Our new normal

On March 2, 2020, all schools in Lebanon were ordered to close. It was a government decision bowing to the legitimate fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 1.2 million children2 were suddenly homebound.

They were supposed to go back to school in a week.

They didn’t.

The same scenario was repeated around the world. It was the largest disruption of education in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries across the continents. Effectively, 94 percent of the world’s student population had become schoolless3 . In the international school arena, and amid a pandemic terrorizing all nations, the challenge thrust upon them was massive: how to keep education going?

The pressure on international schools

Courtesy of Adrienne Hedger, www.HedgerHumor.com was tremendous. They are the leaders. The innovators. The ones that rose above the global divide and the ones who are paid the ‘big bucks’ to produce the finest, well rounded, highly educated future leaders.

The network of international schools went into full action. Webinars – dozens of them - were held, attended by heads of schools, and other administrators. How to maintain the high standards? What works and what doesn’t? What did you do, and what did the others do?

“Everybody was sharing their experiences, sharing what their government guidelines were, and we all held comparisons,” said IC president Joel Peinado. “We at IC participated in all webinars to see what were the international standards, what and how they were doing so that we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

At first, the aim was straightforward. We all have – or can purchase - top technological devices and software. Put them to work. Let’s finish off the year.

IC, like the rest of its sister schools, did just that. The school was well prepared for the unforeseen thanks to the October revolution that forced many schools to shut down early last year. IC quickly implemented a Virtual Learning Environment, which involved intensively training teachers to use the latest web tools and stay up to par with their digital native students. And so it was that teachers and students automatically took their places behind their screens, and learning continued.

As COVID-19 showed no signs of vanishing, reopening of schools seemed highly improbable. As early as May, educators began toying with the concept of a hybrid education.

“International schools started creating teams. Each school was coming out with its own policies and procedures,” said Peinado. “We shared the measures and standards. There was really a lot of information going back and forth. We agreed that the only way forward was to go hybrid.”

A HYBRID EDUCATION:

WHAT’S THAT?

The story goes that about ten years ago, administrators at a liberal art university in Utah were trying to come with a way of starting a new online master’s degree. The program had to be malleable enough to allow full-time working professionals to study autonomously while having frequent interaction with their instructors. Thus the birth of the hybrid system. Little did these administrators know that their little idea would end up playing a crucial role in keeping education going a few years later.

So what exactly is hybrid? Basically, the hybrid model is a meticulously planned blend of both traditional classroom instruction and online learning activities. The model requires that students attend class inperson, while others join classes virtually from home. Teachers could be remote or in class. Hybrid classes include asynchronous learning elements, for example, online exercises and pre-recorded video instruction, to support face-to-face classroom sessions. Of course, the latest technological tools and software are essential for this model to work.

Hybrid is more work on both sides. Teachers have to tailor their class contents to assign active-learning assignments such as self-tests, tutorials, and online group projects, while students have to actively master the subject by participating in group discussions and collaborating online with other students.

IC GOES HYBRID

It dawned very quickly on IC’s administration that investment into hybrid learning is essential - despite the ongoing economic crisis.

“When we realized that we would be in the same situation if not worse for the coming year,” said Peinado, “we appealed to the board.”

Would they support the rather sizable investment?

The board quickly approved the budget allocated, and the necessary devices were procured. Operation ‘Hybrid IC’ was ready to be launched.

PROS AND CONS OF

ONLINE EDUCATION

As they say, nothing is perfect. Among the pros are collaborative learning experiences, better communication, self-reliant students, flexibility, and a time-saver. An exciting pro is the opportunity to do online projects with students from other schools in other countries, “an open group work,” said Peinado, adding that another significant plus is the apparent calm in nursery students who arrived at IC tear-

free. They had already met their teachers online and were very excited to see them in person finally.

The cons are: over-dependence on technology, instability of the electricity and wifi in Lebanon, the lack of teacher control over students (the reality is that students could easily snooze, play online games, or watch Netflix during the sessions), the ease of cheating during tests, and mainly “the fact that kids are missing the social aspect,” said Peinado. “The social-emotional development of the student is an important aspect of schooling.”

AN ARCHAIC EDUCATION?

Many in the world of education have long called for a change in the schooling system. In his 2001 essay, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Marc Prensky – a writer and speaker who first coined the term ‘digital natives’ – argued that “students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.”

It was a call that got much attention, and indeed many schools, including IC, took many small steps towards the needed change.

“But in only a few months, we (global educators) were able to do what would have taken years to accomplish under normal circumstances,” said Peinado.

LEBANON, OH LEBANON

Students could understandably be rattled between a revolution, an economic crisis, a pandemic, and an explosion. “Yes, it’s bad, but it’s also our chance as IC to get creative and evolve,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Paula Mufarrij. “The question is: how can we go beyond?”

The answer came quite directly from the Danielson Framework for Teaching model that IC adopted last year.

“Many of our recommendations to prioritize family engagement and student wellbeing are applicable in all contexts during this time,” stated the 2020 Danielson Group Framework for remote teaching.

