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Research Summary 1

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020, March 27). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Er.Educause.Edu. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning

The events of COVID-19 have called educators to implement educational plans and activities that are very different from typical online education.  To researchers, decades of study has been resourced to establish the definitions and models that are used for the terms: distance learning, distributed learning, blended learning, online learning and many others.  The authors describe how a new term, emergency remote teaching (ERT) is needed.  They outline the differences between the thoughtful design and development of online learning which very often takes months, with the crisis-driven approach that ERT requires.

Top Tips/AHA Moments: 

5 Key Takeaways Regarding Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT)

  1.   From research: effective online learning results from careful instructional design and planning.
  2.   Researchers identify nine online learning dimensions (modality, pacing, student-instructor ratio, pedagogy, role of online assessments, instructor role online, student role online, online communication synchrony and source of feedback).  Each of these has various options that must be considered.
  3.   Like face-to-face education, effective online education requires a maturely developed ecosystem of support mechanisms for the learner.
  4.   By definition, ERT is temporary – it is a temporary shift of instructional delivery that is due to crisis.  The assumption is that ERT does not and should not become a long-term state.
  5.   Similar to the Information Technology and Business concept of Continuity of Operations (CoOP), educational institutions need to explicitly plan for Continuity of Instruction.

Research Summary 2

Ross, A., & DiSalvo, M. (2020). Negotiating displacement, regaining community: The Harvard Language Center’s response to the COVID‐19 crisis. Foreign Language Annals, Foreign Language Annals, 2020.

As part of Quarenteaching, it is critical that educators share lessons learned as they neogtiate the impacts of the global pandemic.  In this paper, the authors share their experience at Harvard University’s Language Center as they pivot to address the challenges of new constraints.  The team discusses changes in communications, support mechanisms, and operational policies.  They conclude by describing  lessons learned thus far.

Top Tips/AHA Moments: 

7 Key Takeaways Regarding Harvard’s Lessons Learned

  1.   Harvard is surprisingly dependent on face to face instruction – so this is an example of highly local enterprises where 98% of students live in university housing.
  2.   The implementation of a recommendation to use short videos is seen as a way to provide a sense of “presence” that was suddenly missing.
  3.   The team took lessons from their own “Language Tandems” learning experiences where students were connected through technology to a native speaker of another langauge.  The scheduled interactions were 1/2 in English and 1/2 in the other language.  These have been very successful for many years prior to COVID and can be leveraged as an example of successful community building and engagement.
  4.   The team recommended helping student workers transition to online remote work.
  5.   Set realistic expectations – the ones you had previously no doubt need to be shifted.
  6.   Avoid “Zoom fatigue” by encouraging judicious use of videoconferencing.
  7.   Leverage the technology you already have and you already know, and maintain open lines of communication across functions and staff/student levels.

Research Summaries of Group Colleagues’ Work

Summary of Amy’s Research Presentation

Jorgensen, R. (2020, June 9). A focus on empathy in distance learning. Edutopia.  https://www.edutopia.org/article/focus-empathy-distance-learning

Amy describes this resource as emphasizing that remote learning can be especially difficult for kids.  The focus on written language as a way to disseminate information can be daunting and difficult for children, depending on their age and verbal/linguistic ability.  The article discusses how kids need to receive curriculum via multiple delivery methods.  In addition, the resource reminds us that we cannot assume that kids have appropriate support mechanisms at home and that it is critical that we rethink how we hold kids accountable, viewing it through the lens of empathy rather than our standard lenses.

Fleming, N. (2020, April 24). Why Are Some Kids Thriving During Remote Learning? Edutopia.  https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-are-some-kids-thriving-during-remote-learning

Amy describes this resource as focusing on the positives of Quaranteaching and how it has actually been good for some students.  It outlines factors like student distractions are absent, pressure to achieve is lessened, students are not over-extended with curriculum and co-curricular activities or other events.  In a review of the positives there is a realization of the benefits of students doing work at their own pace.

Summary of Meg’s Research Presentation

Burns, M. (2020, May 26). Getting ready to teach next year. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/getting-ready-teach-next-year

In a review of the past few months, it is clear that educators have been operating in crisis mode.  The resource outlines ideas for how educators can address the next year.  Meg highlights the following ideas from the resource:

  • Be proactive, balance structure and flexibility and determine which curriculum should be online vs. saved for in-person, listen to students in their requests for more collaboration, more choice and more personal choice in their learning.
  • Listen to teachers in their need to be prepared, desire to learn how to manage an online classroom and connect with students.
  • Recognize the need for the districts to help by preparing students in not only tech, but in the skills of time management and digital citizenship.

Ferlazzo, L. (2020, April 14). 7 tips for remote teaching [Infographic]. Education Week.  https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2020/04/infographic_7_tips_for_remote_teaching.html

Meg highlights the resource’s metaphorical description of Quaranteaching as “. . . trying to build a plane while flying it.”  The author outlines 7 or more tips to help with remote teaching including such things as providing more feedback, emphasizing social-emotional learning, delivering curriculum within a context of care and several others.  Meg also summarized how the article states that, right now, all teachers are new teachers and there is a need to rethink delivery.

