Jan 28

The Efficacy of Virtual Instruction in K12 Education: A Review of the Literature, Georgia State U

“General themes of best practices inferred from these works include
• providing clear explanations and scaffolding in the virtual setting,
• incorporating peer and teacher interactions and feedback,
• using games and simulations to help keep students engaged, and
• being sure material and technological support are available.

One area where existing research yields strong and consistent evidence is the use of informational nudges to promote engagement in online learning. Several studies have demonstrated that simple information
messages or “nudges” can significantly boost engagement in remote learning and lead to improved student outcomes.” Read literature survey

Jan 28

Remote learning is here to stay: RAND report key US findings

  • Among a wide variety of school instructional and staffing matters, three widely shared concerns rose to the top for district leaders for the 2020–2021 school year:
  • 1. disparities in students’ opportunities to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic,
  • 2. students’ social and emotional learning needs, and
  • 3. insufficient funding to cover staff. Read report

Jan 25

Survey: Students Want More Opportunities to Connect With Teachers During the Pandemic: Education Week

When asked what would be most helpful to their learning right now, students emphasized student-teacher connections and individual support. The top four things that students said would be “very helpful” were:

  • More interaction between teachers and students
  • Additional tutoring to help them catch up and stay on track
  • Faster grading and feedback from teachers
  • More one-on-one time with teachers Read article

Jan 25

Tracking attendance as pandemic stretches presents challenges for school districts

Nearly two semesters into the pandemic, there’s still no national picture of whether students are actually getting instruction, and ongoing changes to the way states track attendance may mean more students could slip through schools’ radar. Read Education Week article

Jan 25

62,596 Years of Instruction Are Lost Annually, and It Has Nothing to Do With COVID

  • The National Education Policy Center (US) highlighted 5 areas of disparities for students of colour and students with disabilities:
  • 1. Black males lose more learning time to suspensions than any other racial/gender group
  • 2. Rates of days lost to suspension are much higher for students with disabilities
  • 3. Out of school suspension rates appear to be declining in the US
  • Read article with charts

Jan 25

How an Indigenous land-based learning approach to STEM could help students across Canada: Toronto Star

“Bringing learning outdoors, while connecting students to STEM through traditional Indigenous teachings is the idea behind Actua’s Indigenous Youth in STEM program. And now, it’s working to bring its program to school boards across Canada…Especially with the need for ventilation and physical distancing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the perfect time for school boards to really explore opportunities to move class outside, InSTEM director Doug Dokis said, and the pay off of experiential learning can benefit all students.” Read article

Jan 25

Relational scavenger hunt – online version from restorativeteachingtools.com

OBJECTIVE: Participants will build relationships, get to know each other, and laugh together over Zoom!

MATERIALS A list of scavenger hunt prompts for participants to find objects in response to. A Zoom account or other video chat software that allows all participants to see each other in gallery mode.

INSTRUCTIONS Start by explaining that this is a scavenger hunt in which participants will be asked to run around their homes (or wherever they are) to find objects that relate to a list of prompts. Whoever collects objects for the greatest number of prompts will win (just like a regular scavenger hunt). Participants will have a limited amount of time (2 minutes) to collect all objects, so this game is about speed and fun! Begin with a scavenger hunt warm-up round to get people energized. Announce one item that everyone must find, and give them a really short amount of time to find it. Read activity

Jan 16

A daily class ritual of dedicating the day’s learning builds community and trust and helps teachers get to know their students

Starting a school day in person or remotely can build class community by reminding everyone that “the opportunity to come together and learn alongside one another—even virtually—is something special and should not be taken for granted. For those of us teaching remotely, the daily dedication can still help infuse the online space with genuine humanity. You can even make a collage out of the students’ dedicatees to use as digital wallpaper for virtual class meetings or your course homepage.” Watch the short video at the end of this article of a student dedicating the day’s learning to her mom and grandmother.

Jan 16

A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching the Colonization of the Americas

“Trauma-informed teaching isn’t just about reaching students who have a history of adverse childhood experiences and may have specific learning needs as a result. It’s also about managing the emotional reactions that both students and teachers may have when sensitive topics are introduced into the classroom. Teaching about the colonization of the Americas means tackling tough subjects such as genocide, the abuse of Indigenous children in boarding and residential schools, the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, slavery, systemic racism, and oppression. These topics are a necessary part of the curriculum if we are to make sense of the world today, but they can also be difficult for some students to handle.” Read article from Edutopia

Jan 16

A Turning Point for Combating Chronic Absenteeism in American Schools by Gabby Smith

“If the state of absenteeism was dismal pre-pandemic, there are only more factors that could contribute to widening the racial-economic attendance gap in our current situation. While it is too early to have a full understanding of the damaging effects of coronavirus on attendance, we know there are additional barriers to attendance: lack of internet access, health concerns, and rising economic instability, to name a few…The shift from simply keeping track of attendance to actively reaching out to struggling students and families may seem subtle, but it could have life-altering positive consequences. ” Read article