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A New Reality Getting Remote Learning Right APRIL 2020 WWW.ASCD.ORG Educational Leadership • SP ECI AL R EP OR T • sponsored by Kognito
Educational Leadership • SP ECI AL R EP OR T • AP R IL 15, 2020 A New Reality: Getting Remote Learning Right ASCD is making all the stories in this special issue of Educational Leadership free to all users. To support ASCD’s work and receive unparalleled professional-learning content and other benefits, please consider becoming a member. 2 Keep It Simple, Schools 22 Maintaining Connections, 36 Three Strategies for Better Justin Reich Reducing Anxiety While Online Discussions To ensure equity and engagement in School Is Closed Michael B. Sherry remote learning, schools need to zero in Classroom discussions in distance- Jessica Minahan on key priorities, including enrichment and learning settings are different, but can be manageable projects. Teachers can play a huge role in helping students with anxiety or trauma histories no less powerful. feel safe—even from a distance. 6 Restoring Connection: Real- 38 A Brave New World: Life Advice on Transitioning to 28 Seven Steps for Districts A Teacher’s Take on Online Learning Navigating to Remote Learning Surviving Distance Learning Anthony Rebora Michael B. Horn Alexis Wiggins Distance-learning expert Mike Flynn School districts must keep students’ needs How to preserve your curriculum—and shares tips on moving to teaching online in and individual circumstances front and sanity—in this unprecedented time. a difficult time. center. 10 42 Cybersecurity Guidelines for Successfully Taking Offline 32 L.A. in Action: A Multi-Pronged Remote Learning Classes Online Approach to Distance Learning Tara Laskowski Catlin R. Tucker Anthony Rebora Technology keeps us connected to our How to build community and create How the nation’s second largest school students—but how can we ensure it’s safe? student-centered lessons. district is retooling to continue instruction 16 Accommodations, and support students in need. 43 To Grade or Not to Grade? Modifications, and 34 ASCD Community in Action Joe Feldman How districts can enact fair and equitable Intervention at a Distance District PD directors discuss the tools they grading policies during the coronavirus Lee Ann Jung are using to support professional learning closures. amid school shutdowns. To support special education students during school shutdowns, educators need close coordination and a focus on what matters most. 74
Editors’ Note This spring, school leaders and educators across the world entered what the superintendent of one major district has called “truly uncharted JOURNAL STAFF waters.” The spread of the novel coronavirus—and the subsequent Anthony Rebora, Editor in Chief shutdown of many school systems—has created a new reality in K–12 Naomi Thiers, Managing Editor education, one in which many educators and families have had to make Tara Laskowski, Senior Editor a rapid, unplanned-for transition to remote (or distance) learning and in Sarah McKibben, Senior Editor which issues of student equity and well-being loom larger than ever. Lucy Robertson, Production Editor This special issue of Educational Leadership was designed to provide Judi Connelly, Senior Art Director guidance and spark reflection, discussion, and problem-solving on these Kelly Marshall, Senior Production issues. Bringing together a range of expert educator voices, the issue Specialist spotlights technological, infrastructural, and instructional best prac- tices for remote learning in difficult circumstances. At the same time, it Ranjit Sidhu, Executive explores the social-emotional, cognitive, and resource challenges that Director and CEO many students and families are facing today, in effect providing a whole- Ronn Nozoe, Associate child lens on distance-learning practices. Executive Director Of course, as our contributors make clear, there are no easy answers Stefani Roth, Publisher in a time like this. But we hope this special issue serves as a basis for Marge Scherer, Editor in Chief Emeritus impactful collaboration and decision-making as schools move forward. Ronald S. 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ASCD publications present MELANIE KAY-WYATT, PRESIDENT; MATTHEW a variety of viewpoints. The views Parents share what’s working in remote MINGLE, VICE PRESIDENT; KAREN BAPTISTE; expressed or implied in this publication DOLORES CORMIER-ZENON; ALINA DAVIS; learning. are not necessarily official positions of the association. ASCD editorial office PATRICE DAWKINS-JACKSON; BART EPSTEIN; NEIL GUPTA; SANDY HUSK; PHYLLIS LOCKETT; and advertising: 703-578-9600; e-mail: edleadership@ascd.org. Educational KATHLEEN McCREERY Leadership and EL are registered trademarks of ASCD. Copyright © 2020 by ASCD’S MISSION STATEMENT ASCD EXECUTIVE STAFF ASCD. All rights reserved. (USPS 168-760). RANJIT SIDHU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO April 2020. Stock No.120099. 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Educational Leadership • SP ECI AL R EP OR T Keep It Simple, Schools To ensure equity and engagement in remote learning, schools need to zero in on key priorities, including enrichment and manageable projects. Justin Reich O n March 26, Massachusetts’ suggests that schools aim for about one-half Education Commissioner Jeff of a typical school day of learning time, with Riley released a thoughtful a combination of student-driven learning, pathway forward for remote educator-recommended activities, teacher learning during a pandemic check-ins, physical activity, arts, and play. (2020). The plan has three main principles. For credit-bearing classes that do continue, First, care for students. Prioritize keeping stu- the state recommends switching to credit/no- dents fed and sheltered, supporting emotional credit grading for work. needs and mental health, and attending to My intuition is that whether by fiat, by rec- the most vulnerable students. Second, create ommendation, or by necessity, most school opportunities for projects and enrichment. districts across the country will adopt similar The state recommends that schools focus models that focus on projects and enrichment on student interests, family projects, and over trying to maintain a regular schedule of reinforcing previously taught skills over classes. The vast majority of American schools addressing new material or learning objec- are not set up to rapidly switch to remote, tives. Third, set realistic expectations. The state online learning in the midst of a pandemic. 2 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020 VISUAL GENERATION/ SHUTTERSTOCK
