Closing the Distance in Distance Ed
We're doing WHAT?!
My exact thoughts when I heard the news that schools were closing and going remote. Panic and anxiety immediately set in and then the stress about my students' welfare hit home because I taught in a low-income community. I was terrified for my kids' well-being and for their learning. We manage to muster through the remaining school year. Yes, it was a mess. Yes, it was a pivotal time of year for 1st graders. Yes, I felt like the worst teacher on the planet.
I was so relieved the school year was over and just knew everything would be ok when it was time for the next school year. Man was I wrong! I was voluntold that I would be teaching from my school but I would be teaching students whose parents did not want them to return in person. Bring on the panic all over again. How in the world was I going to teach 37 first graders through a computer?! Some of these kids had very little experience with technology and their parents had even less! So, I did what every teacher does, I cried about it, I got mad about it, and then I tackled it head on.
The Good
Remote learning is not ideal for any child in elementary school, but as a teacher, I had to make it ideal. These kids did not choose to live through a pandemic and they were not choosing to stay home, so I made it my choice to the absolute best I could for them everyday. Some of my best teaching came from this experience because I was forced to move way outside of my normal and way outside of my comfort zone. I have always loved technology and remote teaching gave me a way to excel in this area and research new methods of integrating technology with my students. Everyday brought on new challenges and I had to constantly figure out ways to transform my traditional content to something that was delivered through a screen but still engaging. I loved learning about programs such as Nearpod and going deeper with programs such as Flipgrid and Kahoot. I had also used these programs at a surface level because my students were always right in front of me. I also discovered these programs actually gave those students who were typically very reserved in a traditional classroom a voice. They felt empowered because they felt a different type of connection with their peers. They were comfortable and the computer screen actually brought them out of their shells. We started each day with a chat session so students could feel that emotional and social connection. It was a great way to learn about my students and for them to learn about me. I allowed myself to be more open with them and to have the freedom to ask my questions (within reason). It was amazing seeing student blossom and become comfortable and confident around one another.
"Cultivating personal relationships with students is the foundation to keeping them engaged in the interACTIVE classroom" (Merrill & Merrill, 2020, p. 45).
The Not So Good
While I did make every effort to build a positive, loving environment, there were still issues with students not having physical connections with their peers. Six and seven year old children need to interact with one another in order to learn about boundaries, emotions, social cues, etc. Some of this could be accomplished in some form through the computer but not enough. I struggled with not getting to hug my students if they were upset or giving them a high-five if they accomplished something that was important to them. These small gestures are taken for granted and I now realize how important of a role they play in a child's development.
Another issue I faced was students (and parents) did not take learning as seriously and were often distracted by their surroundings. Even after going over the "etiquette" of participating in an online environment, students would still leave their cameras off, not participate, display inappropriate things, etc. Parents were just as bad and would distract other students in the class. I felt defeated after so many of my Google Meet sessions because I felt that I delivered boring content and that I did not succeed in keeping their attention. It was absolutely exhausting!
IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!
I finally said this to myself and gave myself grace. According to Simonson et al., (2019, p. 8), "Training in effective instructional strategies is critical for teachers of distant learners." Well this a novel idea! How can teachers possibly deliver meaningful instruction when they have hadn't meaningful instruction themselves?! I literally felt like I was digging myself out of hole everyday and that hole was constantly being filled with quicksand. The key was engagement and engagement was hard with so many young kiddos. I really just wanted to tell them to go play outside everyday, but obviously that couldn't happen. I finally fell into a routine where I incorporate movement into my lessons and multisensory activities when introducing new skills. It wasn't perfect, but it helped.
Ultimately, "distance education can be as effective as any other category of instruction. Learning occurs and knowledge is retained" (Simonson et al., 2019, p. 9). Going forward, this must always be at the forefront of my mind, even when providing instruction to teachers virtually. Distance learning is not going away, in fact, it is more prominent now than ever. When creating courses, professional development sessions, or even conducting coaching cycles and conversations, I must always remember that the device is simply a tool but the way in which I connect with my "students" will ultimately be the deciding factor in their learning (Merrill & Merrill, 2020).