Summary of Joelle’s Research Presentation

Tombrella, A. (2020, May 18). Revising your teaching philosophy for this crisis. Edutopia.  https://www.edutopia.org/article/revising-your-teaching-philosophy-crisis

Written from the perspective of a teacher, the resource describes his failure in trying to directly translate face-to-face teaching to the remote environment.  To address the failure, this educator decided he needed to review and revise his own teaching philosophy.  As he reviewed it, he shortened his existing statements and highlighted 3 main points: concepts are crucial, process over product and relationship is key.  From there, he created a new educational framework and charted a path forward consistent with his revised philosophy.

Woods, A., Pettit, S., & Pace, C. (2020). Quaranteaching in the time of Covid-19: Exemplar from a middle grades virtual classroom. Becoming: Journal of the Georgia Association for Middle Level Education, 31(1), 14-25. https://doi.org/10.20429/becoming.2020.310103

This resource was written in a format of a teacher’s journal entries.  It described various problems and the approach that this educator used to address the issues.  In the example cited by Joelle, the teacher had difficulty getting kids to show up.  After multiple approaches failed, she finally surveyed the students for what would work for them.  After she implemented the suggestions, participation increased.  The author highlighted culture and collaboration, and that in solving problems, it is ok to start with small solutions and build from there.

Presentation on Remote Teaching

Remote Teaching Presentation (pdf)

My Personal Reflections on Remote Teaching/Quaranteaching

Final Reflections

When I first started researching this topic, the assumptions that I had were that educators were mostly struggling with the implementation of the technology associated with the topic and that the COVID-19 remote teaching was similar to online learning in general.  What I learned, was that the current state of remote teaching is a fundamental shift in education as a whole and is calling upon administrators, teachers, students, parents and the public at large to transform the way we think about, develop policies for, and deliver education.

Initially, I was most curious about finding the methods and practices that seem to work the best for both teacher and learner in delivering the ‘aha’ moment across the distance and in preserving the relational connection as much as possible.  As I continued to learn more about the topic, I realized how much the current shift has disrupted Maslow’s hierarchy and that everyone needs to be ok with compromises in learning goals – at least for now.  I also realized the dramatic difference in online learning during normal circumstances and during time periods of crisis.

The lasting impact I have related to this topic is a shining realization of how much teachers truly are lifelong learners and how much they value the profession to which they are called.  The colleagues that I encountered are amazingly resilient people.  They are individuals who show a dedicated passion to discover what works best for students.  By exhibiting an open striving to understand how remote teaching is different than “normal” teaching, they elicit from me a deep respect and admiration for the work that they do, and how deeply they need to connect with students.  Pivoting seems not just a technique that they need to learn, but a mystery that must be solved.

Some ways I can continue my growth in this topic are to connect and integrate my previous learning with the content and tools from the curriculum.  In addition, it is important to me that I apply these personal ‘aha’ moments to both my own life and encounters with others, helping them make meaning in a world presently in a turmoil of heightened chaos.  Re-engaging with the university after so many years, I also feel it is critical that I continue to remain open and listen, challenging my own internal status quo to discover new paths forward.

Initial Reflections

a. How do you see this issue impacting your classroom/work life?

What is really interesting regarding Remote Teaching is that I have had the privilege of working with some kind of remote technology for about the past 22 years of my professional life.  In my current 9 to 5 job I have worked remotely full time for several years, and my typical day consists of online meetings with colleagues around the world.  So, the extension of the “remoteness” is familiar to me, however I continue to question the toll that missing human to human direct contact is having on all of us.

b. What are the specific challenges you face regarding this issue?

From an educational viewpoint, I am facing the challenges of wrestling with technology or learning an online tool rather than spending time on the content area of focus.  Even with my long experience with technology, and sometimes because of it, the amount of time chewed up by figuring out what buttons to push to get something to look like you want it to can be enormous.  In addition, I face the challenges of feeling that students are cheated from more rigorous discourse as the technology can diminish the nature and fervor of passionate teaching.

c. What have you tried to address this issue or incorporate this trend in your classroom/work life?

A critical piece is to continue to include those things that make us human into our meetings and making a priority relational connections during our remote interactions.  Interjecting questions like, “how are you really doing” and listening to responses.  I find that sharing humor and situational challenges with each other is very important to humanize the electrons flowing back and forth.

d. What are you most curious about related to this issue?

I am most curious about finding the methods and practices that seem to work the best for both teacher and learner in delivering the ‘aha’ moment across the distance and in preserving the relational connection as much as possible.  Since I have expertise in the technology side, and given that this remote world is likely here to stay, I want to leverage both of these facts to learn how to be a ‘go-to’ educator who can preserve the best of what technology has to offer while delivering an emotive educational journey that helps students create the meaning they need in their lives.