Many families lack access to devices of students most likely to be hit younger ages, more of this happens and broadband internet, and even hard by COVID-19 and a possible with students working under the families that do have a computer economic recession. In the best of direct supervision of parents (a tre- at home often don’t have one for circumstances, we’d expect these mendous challenge during a pan- each school-age child. Meanwhile, students to struggle in a transition to demic), but as students get older, many teachers are not familiar with online learning, and we can expect there is a greater expectation for inde- digital learning pedagogies, and some yawning gaps in outcomes to emerge pendence and synchronous learning districts don’t have the curriculum during a pandemic. As a result, a with teachers and peers. To simplify, resources prepared to support remote teaching. As growing economic uncertainty raises anxiety and causes Even in the best of circumstances, effective distance hardship in families and the pan- learning can be difficult to accomplish. Schools demic potentially causes widespread illness among students and teachers, now pivoting to online learning can learn from the the barriers to remote education will grow. experiences of virtual schools already in operation. Even in the best of circumstances, effective distance learning can be focus on projects and enrichment virtual schools do two things: they difficult to accomplish. Research sug- is probably not only the most equi- publish curriculum materials and gests that young people have great table way forward for the weeks they coach students and families. For capacity for online learning, but and months ahead, but likely the regular public schools and district much less facility and persistence most effective for keeping students to pivot to distance learning, they’ll with online schooling. Young people learning and engaged in school. need to become good at the same two are remarkably facile at using the things. internet to learn how to cook a new Key Questions to Address For students to pursue projects recipe, beat a level in a video game, for Remote Learning and enrichment, schools need to or explore their interests (Ito et al., For schools and districts that want recommend and distribute them. As 2012). Unfortunately, the research to adopt Massachusetts’ proposed much as possible, these curriculum on pursuing formal schooling and remote learning model—one based materials should be accessible to courses online provides much less on projects and enrichment—there learners in every dimension. They cause for optimism. are four big questions to address: should be designed so that students Over the last decade, researchers can pursue them independently, with have identified a kind of “online How will you publish good projects limited support from busy parents penalty” in terms of grades and and enrichment activities? who may be working, caring for other dropout rates when students switch Schools now pivoting to online children, or sick. Instructions should from face-to-face to online learning learning can learn from the expe- be simple, with realistic expecta- (Dynarski, 2018). High achieving, riences of virtual schools already tions as well as opportunities for affluent learners tend to be minimally in operation. Full-time virtual extension. They should be dissemi- affected by this penalty: students schools typically operate with an nated in as many ways as possible: who do fine anywhere will do fine asynchronous learning model that printed and mailed packets, online online. But most students do worse depends upon parents and caregivers document downloads, text message in online courses, and the online acting as coaches. Schools publish broadcasts, pre-recorded phone penalty is more severe for vulnerable curriculum materials, parents help messages, and radio or television and struggling students—students their students proceed through these broadcasts. Schools should prioritize with low prior achievement, ethnic materials, and teachers provide low-bandwidth options for families and racial minorities, and younger assessment of student work and with limited internet access. Materials students. These are the same groups coaching to students and parents. At should be translated into multiple ASCD / www.ascd.org 3
At every level of schools, we need to find new struggle academically and who have unstable home lives will be the most ways to listen to each other at a distance. severely affected by the transition to online learning, teachers should languages and adhere to accessibility send messages to their students to make a special effort to reach out and guidelines for disabled learners. provide support, offer feedback, connect with these students. The stu- I appreciated a remote learning celebrate progress, mourn loss as ill- dents who need the most help during lesson plan from Kelly Gallagher, an nesses and deaths mount, and offer these challenging times may be the English Language Arts high school guidance. In an Advance Placement least likely to reach out. teacher in Anaheim, California. He class, this might mean recording lec- The last two communication encouraged his students to journal tures for students who are determined modes—facilitating whole class and two pages a day about their experi- to take the tests this spring. In an small group/peer to peer meetings— ences and to seed their writings with elementary class, teachers might read will be the most challenging. Not interesting readings, news reports, chapters of the class book. Again, only is it logistically difficult to have or stories from the pandemic. He teachers should prioritize accessi- students meet at the same time, but promised to share his own writing, bility: making materials available in there are privacy issues with having and he also encouraged students to simple, low-bandwidth communica- cameras turned on (and potentially read for 30 minutes each day. That’s tions with attention to translations recording) in teacher and student it. While he published more details and accessibility. In contexts with homes across the country. Syn- online, the gist of his syllabus fits into diverse learners, this may mean that chronous meetings can be a powerful a text message. whole class broadcasts will need to be time for celebrations and community Given all of the complexities of limited (weekly rather than daily), as building, but they raise challenging curating, translating, screening for it can be time consuming to produce issues. In the early days of the pan- accessibility, and publishing projects accessible materials. demic, online college courses were and enrichment activities, teachers Teachers should check in with beset with trolls interrupting lectures, and schools should focus on these their