ElisaRiva / Pixabay
In talking with colleagues and seeing comments on social media from educators and parents alike, I’ve begun to wonder if we might be going about this whole “distance learning” thing all wrong.
I’m going to preface what I want to say in this blog post with reprinting what something I’ve written previously:
Seventy percent of the school year had already been completed by the time we closed. Of the remaining thirty percent, one week was going to be spring break and two weeks were going to be devoted to state testing, and not much learning happens during that time with all the disruption. The last two weeks of school are not known as times of high academic engagement, and of those last two weeks, our seniors, at least, leave a week early. So, I think we’re really talking about realistically missing about fifteen percent of learning time from the school year.
I wrote that previous passage in a post about a new study finding that “learning gains happen at a much higher rate during the first part of the school year than in the last part.”
So, I’m thinking that the vast majority of students in our schools would have come out of this just fine, even if we did not do “distance learning” the way it’s being done in most places (teachers trying to continue to teach everybody).
If you accept that position, and you may very well have good reasons not to, I wonder if teachers, our students, and their families would have been better served if we had, instead, used this time for:
- offering optional enrichment activities and lessons for those students and their families who wanted it
- teachers having a laser-like focus to support the most vulnerable populations of students who, it seems to me, are most hurt by the school closures: English Language Learners, those with special needs, and students who are at risk of failing or dropping-out (in other words, those most affected by the “opportunity gap”)
- doing professional development and planning for the kind of hybrid teaching we’re likely going to have to do for the next two years until there is a vaccine, along with training on issues relevant to both the physical and virtual classrooms – culturally responsive teaching, ways to create the conditions for student intrinsic motivation, etc.
What might I be missing with this analysis?
What do you think?
Addendum: This post was inspired by a conversation I had with our school’s amazing principal, Jim Peterson
Larry, to me there are three major factors that are are driving the mania. 1) Schools won’t get funded if teachers aren’t working “full gas,no brake” and kids aren’t “going” to school. It doesn’t have to be that way…it is just one of those “how it has always been done” kind of things. The tragedy here is that our profession is constantly mistrusted. The money was already allocated for kids/school/teachers…why does everyone have to prove themselves during a pandemic? 2) The mistrust would not allow us to be supporting kids and building curriculums. If we weren’t seen as people who must be told what to do by politicians we would be able to teach w/o micromanaging, testing, benchmarking, and focus on the art of teaching/reaching kids. 3)We have as a society been duked into believing standards on test signify real learning. If the facade of testing was not considered to be true, we could do as you mentioned and pick up where we left off when we reconvene or when solid plans where in place. Real learning = starting where you are at and growing. The current definition of learning tends to be “if everyone is on the same page and has the same answers at the same time, they have learned.” So Instead of what you proposed, as loyal educators we were forced to scramble and work even harder than before. If we thought testing drove education before, I tremble at how much more so it will now. I have absolutely loved teaching everyday for 32 years, but I am very concerned about many current trends in education that make facing this current situation even worse than it has to be.
This isn’t true for every school district. My school has been out for 5 weeks and we do not end until June 22nd. Testing does not apply to PK-2nd graders and these last few months still consistent of daily instruction. Every student is going to lose or miss something but I think the groups you listed as well as our little ones are going to see the worst effects of this pandemic.
If you go by what the teachers could focus on, you’ve just eliminated an entire subset of the student body. the gifted learners will now be left to their own devices even more that they already are. Teacher focus on at risk kids, to the exclusion of the gifted student. I think the kids are missing quite a lot with distance learning. Regardless of how much time was really left in the school year, they are not getting their needs met with this current set up.
You’re right, Larry. I’m teaching EFL online in Spain and most of my students are not as motivated as they used to be before Corona. Their performance has been affected by this whole situation, to say the least. I try to use conversation and songs in our classes, anything that motivates them really.
Hi Rachel–You do not mention which platform you are using. I’m using Zoom to teach ESL, and so far, so good. I just started my blog and will be posting how to use the breakout rooms on Zoom to foster student engagement. It depends on each student’s intrinisic (and extrinsic) motivation, for sure–especially in higher ed.
I could not concur more. We are at the precipice of a paradigm shift in education if we are willing to put in the work. This type of learning is prime for project based learning and competency based learning. Teachers could, can, start to look at taking advantage of technology to open opportunities for student to look at real world problems and design learning units that allow students to apply knowledge and problem solving skills to come up with, standards based, answers to these situations. In addition, it would allow teachers to dedicate time to students who need specific differentiation or specific academic skill support. As long as districts truly put students first and try to make sure every student has access to technology and academic support to make learning responsive and equitable, it most certainly can be done. Will it be easy, of course not. Will it be worth it, absolutely!
My teaching over these weeks HAS BEEN professional development – an opportunity and impetus to pick up so many of the resources I knew existed and wanted to try, but never seemed to have the time for. My department is a tremendous support as we share our success, failure, and discoveries in this common endeavor. Student feedback has never been a larger component in my instruction. My students and I both have acquired a wealth of new computer skills that will translate whether we are on campus or online in the fall. By attending class, students are helping us and preparing themselves for what lies ahead. The content is there, for sure, but it’s not the only star of the show for now. While I miss my classroom, this situation has been mana for me professionally and the suggestion that my time would be better spent with “professional development” in the usual sense makes my hair stand on end!
Parent (& not usually an “educator”) here. Our biggest problem has been a lack of child care for younger children in our area. School let out for spring break & just never resumed. There was very little notice. For those of us with essential jobs (healthcare & city gov’t in our house), it became less about education & more about warehousing our child. He’s not old enough to focus on or understand all his school work with no supervision (or even to stay home by himself). Exhausted parents end up being pseudo-teachers after working regular jobs. It’s been a nightmare & now we’re headed into summer with summer school cancelled and no viable childcare options. Yes, my child’s education has definitely suffered. So has our mental stability!