Top Tips on Remote Teaching

Dave’s Top Tips

  1.   From research: effective online learning results from careful instructional design and planning.
  2.   Researchers identify nine online learning dimensions (modality, pacing, student-instructor ratio, pedagogy, role of online assessments, instructor role online, student role online, online communication synchrony and source of feedback).  Each of these has various options that must be considered.
  3.   Like face-to-face education, effective online education requires a maturely developed ecosystem of support mechanisms for the learner.
  4.   By definition, ERT is temporary – it is a temporary shift of instructional delivery that is due to crisis.  The assumption is that ERT does not and should not become a long-term state.
  5.   Similar to the Information Technology and Business concept of Continuity of Operations (CoOP), educational institutions need to explicitly plan for Continuity of Instruction.
  6.   Harvard is surprisingly dependent on face to face instruction – so this is an example of highly local enterprises where 98% of students live in university housing.  Recognize the composition of your current environment and identify the gap you need to cross in implementation of new processes.
  7.   The implementation of a recommendation to use short videos is seen as a way to provide a sense of “presence” that was suddenly missing.
  8.   The team took lessons from their own “Language Tandems” learning experiences where students were connected through technology to a native speaker of another langauge.  The scheduled interactions were 1/2 in English and 1/2 in the other language.  These have been very successful for many years prior to COVID and can be leveraged as an example of successful community building and engagement.
  9.   Helping student workers transition to online remote work.
  10.   Set realistic expectations – the ones you had previously no doubt need to be shifted.
  11.   Avoid “Zoom fatigue” by encouraging judicious use of videoconferencing.
  12.   Leverage the technology you already have and you already know, and maintain open lines of communication across functions and staff/student levels.

Meg’s Top Tip’s

  1. Students don’t care what you teach until you teach them that you care
  2. Keep lessons and explanations simple
  3. Empathy is key – for your students, parents, colleagues and yourself
  4. Get student input about how they want to do things or what is most helpful to them
  5. Have clear expectations for students, but also teach them the skills they need to succeed in a remote learning setting (seeking help, creating routine, etc.)
  6. Rethink curriculum and the delivery of it – what are the most important learning targets and how to engage students with that learning
  7. Hold office hours for questions but also to maintain relationships.
  8. Reflect on teaching philosophy and create a framework that ensures lessons meet that philosophy
  9. Always consider your purpose. Is what you are asking your students to do really necessary?

Joelle’s Top Tips

  1. Keep the students’ social-emotional needs at the front of all decisions you make.
  2. Think about the purpose of what you are asking students to do. Is it really necessary?
  3. Find ways to allow students to collaborate with each other and the teacher.
  4. Be forgiving and understand that this type of environment is not easy for most people.
  5. Seek for your students’ input on their needs.

Amy’s Top Tips

  1. Keep the students’ social-emotional needs at the front of all decisions you make.
  2. Find ways to allow students to collaborate with each other by making the assignments interactive and student focused.
  3. Offer flexibility and understanding to students and parents (and yourself).
  4. Keep all written communication as clear and concise as possible.
  5. Provide video directions to accompany text as often as you can.
  6. Decrease quantity and increase quality. Be selective with the content you choose to deliver, and cut out superfluous information.

Additional Resources

Dave’s Additional Resources

Remote Teaching Resource Center. (2020, June 1). Hey Teach! https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/remote-teaching-resource-center2004.html

The Keys to Online Learning for Adults: The Six Principles of Andragogy, Part III – ProQuest. (n.d.). Search.Proquest.Com. Retrieved July 2, 2020, from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1822357259?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true

Rasmussen, K. (2018). Looking Beyond Institutional Boundaries: Examining Adults’ Experience of Choosing Online as Part of Their Post-Secondary Studies. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(5). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i5.3624

Arghode, V., Brieger, E.W. and McLean, G.N. (2017), “Adult learning theories: implications for online instruction”, European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 41 No. 7, pp. 593-609. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-02-2017-0014

Kearns, L. R. (2016). The experience of teaching online and its impact on faculty innovation across delivery methods. The Internet and Higher Education, 31, 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.06.005

Meg’s Additional Resources

Cooper, S. (2020, May 22). Distance learning strategies to bring back to the classroom. Edutopia.  https://www.edutopia.org/article/distance-learning-strategies-bring-back-classroom

Lieberman, M. (2020, April 10). 6 tips for teaching remotely over the long haul of the coronavirus. Education Week.    https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2020/04/six_tips_for_teaching_remotely.html

Sessums, M. (2020, May 26). Lessons from Alliance Française: how to make online French classes successful. France Today.  https://www.francetoday.com/learn/french-language/how-to-make-online-classes-successful/

Trust, T. (2020, April 2). The 3 biggest remote teaching concerns we need to solve now  https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-04-02-the-3-biggest-remote-teaching-concerns-we-need-to-solve-now

Wexler, N. (2020, April 8). 7 tips to help make remote learning more effective. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2020/04/08/7-tips-to-help-make-remote-learning-more-effective/#21c432262c3e

Remote teaching good practices: beyond the tech. (2020). Dartmouth.  https://sites.dartmouth.edu/teachremote/remote-teaching-good-practices/