students as regularly as possible; sharing pornographic images, making kinds of activities, which are simple, the best virtual school teachers report vile comments in chat boards, and so rich, extensible, reinforce important that they spend most of their time forth. Teachers face additional risks skills, and tap into student interests reaching out to students individually. of having their teaching recorded and agency. These communications could happen and broadcast without permission, by phone calls, messaging services, or of witnessing abuse in homes, and How will teachers remotely coach video conferences, but districts will other potential issues. With strong students? need to provide guidance about how cultural norms, thoughtful selection Teachers will need guidelines about to safely facilitate the communica- of technology tools, careful attention how to safely, compassionately, tions and how to keep parents and to default settings, and clear guidance and regularly support students and caregivers informed and involved. for teachers, these can be powerful families. There are four categories of During check-ins, teachers can modes of learning, but they come ways teachers can engage students: offer tutorials, feedback on projects with risks that schools need to under- (1) whole-class broadcasts, (2) indi- and enrichment work, or just stand and address. vidual coaching and check-ins, (3) support, care, and listening during synchronous meetings, and (4) facili- a challenging time. There are major How will you partner with students, tating small group and peer learning. obstacles to how much educators teachers, and families? Schools should provide teachers with can teach and instruct at a distance The coronavirus pandemic feels like guidance for how best to approach during a pandemic, but hopefully something that is being done to us. these four modes in their local many schools can find coaching and There is a sense of powerlessness as context. support models that work. we watch our worlds contract to Teachers will need to regularly Since we know that students who our homes, apartments, and 4 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020
temporary shelters. But our response they will need in the beginning of 4th your existing online infrastructure? to the crisis can be something that grade or the beginning of a calculus How much coaching and checking in we can do together. At every level of class? can be done with tools that students schools, we need to find new ways Grade-level teams, department are already using? It may be that after to listen to each other at a distance. heads, curriculum coordinators, and days or weeks of remote learning, If school leaders haven’t surveyed coaches should be looking ahead to a glaring weakness in the distance teachers, students, and families these challenges. How can you make learning infrastructure emerges, about how things are going, today is more time for that urgent material where some kind of new technology the day to start. Even a simple three in the fall? How can courses be rear- might be worth introducing. But gen- question survey can gather valuable ranged so that if a fall class typically erally, keep it simple. data: “How are you? What has been starts with 1 day for review on an Publish good projects and learning going well for you? What could we important topic, teachers can make resources. Make them accessible. do more of, or do better, to help your time for 3 or 4 days? With federal Disseminate widely. Check in with learning?” Teachers can ask these and state stimulus money for schools, students. Solicit feedback. Plan for questions of students; schools can ask what might be possible for summer re-entry. these questions of parents; districts school in August or extended-day Schools that do a few simple things can ask these questions of faculty and time in the fall? well, listen to stakeholders, and plan families. In the current scramble to remote for the future will likely be in the best Asking these questions will do learning, it may feel like nothing position on the other side of this two things. First, the answers to is more important than making crisis. My hat is off, and my heart is these questions may provide useful something that works for tomorrow with, all of the teachers and adminis- new ideas. Perhaps more important, or next week. But given all of the trators serving students and families the more that stakeholders feel like challenges that schools will have in in these difficult times. EL they are partners co-constructing a teaching during a crisis in April and response, the more invested they will May, it may be more productive to References be in learning. invest substantial time in planning Dynarski, S. (2018, January 19). Online for making things up in summer and Courses Are Harming the Students Who Need the Most Help. The New How will you plan for re-entry? fall. York Times. In its guidance, the state of Massa- Ito, M., Gutierrez, K., Livingstone, S., chusetts recommends that schools A Cautious Approach to Penuel, B., Rhodes, J., Salen, K., Schor, aim to get in about 50 percent of Experimentation J., Sefton-Green, J., & Watkins, S. C. the typical amount of learning time. I have spent the last ten years (2012). Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design. DML Research Many students facing difficult home studying education technology Hub. lives, poverty, disengagement, or and online learning, and yet I have Massachusetts Department of Elementary illness will simply miss all or most written very little about fancy digital and Secondary Education. (2020). of their learning during the next few tools in my advice here. That’s Remote Learning Recommendations weeks or months of school closures. because spinning up new school During COVID-19 School Closures. While schools are understandably technology initiatives during the scrambling to set up modes of remote best of times is challenging; during Justin Reich (jreich@mit.edu) is an learning, perhaps the most important a pandemic it is just extraordinarily assistant professor at MIT and the work of this period should be difficult. As much as possible, schools director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab. He hosts the TeachLab podcast planning ahead. What gets taught in should try to publish materials and (teachlabpodcast.com) and is the author your school during the spring quarter check in with students using their of the forthcoming book Failure to that students really need to be suc- existing technology infrastructure. Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t cessful in future years? What do stu- How much can you publish and dis- Transform Education from Harvard dents learn at the end of 3rd grade or seminate through phone trees, text University Press. Follow him on Twitter the end of a pre-calculus course that messages, email, simple webpages, or at @bjfr. ASCD / www.ascd.org 5
