I am a firm believer in the power of our role as educators to develop our future world leaders, and this global pandemic is testing how we utilize our role as educators to continue this pursuit. The idea of teaching and learning had to be re-imagined and reinvented. I have witnessed the power of compassion, grace, determination, heartache, and the relentless fortitude our students and teachers have to embrace and persevere to continue the learning process. We will soon be approaching an anniversary that I never imagined would become a reality in education. This anniversary marks one year since I have welcomed students and teachers into the school.
This virtual learning environment in which we were thrust last spring has been a source of frustration, celebration, and nearly every emotion in between. I have spent countless hours reading articles that highlight the varied successes and failures of a virtual environment, and now as schools begin to reopen for in-person learning, schools are working diligently to problem solve how to safely return students to learn while also maximizing the time teachers teach and interact with students. The articles I found are also varied with regards to 100% in-person models, 2 days of in-person/2 days asynchronous learning models.
Last June, as I wrestled with the decision to implement a hybrid learning model for my elementary school, I asked myself, “What if we could take the teacher-student interaction power of in-person teaching and implement it within a hybrid 2 days of in-person learning and 2 days of virtual learning model, so the teacher can teach all students synchronously for 4 days?”
Unprecedented Times call for Unprecedented Questions
“How could I provide 4 days of live synchronous learning when teachers only see students 2 days per week?” I lost too many nights in pursuit of the answer to this question. This unprecedented time has created more questions than answers, and I commend schools and parents for their work keeping the focus on student learning. I am so proud to work with professionals who not only seek to find the answers. They work to create answers.
Unprecedented Questions lead to an Unprecedented Answer
In early July, I created a model that answered the question. There was a way to provide 4 days of live teacher-led instruction with 2 days of in-school learning and 2 days of virtual learning using a school’s existing learning platform. I volunteered to pilot this model to showcase how it could revolutionize the way we both teach and learn during this unprecedented time in the world’s history.
After implementing this model at my elementary school and having a Youtube video made highlighting the impact 4 days of live learning can have on teachers and students, I have schools and school systems reaching out to find out how it can be done.
“This is as close to real teaching as you can get right now.”
“This could be the answer we need.”
“I know what we currently do doesn’t work, and we came across the video of what could work.”
These are common themes that develop during my recent conversations with various schools. It is so rewarding to work with schools to help create a model that utilizes their current learning platform (Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate, and Google Classroom) and low-cost technology to create a 4-day live learning environment for teachers and students.
This model supports the 2 days of ‘in-person’ learning and 2 days of virtual learning while allowing the teacher to do what they do best…. teach and connect with their students.
Highlights of this model include:
- Four days of live teacher-led instruction for both in-person and virtual students.
- Teachers teach and interact with all of their students during the school day.
- In-Person and virtual students interact with each other.
- Teachers provide teacher-led live synchronous instruction, so parents/caregivers no longer serving as the “teacher” for asynchronous days.
- Teachers no longer need to create videos of themselves teaching lessons for virtual students to keep pace with the same lessons they are teaching in-person students.
- Teachers no longer need to create learning packets to cover material on the days students are virtual.
- Utilize your existing learning platform and low-cost technology to give all students 100% live teacher-led instruction.
Please contact me to learn more about this model and how I can help your school. We are all in this together, and there is a way. This is a reality, and this is modern learning.
Modern Learning LLC, "Educating for tomorrow" 