Early in the pandemic, distance learning was just that: instruction from a distance designed for remote delivery. We all brushed up on our understanding of synchronous and asynchronous learning. As teachers innovated, we learned about what works best in asynchronous situations, including interactive videos of
As school divisions across the globe map out their re-opening plans, never has the importance of high-quality, high-impact teaching been greater. For many of us, this teaching will take a variety of forms from 100% virtual learning to a hybrid of face-to-face and remote learning.
Math practice doesn’t have to be all exercises and worksheets. You know that, but do your students’ parents know that? Families probably know far more about teaching now after supervising hours of Zoom lessons during the various degrees of sheltering in place that families have experienced since the
Schools that serve children and young people well are defined by two anchoring pillars, strong academic press and pastoral care. Focusing primarily on the academic side of the equation is insufficient, especially for students placed in peril by poverty. Academic press alone is also problematic; it does not attend sufficiently to the quality
Winston Churchill once said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” This is an incredibly challenging and difficult time for us and yet I believe we have an opportunity as educators to reshape and transform our education system from what we learned about COVID-19.
“It is during times like this that you will learn what you are made of; this is what you have been preparing for all these years,” Don said last week in a Zoom conversation he leads with a group of new and veteran principals and
When the governor of Massachusetts declared that learning would continue while schools are closed, he added that the creativity of teachers would get us through this quarantine. Indeed, the creativity and hard work of teachers keeping students focused and engaged with learning has been impressive. However, we all have to shift our thinking in order to make distance learning work for each student. Teachers are only one third of the equation. Teachers must rethink how to structure learning so that parents and students can develop routines and apply self-direction skills to accomplish
My dad told me once, the mark of a good manager is how well things run when he’s not there. This thought helped guide my teaching life for over 30 years, but it has never been more tested than now, in the time of Covid-19. If
Paradox rules at the moment. Even as we are socially isolating indoors, skies are clearing as we have halted toxic pollution. Although we have become more and more concerned about our children’s time on their digital devices, classrooms have gone virtual. And parents who have
In March 2020, McKinsey & Company published an article titled “Beyond coronavirus – the path to the next normal” which provided guidance for leaders to navigate the imminent restructuring of the global economic order. The scale of change caused by the coronavirus will continue to unfold in the months ahead, and will impact