Educational Leadership • SP ECI AL R EP OR T RESTORING CONNECTION: Real-Life Advice on Transitioning to Online Learning A distance-learning expert shares tips on moving to teaching online in a difficult time. Mike Flynn, a former 2nd grade teacher, is the director of Mathematics Leadership Programs at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where he and his colleagues have created an innovative and highly regarded online- perspective of what’s available in terms of technology learning system for graduate students in math education. and then figuring out how to use that as a teacher. It’s He is also a widely sought distance-learning trainer who more important to look at how do you want to teach has worked with K–12 school districts and higher edu- and what’s out there to help you do that. So what I cation faculty around the country on best practices for find easiest—the combination that causes the least online instruction. He recently launched a popular online amount of disruption—is to use some kind of video- teacher support group based on a series of free video conferencing platform, along with the Google Suite, training sessions. because those applications are so easy to use. For the With many schools making the transition to online- video conferencing, in some ways it doesn’t matter learning platforms in response to the coronavirus out- which one you use—it’s a matter of finding the one break, we talked with Flynn about what school leaders that has the features you want. and teachers need to know. Do you have any advice for school leaders on rolling What should schools or educators be looking for in an out a new platform for a large group of teachers? online-learning platform, especially if we’re talking What would you focus on in training? about a fairly quick transition? In a time like this, people are going to be scram- The first thing I always recommend is to think about bling, and there’s a steep learning curve. In the short what teaching practices or pedagogy you want to term, I think one important piece of advice is to help leverage—that’s the priority. Often people will make teachers prioritize what’s the most important for them the mistake of looking at online learning from the in terms of their instruction and their connection 6 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020 PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE FLYNN
with students. Everyone’s going to be oper- The point is to help students see that ating on limited amounts of time—elementary teachers in particular might just be meeting we’re still a class. Yes, we’re in a with students for a short period of time. So you need to figure out what are the most important different space, but there’s still some things to cover. The other important advice is to be mindful familiarity to what we’re doing. of our learners, who are all going to be nervous are doing a project based on a book they just at this time. At this point, there’s probably a read, you might have them create a presentation little bit of fear and uncertainty setting in. So using Google Slides. That’s a good way for them whatever bit of normalcy teachers can inject to synthesize their learning in a new medium. into these live online settings is important. For This kind of thing mixes it up for kids so they elementary teachers, that might mean holding get different experiences. your morning meeting, or in kindergarten, you might have a morning song. Or for high school teachers, think about an engaging or interactive You emphasize the importance of providing routine that you always do with your class that guidelines for students for working in an you can bring into this new setting. The point online learning environment. What would that is to help students see that we’re still a class. look like? Yes, we’re in a different space, but there’s still some familiarity to what we’re doing. And then A teacher who is beginning to teach online as you move forward, you start thinking about should think about what a week looks like, how do we leverage those live online times what a day looks like in this class. What’s hap- we have together—and what are some mean- pening live versus asynchronously? What’s the ingful, creative ways that you can create work schedule? What technology is going to be used for kids to do when you’re not on camera with when? So these are the things that teachers them, because a lot of the work is going to be and school leaders need to be thinking about, independent. in effect putting the pieces of the puzzle in place. This is why I always say less is more: The fewer platforms you’re using, the less confusion What are some ways that teachers can ensure there is. that kind of ongoing engagement? Once teachers know what they’re going to Part of this is to use the live time to make sure do, they need to create a concrete way for kids kids have a sense of what’s expected when and their parents to be able reference the plan they are working on their own. You also need and procedures. It could be in a Google Doc, to make sure that the independent work is it could be a slideshow, or even a short video. something the students have some level of The point is just to explain, here’s what we’ll do familiarity with, so that what they’re doing is at this time, you’ll get on, you’ll log-in here, or working on practice—basically, we’re talking you’ll open up this Google Drive folder and see good homework strategies, which means not today’s work in there. Having a good, sharable giving new learning for homework. That’s a big plan makes it easier to have everyone on the piece of it. Another strategy is to think of other same page. creative ways that you can mix up the kinds of work kids are doing outside the live class time, What kind of tech support do teachers and so it’s not all just paper and pencil. Maybe the students need in transitioning to an online students can create a slideshow to show their setting? How best can schools prepare for and learning, or maybe they could collaborate using troubleshoot problems? Google apps. If you have some 8th graders who ASCD / www.ascd.org 7
