Year: 2020

By Lindsay Lamb

As we move to online learning this fall, we are documenting best practices for educators to use in a virtual environment. We gathered insight from interviews with educators, reviewed recent literature, attended virtual summits and webinars, and interviewed students and families.

As we discussed in our previous post, providing students with social and emotional learning is critical at this time. That being said, as important as fostering social and emotional skill development and creating engaging content are, they will fall flat if educators do not build relationships with their students. As all educators know, building relationships is critical to successful student engagement, both in person and virtually. It is also a major challenge for the virtual environment. To build relationships virtually, we urge educators to consider embedding the following practices into their lessons:

• Share personal stories
• Set norms
• Set expectations of the online learning environment
• Foster small group discussions
• Routinely check in with students and families

Share personal stories. Sharing experiences and being open and vulnerable was a common theme that ran throughout the internship. During an observation of a mentor circle call, one mentor described how she handled a difficult work situation, showing her vulnerability in order to help her interns relate to the material.

Set norms. Educators can begin to build community by setting norms at the beginning of the school year (or program) to convey clear expectations and promote mutual trust and respect. These norms should include guidance on when cameras should be turned on and off, when and how to mute or unmute yourself, how much participation is required, when emails can be sent, what students can do if they have a question, and how students should communicate with others. It is important to revisit these norms during each class/group meeting to make sure they are still relevant and to check in to see if new norms should be added. To ensure that norms are internalized and adopted, consider co-constructing the norms with students. Doing so will increase buy-in, ensure students’ voices are heard, and help make the norms constructive and positive.

Set expectations for the online learning environment. As part of the norm setting process, it would be wise for educators to spend some time discussing expectations for the online lessons. In particular, younger students will require additional time learning how to engage in online learning. It is unrealistic to begin school online in the way teachers normally would in an in-person setting. Much more time must be spent describing the virtual format and what is expected of students, answering students’ (and families) questions, and providing ample time for students to get used to online learning. Many students do not know how to interact in an online environment and need help learning how to do so (e.g., difficulty for teachers to see all students, when the teacher or another student is talking, do not talk over them; raise your hand if you have a question; know how to mute yourself). Even older students can use guidelines to help set norms to foster positive interactions with each other online.

Foster small group discussions. Only offering Zoom meetings for 20 or more students will not effectively build relationships with students. Instead, educators can use the breakout session feature in Zoom to create small groups for students to engage and connect with each other in a more meaningful way. This allows students to connect with each other and build relationships, talk to each other without the conversation getting lost, and relate to each other outside of the larger group setting. This will be difficult for younger students, so family help will be required. Another option is for educators to meet one-on-one or in small groups with each student as frequently as possible. This could be done weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly and is particularly important for younger students. All students need to know that they matter, that they are cared for, especially now. While this might be more time consuming for some educators, the payoff is far reaching.

Routinely check in with students and families. Finally, we know online learning will have its ups and downs. Not everything educators planned out will work, and some things will work well for some students and families while others will not. The key to navigating this conundrum is constantly checking in with students and families. Our advice is to have daily check ins regarding the technology access, duration of lessons, content of lessons, and how the student is feeling. This will also build relationships with each student and their family allowing them to feel more comfortable advocating for their/their child’s needs.

Online learning is not perfect, particularly for young children. Helping educators identify best practices to use while engaging with children online will help make online learning a more positive experience for everyone. Stay tuned for more best practices and the launch of our report in partnership with Ignite MindShift soon!

By Lindsay Lamb

If you are like me and have school age children, you probably spent the summer worrying about everything related to your child, your child’s learning, your child’s social and emotional wellbeing, your child’s teachers, and education in general.

Perhaps as a way of coping with this, and also as part of a larger project we were working on with one of our clients, we have been developing a Best Practices document for online learning (keep your eye out for it, we’ll let you know when it is available!). Our goal was to find answers to the following questions:

• What are some effective strategies teachers use to engage students in online learning?
• What strategies from the in-person environment can pivot to an online format?
• How do teachers build relationships with their students?
• How can we best support students and families during these challenging times?

To explore these questions, we spent the summer interviewing teachers, participating in webinars, reading timely research articles, and speaking with experts in the field. Based on all of these data, we identified six broad categories we believe will help educators navigate teaching and learning this fall:

• Supporting students’ social and emotional needs
• Building relationships
• Creating engaging content
• Providing consistent routines and procedures
• Expertly using technology
• Knowing when to pivot

Supporting students’ social and emotional needs.

While all of these practices are important, the theme that holds them all together and ran through our interviews, research, and learnings was providing social and emotional support for students, families, and teachers. While evaluating Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) social and emotional learning (SEL) program, I often heard program staff say SEL is not one other thing to add to teachers’ plates, it IS the plate. Now, I feel like SEL is the soil from which all learnings will grow. Without the ability to talk about emotions, build relationships, foster a safe learning community, and share experiences, teachers will be unable to teach, and students will be unable to learn. As one of my daughter’s teachers said in a meeting, we all need to give each other some grace. We all need to be okay with things not being perfect or exactly how we envisioned learning to be this school year. We are in the midst of a pandemic, and what matters most is keeping each other safe, happy, and healthy.