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| Created by April Maner |
References
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019) Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of Distance Education (7th ed.) IAP-Information Age Publishing, Inc.
3 comments
Reading how hard this was for other people too is a little bit like therapy for what we went through! I can't imagine online with first graders. Wow! I know that the pandemic teaching is not the true "distance learning" example, but I think we all have such scars it is difficult to separate them. We have to keep in mind, "Teaching with technology to learners who are not physically located in the same site where instruction is taking place requires a different set of skills and competencies than traditional education," (Zvacek et al., 2019, 122). I totally agree with what you said about the training, we are teachers and we can do anything and then we were thrown into this without the tools to do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious if this has set the online learning movement back, in an article I found parents interviewed now had a negative opinion of online learning with young children for three reasons, the shortcomings of online learning, young children's lack of self-regulation, and parents with little time to help (Dong, 2020).
References
Dong, C. Cao, S., & Li, H. (2020, September 8). Young children's online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents' beliefs and attitudes. NCBI. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7476883/
Zvacek, S., Simonson, M. R., & Smaldino, S. E. (2019). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education (M. R. Simonson, S. E. Smaldino, & S. Zvacek, Eds.). Information Age Publishing, Incorporated.
April, we would have made great emotional support buddies last year! :) I do struggled with many of the same things as you, expect my students were a little older. One of my biggest struggles was finding the most effective way to deliver my instruction. I ended up pre-recording lessons with Screencastify; me going over reading and language skills or working math problems. I would make a short video for each subject, instead of one long daily video, creating "chunks" which can lead to a more effective learning experience (Simonson, Zvacek, & Smaldino, 2019, p. 86).
ReplyDeleteAnother topic- the parents. GIRL... I could write a book on the strange conversations I had last year. But, with small children, I know you were even more involved with them. One of the qualities of a distance learner is that they are self-motivated to learn (Bhebhe & Maphosa, 2020). It's hard to get a first grader to understand WHY they have to do these things, and like you mentioned, not get to participate in any of the fun things. In the end, we all survived and learned more about ourselves and I truly believe we will be more resilient people for it!
References:
Bhebhe, S., & Maphosa, C. (2020). Examining the Learning Habits of Distance Education Learners in One Southern African University. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 257-268.
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019) Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of Distance Education (7th ed.) IAP-Information Age Publishing, Inc.
April,
ReplyDeleteI cannot even imagine what a challenge it was to teach that many first graders using distance education! In my opionion, first grade is one of the toughest and most pivotal years in school. In reading alone they have to grow five levels?!? I really connected with what you said about the social and emotional aspects too. I have a lot of students this year who are just now retruning to in-person instruction. They lack stamina, are easily irritated by classmates, and have trouble with typical age-appropriate conflict resolution. It makes sense though because they didn't have the same types of interactions with other students when they were learning from home. They could also take more breaks and be flexible with their work schedule. That's very different than being in the classroom from 8-3. In an article I read about distance edcuation during the pandemic, the authors talked about how teachers were forced to learn about how to use technology out of necessity (Tas, Eminoglu, Atila, Yildiz and Bozkurt, 2021). I spent hours researching how to use Google Classroom, Google Meet, Screensastify, and Kami. With proper design, distance education can be just as effective as tradtional instruction (Simonson, Zvacek, and Smaldino, 2019). From my personal experience though, my child in middle school did better than my elementary aged child. I think one of the differences was that my middle school child had more experience with using technology and had used a lot of engagement tools like FlipGrid in his GRC class. I think his material was easier to deliver in a digital setting. Plus, he could read. His teachers could provide articles or other texts to read independently. Many young elementary students cannot read or "read to learn" yet. It makes it more of a challenge to provide appropriate learning resources. A lot of what we do at the elementary level needs to be multi-sensory. I use manipulatives, movement, and songs when teaching math. It is certainly not impossible, but it takes thinking outside of the box to find ways to be effective teaching with distance education.
Thanks for sharing!
Valerie Matson
References
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (7th ed.). Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Tas, Y., Eminoglu, S., Atila, G., Yildiz, Y., & Bozkurt, U. (2021). Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and opinions about distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 22(4), p.229-253.