On Break During Quarantine
In the midst of the COVID-19 Quarantine, my cooperating center is starting its Easter/Spring break. The students and teachers have been working hard these past few weeks of quarantine. With the teachers working to create a workable curriculum that the students can complete at home. While the students learn how to best manage their time to complete their assignments.
This has been a time of trial and error for many teachers and students. With most of them being unused to making or taking online classes there has been a learning curve. Some schools already have a system in place for online instruction. This has allowed some teachers extra time to prepare their curriculum for the rest of the quarantine, as they already have some materials prepared for their students. Other schools had no system ready for remote instruction. Teachers were left to create an instructional plan for their students with little to no pre-planned material.
This difference in teacher preparedness also leads to a difference in student reaction. Students whose teachers didn’t have as much material prepared beforehand may have a more difficult time making a schedule for themselves. This could be due, in part, to the students being given an unstructured learning environment.
I have been lucky enough to still be student teaching during the quarantine. This allows me to learn directly from my cooperating teacher and the other teachers that I am working with. They have given me different ideas for how to run a class if a similar situation comes up during my professional teaching career. Granted the circumstances are likely to be different, but it is good to have an understanding of how to react to a certain situation.
The students of Northern Burlington Regional School district are currently enjoying their spring break experience. They have been working hard these past few weeks and deserve a break during this stressful time, as do the teachers. Once they return to their online instruction, they should have a better handle on this situation.
Abbie, to address your question, I think that we will identify students who learn well this way and others who do not. My district was looking at moving into Mass Customized Learning and adding some hybrid courses and more online learning options. I think this allows for better decisions in moving into these models and how students best learn. On the flip side, I see students being challenged to learn how to fully utilize their laptops instead of just mastering their phones and using their learning management systems fully which is a skill they would need if they choose a post-secondary education option.
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