Recently, one of my friends and former colleagues wrote about her experiences teaching music in an online learning environment. The core of her teaching? Social and emotional learning. Was teaching music online perfect? No. Did she and her students experience technology problems? Yes. Did students benefit? Absolutely. Students need the arts, especially now, and social and emotional learning is such a perfect fit for arts instruction. Students need something to help them connect with each other, express their feelings, focus on something outside of the stresses they are experiencing because of the pandemic and political unrest. They need to feel part of something bigger than themselves, and just get the chance to be a kid. Is teaching the arts – or any subject – online an ideal way to experience learning? No, but there are great teachers out there making the best of this situation, and best practices we can learn from them.

I just want to close by reminding everyone that so many educators are going above and beyond to be there for our children while also caring for their own families. I cannot thank them enough. On a personal note, my daughter got through the summer by continuing to participate in her dance class over Zoom. She relished in being able to just be a kid, to wear a costume, to dance with her brother, and be silly. Her teachers always made time to listen to her stories, do a quick check in with everyone and see how they were feeling, and build a community. Rather than bemoaning online learning, let’s embrace it for what it is since we cannot do anything to change the situation. Let’s look for the joy and find ways to connect, reflect, and just help your kid to be a kid.

by Lindsay Lamb (with a few random comments by Andrea Hutson)

Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases nationally, it is likely that if you have a school age child, they will not go back to school in a normal manner (regularly, in person) this fall.

As I have mentioned before, I have two children that I have been doing my best to keep educated, entertained, and healthy while we have all been sheltering in place these past four months. My eldest is slated to start kindergarten this fall, and what should normally be an exciting, happy time is now riddled with fears. Going back to school in person could mean infecting teachers, our entire family getting infected, and a disruption in routine if schools are unexpectedly closed again. Virtual learning provides its own set of challenges, including me continuing to have to juggle work and school time as well as social and emotional trauma that my daughter has experienced during this time of isolation.

I am not alone. The long and short of it is that closing schools has placed an impossible burden upon families, particularly families coming from low-income communities. But given the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, what do we do? School leaders are placed in an impossible position as are teachers and families. This affects the entire community. I do not envy leaders at this time.

[Sidenote from Andrea: I just received this question from a friend – “Would you rather facilitate a PTA meeting around schools reopening in the fall, or do a trust fall into a pit of crocodiles?” The fact that the crocodiles are an appealing option shows how charged this issue is.]

Where does this leave us?

Instead of getting caught in an endless loop of ranting and venting (which is hard), let’s find some positive things we can build on as we begin to navigate virtual student learning in the Fall.

Fortunately, we have some more time to plan than we did in the spring. We can draw on the virtual teaching and learning experiences from the spring and learn from them, because chances are, no matter what our plans are in the fall, we are going to need these best practices in our arsenal until we have a COVID-19 vaccine.

What do we know about virtual learning?

1. Not all virtual learning environments are bad!

Take for example, one of our clients who is helping interns in a summer work program learn essential social and emotional skills necessary for workplace success. These students come from all different backgrounds and are eager to learn. Our client expertly pivoted their course content, creating relevant and timely material that the students are eager to learn. We are working with them to develop a list of best practices to share with other educators in the coming months.

Some research has shown that some children, particularly older children, are thriving in the online environment. Anecdotally, another program that we work with measures the anxiety and depression levels of its teen participants, and their levels of both actually went down after lockdown began.

Online education works best when it is:

• high quality (obviously)
• structured, with points for real connection
• a mix of formats (sorry, but a 7-hour long Zoom meeting is not going to be effective)
• done with older children & teenagers

2. Teach parents to be co-educators. Parent involvement is even more critical.

Parents in this time know that, even if it is unfair, they have been thrust into the role of co-teacher for their students. To the extent possible, leaning into this can produce benefits that will last long after COVID is over.

One client offers reading tutoring services to at risk students in grades K-2. Although there were many challenges with continuing their program virtually, some tutors reported a strong benefit of having the ability to connect with students’ families in a way that had not been possible before. Parents are able to watch the tutoring sessions and get a better idea of where and how their children are struggling, and are able to learn from the tutors some ways to reach their children.

Schools and organizations can help by:

• Engaging with parents early in the process
• Understanding that parents will have different needs and levels of availability
• Providing materials to teach the parents as well as the students

3. Don’t forget Social Emotional Learning (SEL), and be creative

Virtual learning leaves out the hugs, the high fives, the social and emotional connections and learning students need now more than ever. And who else needs this support? Teachers and other school staff. Andrea recently sat in on a meeting about teacher and student SEL during this time. Some takeaways:

• SEL makes a meaningful difference for both teachers and students
• Teachers must fully embrace these concepts before being able to teach them to students
• Time must be set aside for SEL – it can’t be ‘one more thing’ added to already full plates
• SEL can fall flat for older children if not approached carefully. Many elementary schools are now teaching SEL skills, and when kids get to middle/high school, they think, “Been there, done that.” When we are teaching SEL skills to our middle and high school students, instead of trying to use the same content aimed at younger children, we need to think of how we’d teach adults SEL concepts and adapt that way.

