COVID-19: Remote Learning

Unfortunately, my time in the physical classroom came to a halt at the end of Week 8. From Week 9 to the end of my practicum, all classroom instruction was online and it was quite the challenge. During such unprecedented times, it seemed like we were all just scrambling to get content out to the students, but it truly was a never ending battle. Although colleges have experienced online learning, the vast majority of school teachers have never really experienced such a thing. Yes, all of our students have iPads available to them. Yes, students are often using their iPads during class to assist them with their assignments, but no, we've never been solely reliant on technology to convey all of our content and activities.

The next six weeks proved to be a challenge, but it really was a meaningful and influential time. My curriculum was very dependent on the hands-on, collaborative activities, so the big question was "How am I supposed to bring that same hands-on, collaborative experience to my students as they are at home?" I tried my best to make the material as engaging as possible and students responded well. To make the content engaging and collaborative, I delivered it in different forms like, articles, videos, and webquests and I had students complete meaningful activities such as, discussion boards, design projects, and building projects. Below are some examples of the activities that students really enjoyed.

This first activity is called STRAWS. Students learned about the huge effect that plastic waste has on our planet and they were tasked with going through the Engineering Design Process to design and build a plastic-free juice box. To the left is the instruction and worksheet students were given and to the right are some examples of student products.

This second activity was inspired by some materials that NASA has for STEM teachers. After doing a webquest (seen on the left) to learn more about NASA's Mars Exploration Program, students were asked to make a mission patch for their own mission. Some student examples of the mission patch activity are on the right and below the worksheet.