Teaching Today
Finding Silver Linings In Remote Learning By Jessica More
As lifetime learners themselves, many of EA’s teachers chose to view times of remote learning as both a challenge and an opportunity. “I have been teaching a long time. I’ve always thought to myself that if I’m not changing things in my own practices, if I’m not trying to keep the same skills but approach it differently, I’m going to get bored,” said Visual Art Department Chair David Sigel, Hon. “I’m not sure that anybody was ready for how this all came about, but it has been a wonderful experience and a very amazing reflective tool as a teacher.” After the “emergency” period of remote learning ended in the spring 2020, many faculty took part in an online certification course organized by Episcopal’s Center for Teaching and Learning over the summer. “The online certification introduced me to a lot of different ways to reach kids virtually through different programs and collaborations,” said 2nd Grade Teacher Cathie Hicks. In a cohort of PreK to 2nd grade teachers, Ms. Hicks and her colleagues reviewed things that went well in their classrooms in the spring, and brainstormed solutions for the challenges they had faced. In particular, they spent some time planning activities to help create a sense of community in a virtual classroom.
Adjunct Visual Arts Teacher Taj Cannon ’14 was grateful to the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for helping him use remote learning tools at the beginning of fall semester.
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Connections
The changes were not as onerous for EA teachers as they could have been, in part because of the work of the Center for Teaching and Learning. “The CTL is a godsend,” said Middle School English Teacher Mark Luff, Hon. “The course that they offered us last summer was extraordinary. I’m using ideas from that on a constant basis. We were one of the few schools that handled it with the least amount of upheaval because we had already had CTL helping us with how to switch some of our teaching from the classroom to online platforms.”