Most schools have some IT folks on board, and Are there effective ways schools can address this is where they step up. Working with school access or resource disparities within a class— leaders, they should know what platforms are for example, if some students don’t have regular going to be used and then try to anticipate the access to the internet or to a computer? common tech problems. These are fairly pre- dictable—there are connectivity issues, there One good rule of thumb is to design the mate- are microphone problems, there are difficulties rials based on the lowest level of access. So locating particular features. So you identify if one of your students doesn’t have internet the most common tech issues that are going access, you essentially proceed as if no one did. This might mean distributing packets of materials and assignments to students’ homes. But you could also have students connect to online experiences by phone—for example, students can call in to a Zoom meeting if it’s set up for that. So the teacher can design the lesson to be more of an auditory experience. Another option—assuming kids have at least limited access to a computer or cell phone—is to record lessons and distribute them by email or text or even snail mail. To avoid privacy issues, you can record the lesson with the stu- dents’ images and voices turned off. Or you can pre-record the lesson. My son’s middle school language arts teacher records read-alouds for his class—she’s reading To Kill a Mockingbird to come up and you put those in a table. Then and then asking questions which the kids you have separate troubleshooting columns respond to in writing afterwards. So students for what the students are supposed to do, what are still getting the teacher’s voice, clarity, and the parents are supposed to do, and what the direction, but they don’t have to be able to teacher is supposed to do when these issues attend a live online class. come up. For instance, if the tech issue is that a student’s internet goes down, then the parents How do you approach assessment in an and students can look at the table and figure online class? out, “Oh, my job is to continue with the assign- ments that I printed out and to let the teacher That’s a big question. With the assessment know by texting them.” piece, we’re going to have to recognize that You can’t predict everything, but the nice we’re not going to have the same sort of control thing when you do this sort of contingency we’re accustomed to—because it’s done asyn- planning is that you predict most of the things. chronously, and we can’t necessarily see what Then if something out of the ordinary happens, students are doing. There are some software you have the brain space to address it because programs that students can log-in to to take you don’t have 20 emails from people saying, tests, but there’s still really no way to verify “Hey, my internet’s down,” or “I can’t find the that they don’t have someone else doing it for Google folder.” You’ve already taken care of a them or aren’t looking at course materials. So, lot of that stuff. opinions differ, but my stance is that at a time like this, the most important thing for us to focus on is the continuation of actual teaching and learning. Assessment is part of that process 8 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020
in terms of helping find out what kids are We need to think hard about workload learning, but we need to look at it through that formative lens, and we need to have a level of management. It’s important for kids trust in students that they will do the work on their own to show us what they understand. It’s to have some quality time doing things that feedback that’s important. The alternative is the accountability lens, where we focus on other than sitting in front of a screen. whether a kid is cheating, but I think we need to suspend that view of assessment in the outside in the yard or getting some exercise present context. There’s just not a place for it. or doing something creative on their own. I recently saw a great quote on Twitter about Many parents and caregivers are also feeling how what we’re doing right now isn’t really overwhelmed by the transition to remote home schooling or even distance learning, it’s learning. Are their ways teachers can help them crisis learning. We have to keep that in mind. or make things a little easier on them? We need to design instructional experiences that move kids along but also take into account I think a big part of this is being mindful about that we’re in just a really weird time right now communication. We need to recognize that and need to be flexible. parents have a flood of emails coming in every day from schools right now, on top of their Any other general tips for educators who are regular work emails. So we need to try to be facing this transition right now? super concise and to the point in our emails. Use bulleted lists and take out extraneous text The biggest thing is to work together—to find and narrative. It’s just really helpful for families communities of educators in spaces where you if they can scan your email and get what they can collaborate, where you can share resources need to know. I’d also recommend limiting and share ideas. My other advice is for everyone emails to parents to one a week. If possible, to please practice self-forgiveness. You’re going send it as team and break it down by subject to make mistakes in the platform, things aren’t matter with bulleted list for each subject on going to work the right way, you’re going to try what to do when. One step better is to provide to do something that you think will be very fun checklists. This can save parents a lot of time. and interactive, and the kids will get confused. I’d also emphasize again the need to follow There’s going to be a level of frustration, but as the general rules of good homework. If we’re long as the choices we’re making are what’s in giving assignments or tasks that allow kids to the best interests of students and their learning practice skills and synthesize their learning and in this time of crisis, then we’re making the not have to learn new content on their own, it’s right decisions, even if they don’t work out per- going to eliminate the need for them to have to fectly. Forgive yourself. We’re all learning and constantly get help from their parents. This is we’re all going to get better. EL really an equity issue as well. If I’m assigning a project that has kids working with their parents —Anthony Rebora for 45 minutes, that’s going to be unfair to kids whose parents have to go to work or who have multiple children. Editor’s note: This is an updated and extended So we need to think hard about workload version of an interview that originally appeared management. It’s also important for kids to on ASCD’s Inservice blog. The interview has been have some quality time doing things other than edited for space. sitting in front of a screen—whether it’s going ASCD / www.ascd.org 9