Let’s do just that, thought Mufarrij and called on counselors and administrators to map the locations of students’ homes – especially those living in the vicinity of the August 4 blast, which killed almost 200 people, injured hundreds, and left thousands homeless.

Over the next few days, Mufarrij and the counselors called hundreds of families to check on the students and their families’ wellbeing. (Sadly, a few children were found in hospitals – all have now recuperated. Tragically, some lost parents or close family members).

“If we didn’t reach out and tell our families that we care, then we could not possibly have started this new adventure together operating under so much stress and pressure,” she said. “So the way we evolved was by creating this very strong sense of community.”

As the country’s problems increased, Mufarrij asked the Human Resources Department to map teachers’ homes. Just in case. “We need to know where everyone lives,” she said, “so we know where to reach out as quickly as possible and provide the necessary support.”

THE BRAINWAVE

Call it what you want, but it seemed like a premonition. During the October revolution, IC administrators had an epiphany of sorts. A brainwave.

“We realized that we couldn’t cover the curriculum in its minute details anymore,” said Mufarrij. “This crisis had become our new normal. We may not be able to continue with our curriculum. So we made a decision: we go back to basics. Let’s map the curriculum.”

This meant going through every subject and extracting the major ideas and concepts. From there, teachers deduced the needed skills that students needed to acquire to grasp those main ideas. In other words, rote memory is out. Research skills, tutorials, YouTube videos, webinars are in – otherwise known as flipped learning.

Only a few days into the revolution, IC launched its Virtual Learning. 4 Environment (VLE). Its efforts in training the teachers in technology tools paid off: lessons continued as usual. The brainwave was IC’s saving grace when

only five months later, COVID-19 hit and mayhem prevailed in many schools, IC simply slipped into familiar territory. On Friday, schools were suspended. On Tuesday, IC was fully operational - online. Teachers and students automatically took their places across their computers. It was school as usual.

TEACHERS: THE COURAGEOUS

SOULS ON THE FRONT LINE

At the end of the day, the brunt of the work falls on the shoulders of teachers who are acutely aware that these new systems’ success relies on them. The pressure is understandably on. There is no place for camera-shy teachers.

“It’s not easy for teachers to face the camera and find a way to express their ideas,” said Mufarrij, “and on top of it, parents are more than ever witnesses.”

For example, online teaching did not come naturally to Ain Aar elementary school instructor, Rosemary

Assemaani. Timid at first, it took her time to warm up to the camera. “But day after day, I got used to it and felt more comfortable, especially because I was becoming more of an expert in the field of technology.

And of course, knowing that parents were watching me was unnerving, especially at the beginning of the year, because they didn’t know me yet, and I felt like I was being judged.”

Ras Beirut middle school teacher

Hania Abu Rihan, actually enjoys having parents join in the lessons. “They can witness their children’s behavior first hand,” she said. “Some are not the angels they seem to be!”

Both teachers report a challenge in keeping their students’ attention. While Abu Rihan relies on “breakout rooms and popcorn questions” to keep them focused, Assemaani is continuously thinking of activities where her young students have to think, research, listen, ask questions, and give opinions.

In secondary school, Marina Baltikian reported that although she has now adjusted to online teaching, it definitely requires more up-front work. Furthermore, getting students to engage in online learning is proving to be a challenge. “Virtual environments have the potential to be cold and mechanical,” she explained. “I try to incorporate humor to make the e-learning experience more fun. I try to incorporate direct interaction as often as possible. Moreover, students must be constantly encouraged to actively participate, since they are at home, in their comfort zones.”

While appreciative of the technology, all three teachers are longing for the return of face-to-face classes.

Technically speaking, teachers’ training in technology began ten years ago when IC integrated IT into its classrooms. Then hundreds of ‘old’ teachers in Ras Beirut and Ain Aar (“old” defined as anyone born in the pre-internet era or in other words, over the age of 20) went through a series of intensive workshops to learn to deal with the latest web tools. As those tools evolved, so did the training. In fact, the last workshop was held just before the October revolution broke out last year. With the spread of COVID, the workshops continue through webinars and Zoom sessions.

“It’s not just about technology,” said Mufarrij, “teachers learn the right way to address the camera, how to get the attention of the kids through visuals, how to speak, how to pronounce things, how to smile. It’s a whole series of training.”

As a result, Mufarrij reported that most teachers had shifted easily into the online and hybrid system.

FUTURE OF EDUCATION AT

IC: CAN WE EVER GO BACK TO TRADITIONAL?

“We are IC, we have to go beyond,” said Mufarrij. “That is what excellence means. So the question is: what are we going to do to keep on the path of excellence?”

One thing is for sure: going back to traditional teaching is unfathomable. “Our students have become free learners,” said Mufarijj. “Technology has become deeply ingrained in the lessons. Our kids now expect feedback, not lectures. Our curriculum has changed. It could never go back.”

In short, COVID has inadvertently produced students who progressively became owners of their learning. A teacher’s role has shifted from imparting knowledge to their students to facilitating their learning through research, discussions, and collaborative work.

“These are skills that we want students to acquire,” said Peinado. “Kids are becoming active agents of their own learning and have more power. We will capitalize on that.”