LEARNING & TEACHING During a Pandemic — by Shelly Hughes When the governor of Ohio announced that schools would be extending their spring breaks due to the Coronavirus, I was not sad. I was actually kind of, dare I say, gleeful. Education be damned! I could sure use a nice extra-long spring break. I loved the thought of not using my car all week or sitting in traffic. I could sleep in as I did not need to commute or pack a lunch daily. There would be no guilt over abandoning my dog and no more doggie daycare fees for a week. This was going to be awesome, I thought. Then, after our extra week of spring break was over, when we learned that we would be transitioning to distance learning indefinitely, buyers’ remorse settled in, and my journey of constant reflection and self-doubt began. At first, it was pretty practical - questions like: What did they still need to learn before sending them to the next grade level? What were areas of weakness that needed more attention? What was essential? What could I let go of? Who will struggle with this format? Whose parents need reassurance? Who needs what? My first-week-back-from-spring break lesson plans were completed before the break so that I could relax and enjoy my break without worrying about them. Now, my thoughts were will these lesson plans still work? What needs to be changed or modified? What materials do they need to do this from home? Will they be supported by their families? Would I be asking too much of them? What if I am asking too little? What are the rules for this? Do I bug them about missing work? How hard should I push them for more effort? What if parents are helping? How will I handle that? How do I keep them from bugging their parents? What needs to be communicated upfront? How do I find out what their parents are anticipating? Surveys were sent to students and their parents. Data was analyzed, and yeah, it was looking like we were all on the same page, and my goal was to make school as normal as possible. For us, digital-school was just like in-person school. I set up our Zoom meeting times for the same times that things happened at school: Morning Meeting at 8:30, with Word Work right after. Theme at 9:30, followed by a break for lunch. Math at noon, and ELA at 1:30. We did not stay in our Zoom meetings the entire time. We met at the beginning and I taught the mini-lesson and then released the children to work, much like Samantha Bennett of the Workshop Model taught me. We came together after a bit to share our learning and produced work. Then it was break time till the next meeting. We thought of breakout rooms like working at tables in our classroom. The kids were put in them to work together, and I circulated from room to room, answering questions, and checking their thinking and work. Those who needed a less social space, worked in a breakout room, alone or with one partner. My students were happy.
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PEN The Journal of the Progressive Education Network Spring 2021