Educational Leadership • SP ECI AL R EP OR T T The keys are eachers who have taught exclusively offline in a traditional school setting may find prioritizing the transition to teaching online daunting community and and foreign. As educators navigate this new reality of school closures, social iso- designing student- lation, and remote learning, it’s important to remember that education and learning encompass more than dis- centered lessons. seminating and collecting assignments. Learning, at its core, is a social endeavor. People learn through their Catlin R. Tucker interactions with each other and the world around them. Successfully Taking OFFLINE Classes ONLINE 10 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020 STOCKFOUR / SHUTTERSTOCK
Given the social nature of learning, educators teachers not to assume that the community they who are moving their classes online must have established in-person will automatically prioritize community building to ensure their translate to the online environment. There are students thrive online. likely students in our classes who have shared the physical classroom all year but who may Creating a Community of Learners have never spoken or collaborated on a shared The Community of Inquiry theoretical task. The transition to learning online presents framework underpins much of the research on an opportunity for teachers to make sure that online and blended learning and is grounded in everyone in the class community knows each collaborative constructivism (Swan, Garrison, other and forms relationships with their peers & Richardson, 2009). Given the concerns online that will make their interactions more many teachers have about the isolating nature respectful and rewarding. of online courses, I appreciate the focus that the Community of Inquiry places on creating a community of learners who can make meaning A staple of any online course is while interacting online. This framework pro- vides a structure for teachers to design and discussion, and a good online discussion facilitate an online course to effectively engage students in active learning. can be a great way to build community The Community of Inquiry framework is composed of three interconnected pres- and communication skills. ences—social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence. The social presence refers The first step in establishing open, honest, to the learners’ ability to assert their social and and respectful communication in an online emotional selves, view their classmates as real community is to clearly define the expecta- people, and communicate openly online. The tions for behavior in the online environment. teaching presence encompasses the design, Teachers concerned about what students might instruction, and facilitation of learning in say or do online should ask their classes to the course. Finally, the cognitive presence is think about and articulate the behaviors they learners’ ability to construct meaning through believe will help them to feel comfortable a process of inquiry, dialogue, and reflection engaging with peers and sharing ideas. Teachers (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). Under- can ask the class to articulate these expectations standing the interplay between these presences on a shared digital document. can help teachers transitioning their courses Asking students to craft the norms and online create learning experiences that are expectations for their online interactions gives engaging, student-centered, and leverage the them ownership of the space and creates an class’ collective intelligence. incentive for them to abide by these guidelines. Teachers can add additional items to the list The Social Presence: Cultivating or ask students to consider specific behaviors an Online Community to ensure the guidelines address the teacher’s As teachers move online, a critical first step is concerns about online interactions. Once a to create a safe virtual space that will help stu- clear guide has been established, teachers can dents develop their social presence. Traditional pose questions about what consequences are teachers shifting classes online mid-year due appropriate when the expectations for online to school closures may assume that their stu- communication have been violated. This places dents know each other and will feel comfortable the responsibility on the community to think participating in academic conversations and through the appropriate response to missteps, collaborative tasks online. But I would caution and students are more likely to internalize these ASCD / www.ascd.org 11
are areas of overlap that may help traditional FIGURE 1. Online Icebreaker Discussion Question teachers feel more comfortable making the move online. When I work with teachers who Icebreaker: If you could have any superpower, are teaching a blended or entirely online course which would you choose and why? for the first time, I encourage them to treat their If you could have one of the superpowers below, Google Classroom or learning-management which would you choose and why? system (like Schoology or Canvas) as their online classroom—to think of it as a place • ability to stop time where students engage and learn, not just a • ability to fly place to just post things. This is the place where • ability to become invisible students will access information and resources, engage with their teacher and their peers, and • ability to read other people’s minds submit their work for feedback and evaluation. • ability to heal the sick Once teachers begin to treat their learning- Begin your post by clearly stating the superpower you management system as their virtual classroom, would like and thoroughly explain your choice. they can begin to think about their roles and Once you have posted your response, please read and responsibilities in this online environment. The reply thoughtfully to at least 2 other members of the Community of Inquiry framework specifically class. In your reply, ask questions, comment on identifies course design, direct instruction, specific points made, compliment the ideas shared, and facilitation of learning as central to the and build on ideas shared. teaching presence in an online course (Swan et al., 2009). Source: Catlin R. Tucker Traditional teachers must think differently about the organization and design of their online courses. It is a mistake to think that expectations and think about what they say and K–12 students who spend seven hours a day do online. in a traditional classroom can spend that same A staple of any online course is discussion, amount of time in front of a computer at home. and a good online discussion can be a great That is an unrealistic, and frankly unhealthy, way to build community and communication expectation. Students who are isolated at home skills. Icebreaker discussion questions, like the because of school closures and social distancing