Teaching and Learning in a Pandemic in Suffolk
Teaching and Learning in a Pandemic in Suffolk
Embedded Files
By: Chelsea Hughes
By: Chelsea Hughes
Learning Targets:
Learning Targets:
At the end of this lesson, readers will be able to describe how Suffolk Public Schools handled the COVID-19 pandemic in their district.
At the end of this lesson, readers will be able to...
Name 3 ways the pandemic has affected Amy's first year as a licensed teacher
Amy has spent her entire first year teaching virtually
Amy devoted up to 12 hours a day in the beginning of the year to make sure she was well prepared to teach online classes
Amy feels that keeping up with their online learning platform is "more than a full-time job"
COVID-19 in Suffolk Public Schools:
COVID-19 in Suffolk Public Schools:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of Suffolk Public Schools have been learning online this school year. The school district has made the health and safety of their staff and students their top priority. Each school has provided all of the staff with cleaning supplies for their classrooms, posted signs in the halls to remind everyone of the rules and placed marks on the floors to remind of social distancing. The school board has also kept an updated chart laying out all of the cases per week in each school in the district (Suffolk Public Schools, 2020). The school district has also created a “Pandemic Response Plan” laying out all of their preparedness, phases, planning assumptions, concepts of operation, maintenance of essential services, infection control, and recovery (Suffolk Public Schools, 2020).
Adapting to a Virtual Classroom
Adapting to a Virtual Classroom
The Journal of Graduate Medical Education recommends practicing, setting expectations, engaging learners, and soliciting feedback when adopting a virtual approach to classroom-based learning (Redinger et al., 2020).
Practice: "Conduct a practice session beforehand to familiarize yourself with the virtual classroom and uncover inevitable glitches or errors. We recommend conducting this session as faculty-only with live chat enabled to obtain real-time feedback from fellow educators" (Redinger et al., 2020).
Set expectations: "Make expectations clear at the beginning of each session to prevent miscommunication and confusion. For example, describe the virtual learning tools that you will use during the session, clarify whether the session will be interactive, and explicitly state whether verbal or typed communication via chat Box is preferred" (Redinger et al., 2020).
Engage Learners: "Delivering a slide-based lecture via live video conference is no different than having trainees watch a recorded didactic. Moreover, a learner with a muted microphone and camera turned off is likely to succumb to distraction. We strive to integrate constructivist teaching techniques grounded in social learning theory when possible in order to maintain a collaborative and interactive classroom. Thus, we recommend enabling cameras and using virtual small group breakouts, screen sharing, or virtual chalkboards to mimic the active learning environment of an in-person classroom" (Redinger et al. 2020).
Solicit Feedback: "It may be difficult to gauge the experience of multiple learners, especially in larger teaching sessions. Early and frequent feedback facilitates iterative improvement of the structure, content, and delivery of virtual conferences. We reserve 5 minutes for feedback at the end of each session and implement suggestions into our next lesson plan" (Redinger et al., 2020).
My Interviewee:
My Interviewee:
Amy Kane is a first year licensed teacher in Suffolk Public Schools this year. Although this is her first licensed year, she has experience in a classroom setting as a substitute teacher and teaching assistant for four years. She ultimately chose to become a teacher because of her in-class experience throughout those four years, so the transition to online teaching her first year was not an easy one. She devoted hours to perfecting her online lessons and making sure that her technology was sufficient enough to give her students a proper education for each day. She believes that keeping up with the grading, planning and building of modules in the online learning platform has become “more than a full time job”. Although the transition online has not been the easiest, she feels less uncomfortable now than she did in the beginning of the school year.
Interview takeaway one:
Interview takeaway one:
Amy Kane’s first year teaching experience looked a little different than most. Her first year as a licensed teacher began during a global pandemic. Due to this pandemic, her entire first semester of teaching has been virtually, and it still has not been determined if she will get any in-person teaching time this school year. The adjustment from learning how to teach in-person, to having to teach yourself how to properly educate your students online is not an easy task. It also turns out that Amy made the decision to become a teacher because of her experience in a classroom setting, so one can only imagine her disappointment of having to teach online for an entire school year. (Kane, A. (2021, February 3). Personal Interview [Personal Interview])
Interview takeaway two:
Interview takeaway two:
Throughout our interview, Amy describes what it is like to deliver instruction online. She explains that it is much different than in person instruction and that she can see her students struggle to grasp the material online. She expresses that she has spent well over 12 hours some days preparing her lessons, loading material online, finding good educational videos and making sure she is doing all she can to be prepared for her students. Amy is an 8th grade teacher and she says her students, although they have been exposed to higher level thinking and learning with technology, have still been struggling with the online learning experience. She states that the students struggle with the time management aspect of online learning because they are unaware of when to do their work in a timely manner from home so their work suffers. (Kane, A. (2021, February 3). Personal Interview [Personal Interview])
Interview takeaway three:
Interview takeaway three:
When teaching online, you have to prepare yourself, your technology, lesson plans and material well for your students. There is much more time and effort needed to go into planning online lessons because you do not have that same face-to-face interaction with your students. You cannot meet all students learning styles online, especially those who learn best with hands-on activities. Amy explains that she feels teaching online is “more than a full-time job”. She explains that she was working well over 12 hours a day, including weekends, preparing her online material. Keeping up with grading, planning, and building modules in the online learning platform has made her full-time job feel much more than that. (Kane, A. (2021, February 3). Personal Interview [Personal Interview])
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on Suffolk Public Schools. It has affected not only the school district but also the teachers and students on a more personal level.
Teachers have had a difficult time with the online transition because it has altered the way most of them teach. It has affected their teaching styles, the way they interact with their students and their parents, it has also affected their interactions with their colleagues.
Students are struggling to learn online.
Although the pandemic has negatively affected the school district, I do believe Suffolk Public Schools has handled the situation well.
The school district is working tirelessly to slow the spread of the virus by using things such as masks, social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing and contact tracing.
Vaccinations have also been made available to the teachers in the district.
All are ways that Suffolk Public Schools have prepared their schools for the pandemic except:
A. Placed markings on the floor to remind of social distancing
B. Posted social distancing signs in the halls
C. Supplied cleaning supplies to all staff members
D. Supplied every student with PPE for the school year
What does the Journal of Medical Education recommend to mimic the active learning of an in-person classroom?
A. Delivering slide-based lectures
B. Having all cameras and microphones off during the class
C. Small breakout groups, screen sharing and virtual chalkboards
D. Teaching only the students who respond your emails
Answers:
Answers:
D
C
References:
References:
Redinger, J., Cornia, P., & Albert, T. (2020, August 01). Teaching during a pandemic. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://meridian.allenpress.com/jgme/article/12/4/403/445476/Teaching-During-a-Pandemic
Suffolk Public Schools. (2020, March). Pandemic Response Plan. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://www.spsk12.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_285949/File/Departments/Student%20Health/Pandemic%20Response%20Plan%202020.pdf
Suffolk Public Schools. (2020). SPS Health Dashboard. Retrieved February 02, 2021, from https://www.spsk12.net/covid-19_resources/sps_health_dashboard
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