finally, teachers must focus more on privacy, safety, and digital well-being, presenting even more new challenges with their pedagogy. At this point, however, it’s just another hurdle to climb.
How Long will Distance Learning Last?
When schools first started closing, no one would have thought that it would be for the rest of the academic year. We quickly figured out, however, that would be the case and assumed that everything would return to normal come fall. Now, the school year is just about over in most parts of the country and there's almost as much uncertainty currently as there was in mid-March when chaos rattled our education community. Some health experts—as you’ve probably heard—are predicting a second wave of the coronavirus once the cool weather returns in the fall, which is creating even more confusion and controversy about when and how to reopen schools. Since outbreaks have been far worse in some places, reopening schools is likely going to follow a similar, varied pattern.
Some educators are hoping to start their reopening process during the summer and that probably is a bit wishful. Alternatively, others are hoping to pick things back up on the scheduled first day of school in the fall, which, despite being about three months away, still seems like it could be tough to meet. Again, this varies across areas and could be on the table within various districts while not so much for others. Other educators believe it's not safe to reopen schools until 2021—hopefully at the start of the year in January. While everybody wants schools to reopen and education to go back to normal, we just don’t know what will happen. So many scenarios are in play and, not to beat a dead horse, they’re unique for everybody.
If schools do reopen in the fall, there’s one thing that is certain—health and safety changes will be aplenty. Some think that these will be similar to grocery stores and public places with smaller class sizes, one-way foot traffic, staggered schedules, and spread-out tables at lunch time. Beyond that, they could spread out student desks all around classrooms and masks might be one option for both teachers and students while some teachers might have to stay home if they’re older or have health concerns. As for instruction, it likely won't be completely normal amid all these disruptions, but there are options there, too. We’ll discuss some of those potential paths in the next section and, hopefully, we’ll eventually have some more clarity.
A New Normal: Possibly More than Remote Learning
We’ve all been navigating a new normal since March—one in which student learning never takes place in a classroom and many students and teachers struggle with equity issues. By now, we’ve started to use that phrase ‘new normal’ so much that it doesn’t even seem weird anymore. However, as this evolving situation continues to play out, many students likely will be returning to school in the fall. When that time comes, the new normal they'll be figuring out will, again, be something students probably never thought of. Aside from the physical rules and health restrictions that will likely be put in place for teachers, children, and all school staff when they’re allowed to return to their buildings, there will almost certainly be changes for instruction. Teachers in various schools and districts will try various tactics to try to keep everyone safe and engaged.
We all remember when schools started closing and nobody had a real plan for how to continue instruction remotely. Well, that’s going to be different when school resumes in the fall. Most school leaders will have a plan and more than one back-up depending on how things start to play out. Here are some of what will be the most common approaches, according to an EdSurge post. Their first option (perhaps the top option) is what they referred to as brick to click learning. This means students will return to school for their traditional classes at the start of the year. But, educators will have a plan prepared if they need to quickly transition to distance learning. Teachers in these schools will likely spend their summers receiving extensive training in online education. This would ensure they can transfer their content to a digital format if necessary.
The next option is the opposite—click to brick learning. In this case, online learning would continue all fall as officials monitor health conditions. Teachers then still receive training for teaching online and for quickly implementing a return-to-classroom plan if possible. The third option is blended learning. In this case, kids learn in hybrid environments (consistent face-to-face and online instruction). Although they’re not at school all the time, this would still foster a routine. Teachers would train for this over the summer as well, but there are options. They include limiting school time for all students or staggering days for different groups. They could also try having students who need in-person instruction the most in school the most. Finally, there’s the full online option, which you already know. If necessary, teachers would probably spend their summer learning to make the most of it. Not ideal, so let’s hope we return!
There are so many different directions school returns may go in the fall. We’d love to hear what your school or district leaders are thinking about or your own thoughts on potential plans. Feel free to share any of your thoughts with us on social media @Eduporium. If you have an idea for the next Eduporium Weekly themes, send us a message on social media as well!