ones in Figure 1, can help students learn about mandates are juggling a lot mentally and emo- their peers and help them to view their virtual tionally. They are negotiating a shared space classmates as real people with feelings, values, with their family. They may be sharing devices and beliefs. and limited bandwidth with parents and sib- Research has established that higher levels lings. They may also be dealing with fear and of perceived social presence in an online anxiety about the current health crisis. course yield higher levels of interaction, It’s important to adopt a modular approach engagement, and satisfaction with that course to designing distance-learning experiences. (Tu & McIsaac, 2002). This suggests that Teachers must break up the learning activities the investment teachers make in building a into smaller parts and give students time to cohesive online community with a strong social self-pace through those activities. The beauty of presence will pay dividends. online learning lies in the flexibility it affords learners. I would encourage teachers to plan The Teaching Presence: Designing and a week at a time and post all of the videos, Facilitating Online Learning Experiences articles, podcasts, online discussion ques- Teaching online is obviously different from tions, and assignments that students will need teaching in a physical classroom, yet there at the start of the week. When teachers post 12 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020
FIGURE 2. The Building Blocks of an Online Lesson Building Block Objective Online Tools Direct Instruction Transfer information (lecture Use Screencastify or QuickTime to record a screencast. or mini-lesson) or explain a complex topic. Modeling Conduct a think-aloud as Use Screencastify or QuickTime to record a video you navigate a task, apply a showing students how to do something or record a scre- strategy, practice a skill, or use encast to demonstrate how to navigate something online. an online tool or resource. Discussion Engage students in academic Post discussion questions on Google Classroom or use conversations about a text, the discussion question feature in your learning man- video, podcast, topic, or issue. agement system to engage students in asynchronous text-based discussions. Host a synchronous discussion using a video confer- encing tool like Google Meet or Zoom to allow students to engage in a real-time discussion. Research and Explo- Encourage students to research Give students a topic to research online and ask them to ration a topic or issue and crowd- crowdsource what they are learning in a shared space source the information they online (an online discussion board, shared online doc- find. ument or slide deck, Padlet Wall, or FlipGrid). Collaborative Tasks Group students online and Use a collaborative suite, like Google or Microsoft, to allow them to work collabora- engage groups of students online (shared documents or tively on shared tasks. slide decks). Practice and Review Connect students with practice Use online resources, like Quizizz, Kahoot!, Quizlet, and review activities. KhanAcademy, or NoRedInk, to encourage review and to create retrieval activities. Use digital documents (Google Documents or Microsoft OneNote) to assign review activities or writing assign- ments. Assessment Assess student work and use Administer tests and quizzes using online assessment that data to determine what tools. students need moving forward. Assign a writing prompt, task, or project designed to assess the students’ mastery of content and skills. Reflection and Meta- Ask students to think about Use Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, or Socrative to cognitive Skill Building what they learned, how they create an end-of-the-week exit ticket to encourage stu- learned it, what questions dents to develop their metacognitive muscles. Teachers they have about the concepts can also ask students to reflect in an online journal or or skills covered, and what learning log about their progress each week. support they need to continue improving. Source: Catlin R. Tucker ASCD / www.ascd.org 13
the week’s work, they should clearly identify classroom. It also gives them opportunities to the learning objectives for the week, due dates practice, review, and apply what they learned. for specific tasks, and times when the teacher The learning cycle ends with an evaluation will be available for “office hours” via video activity to assess what students learned or conferencing tools like Google Meet or Zoom. to ask them to engage in a reflective activity This approach allows learners the luxury of thinking about what they learned to develop completing tasks at a time and pace that works their metacognitive muscles. for them. The beauty of the 5Es instructional model is that it emphasizes the role of the learner in the The Cognitive Presence: Engaging process of making meaning in a course. the Class in Meaning Making If teachers think about the building blocks of Student-Centered Online Learning a traditional lesson, they will begin to see how Just because learning is moving online does not those modular activities (direct instruction, mean that students should be relegated to the discussion, collaborative group work, and role of passive receivers of information. Instead, others) can be shifted online using a variety I would like to see teachers prioritize student- of tools, many of which are probably already centered learning by developing online commu- embedded into their learning-management nities and designing lessons that leverage system. Figure 2 breaks down some of the basic technology tools and instructional models that building blocks that educators use to design actively engage students in each part of the offline lessons and describes how teachers can learning process. EL use technology tools to engage students in these activities online. References As teachers think about how these individual Bybee, R. (2015). The BSCS 5E instructional model: building blocks fit together to form a learning Creating teachable moments. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association. experience that extends over a week or several Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T, & Archer, W. (2000). weeks, it is helpful to consider using the 5Es Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: instructional model—engage, explore, explain, Computer conferencing in higher education. The elaborate, and evaluate—as a guide when Internet and Higher Education, 2, 87–105. arranging these building blocks (Bybee, 2015). Swan, K., Garrison, D. R., & Richardson, J. C. (2009). A constructivist approach to online This model provides teachers with a clear path learning: The Community of Inquiry framework. to designing a learning experience that will In C. R. Payne (Ed.), Information technology and develop the cognitive presence in a distance- constructivism in higher education: Progressive learning community. It prioritizes inquiry, learning frameworks. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, exploration, collaboration, and communication. 43–57. Tu, C. H., & McIsaac, M. (2002). The relationship of Teachers begin by engaging students in a social presence and interaction in online classes. conversation about what they think or wonder, The American Journal of Distance Education, 16(3), what they already know, or what they would 131–150. like to find out about a particular topic. Then students explore the topic. Teachers can provide links to articles, videos, and podcasts about a topic, or students can conduct their Catlin R. Tucker (CatlinTucker.com) is a best- own research. The “explain” phase of this cycle selling author, international trainer, and keynote speaker. Catlin is pursuing her doctorate in encourages students to share what they have learning technologies at Pepperdine University and learned, and the elaborate phase encourages working as a blended learning coach. She has pub- students to make connections between what lished several books on blended learning, including they are learning and other concepts covered Balance with Blended Learning (Corwin, 2020). in the course as well as their lives beyond the Follow her on Twitter @Catlin_Tucker. 14 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020
Educational Leadership • SP ECI AL R EP OR T Accommodations, Modifications, and Intervention at a Distance To support special education students during school shutdowns, educators need careful coordination and a focus on what matters most. Lee Ann Jung N ever in our lifetime has a global learning. But for those who’ve never experi- health crisis caused the need for enced online learning or teaching or feel less such a broad swath of long-term confident with digital technology, this can be an school closings as we are expe- unwelcome and stressful change. The challenges riencing with the novel corona- are particularly steep for educators working with virus outbreak. Teachers who have experimented students with disabilities. with “flipping” their classrooms and other ways The good news for teachers new to some of to teach online probably have a certain level the online technology is that we haven’t moved of confidence in this sudden shift to remote purely to “online school,” but rather to remote 16 Educational Leadership / Special Report • April 2020 PEOPLE IMAGE STUDIO/ SHUTTERSTOCK
learning. Within remote learning, the options isn’t simple, even when students have no dif- for connection with students and families ficulties with learning, a dedicated device in include online videoconferencing, phone calls, a quiet space, a household with low stress video calls to an individual, texting, email, and levels, and parents able to support learning. mail. From an equity standpoint, it’s necessary But this ideal situation is far from ubiquitous. that we’re prepared to use any of these methods The proportion of families who are currently to support connecting (first) and learning. unemployed or underemployed, food insecure, Yet the unprecedented nature of this health and experiencing high levels of stress is higher crisis leaves us with new questions about how than we’ve ever seen. We have students who to provide special services to students, not for require accommodations, modifications, and a few days, but for weeks and months. The U.S. intervention now at home with their families— Department of Education’s Office of Special many of whom are unsure of how to provide Education Programs has responded with online the support they need. documents and videos and has also been clear While the situation is unprecedented, there that if a school moves to remote learning, it are steps schools can take to support students must ensure that students who have IEPs have who have IEPs in remote-learning settings. access to that instruction (OSEP, 2020). Many We will no doubt learn a great deal from one special educators have implemented home- another and from our students and families based instruction and interventions in the past, in the coming months. In the meantime, the but never have they been forced to do so with following suggestions can be a way to start no in-person contact and for the entire popu- thinking about some of the many service- lation of students with IEPs. delivery questions our teams are facing. Urgent questions are circulating. “How do we deliver intervention at a distance?”, “How First, Support the Family do we provide accommodations and modifica- Families are in some ways being put in the role tions to online work?”, “How do I measure of “learning coach” now, and for some, this progress?”, “What about students with severe role is uncomfortable. We want to maximize disabilities?”, and “How can we support fam- the time families have to give to supporting ilies?” Some support and intervention can be their child’s learning, streamline it as much as provided by shifting to web conferencing and possible with their lives, and minimize their phone calls, but direct, online services often feeling like a full-time teacher or therapist. aren’t an option for our youngest learners and Already under enormous pressure, millions of students with more significant intellectual people have lost their jobs. Millions more are disabilities. In this “new normal,” special edu- tasked with working full-time at home in a new cators are charged with serving many students way and supporting their children in online solely through consulting with their classroom learning. Those of you who are both educators teachers and families. For students whose sup- and parents no doubt feel this. ports are now provided mainly through such By now, you’ve probably seen on social media educator-to-educator consultation, the families the phrase, “We have to Maslow before we are now an even more important part of the Bloom,” meaning we must attend to the needs equation. How do we do this in a way that sup- identified by Maslow’s hierarchy before we can ports families, rather than burdening them with engage students in the levels of learning shown overwhelming responsibility? in Bloom’s taxonomy. This has never been As we’re already seeing, the move to remote truer than now. To support students, we must learning exacerbates preexisting issues of equity connect with them and their families to learn in schools. Delivering instruction at a distance more about their resources, priorities, and ASCD / www.ascd.org 17
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