4. We need a better way to reach students who are disengaged

Raise Your Hand Texas interviewed five Texas teachers about their teaching experiences this Spring. These teachers faced a number of challenges, and hearing their stories is inspiring. The teachers got super creative, conducting zoom dance parties, scavenger hunts, virtual field trips, and more. They show that even in the time of COVID, school can be fun and creative, and that many teachers are doing everything they can think of to engage students.

However – As these teachers described, despite their best efforts, some students just stopped participating. The official tally is about 10% statewide, but we think the ‘real’ number is higher – and it’s not evenly spread across communities. LA, for example, lost about 1/3 of their students in the spring semester [there’s a wonderful NY Times article about this issue] Anecdotally, we’ve seen some organizations talk about losing 1/2, or even 2/3 of their student participants. This is a major issue that cannot be ignored by the local, state and federal governments. If we want true equity in education, districts need a plan now for how to reach out to these families and find and connect them to the resources they need to move forward.

Which students are more likely to drop out?

• Younger students, particularly in PreK, K, and 1st grade
• Students from low income families
• Children with poor internet access
• Children who do not have an adult in the home who can supervise learning
• Students with special needs

I can speak to my own experience with younger students. Both of my children (5 and almost 2) were offered short zoom gather times (~30 minutes each) throughout the spring. By the end of my daughter’s meetings, her class of 12 was down to 2-3 participants, as was my son’s. Many parents and children clearly did not feel it was worth it to continue, despite the fact that the meetings were engaging and even involved small, fun crafts. We continued because:

• it brought a sense of routine to our day
• it was a nice break for me
• I had the luxury of a flexible job
• We had reliable internet
• We had multiple computers/devices
• We had resources

And even despite these things, it was sometimes a struggle to make it through one 30-minute zoom meeting daily. Going all virtual this Fall seems like a challenging prospect, to put it mildly.

[Another random note from Andrea: my 4-year old’s Montessori school also did 20 minute virtual meetings daily, and that experience made me thrilled that we can sit out this school year. Good luck, Lindsay, and other parents of kindergarteners.]

What can schools do?

Schools need to gather whatever information they have from the virtual and online learning that happened in the spring as they prepare to help their students in the Fall. Did some teachers try paper packets? Was that helpful or not so much? For all students or some students? What kind of lessons were most engaging? How are students feeling socially and emotionally? How can students connect socially while remaining six feet apart, or on Zoom? How are schools addressing these needs (which likely will be huge in the fall)? What resources do parents need to help engage in their child’s learning?

The best time to get that information would probably have been at the end of the 2019-20 school year, and no doubt many districts did that. But almost all districts were scrambling, and COVID cases started to dwindle at that time, leading to hope we’d be able to operate somewhat normally this fall.

Since that’s not the case, districts and organizations serving students should take time now to conduct parent, teacher, and student focus groups/interviews/surveys and distribute any information about potential pitfalls and/or best practices to their staff members right away. Districts need a plan to involve parents. A plan to support SEL. And most importantly, a plan to reach as many students as possible.

by Lindsay Lamb

I have been thinking a lot about students graduating lately. Graduating high school, college, graduate school. My daughter is graduating from Pre-K and will start Kindergarten in the fall. I have friends and family with kids graduating high school, excited to celebrate their accomplishments and start off on their adventure. Now, thanks to the pandemic, those dreams have a much different reality. There is no prom, there is no graduation, there is no party to celebrate with friends and family.

As if reading my mind, I was asked to provide recent doctoral graduates with advice they might find helpful as they enter what is sure to be a tough labor market. What could I possibly say to them?

Fortunately (maybe?) I graduated during the 2008-2010 recession. When I first entered the job market, post-doctoral funding was frozen, full-time professor positions were being transitioned into more adjunct faculty positions, the private and public sectors were beginning to enact hiring freezes.

So, back to that advice.

The prompt I got was, Based on your experience in 2008-2010 on the job market:

1. What strategies or resources helped you get that job offer?

I made connections. I built relationships. I put myself out there and honed some skills. I essentially created my own internship with several educational non-profits in the area. Sure, this didn’t make me money right away, but it paid off big time in the end. This is the only reason why I got my job in AISD.

I was already on the fence about an academic role. With a degree in educational psychology, I wanted to have more of an effect on students, staff, and administrators I was researching. I wanted to make a difference in students’ lives. My experiences during this time reaffirmed my beliefs: I wanted out of academia.

I started contacting educational non-profits in the Austin area to see if they needed help. Surely, I could create a survey, conduct observations, do a quick focus group, anything to help them out. I had a lot of interest, but not any pay. On the plus side, I was still enrolled in graduate school, and was getting paid to be a teaching assistant and was teaching a class at a local university so I could make it work.

Because of this work, I finally got connected with the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Austin Independent School District. Luckily for me, they had a job opening. I spent 10 amazing years there conducting meaningful program evaluations and learning from my colleagues every day.

2. What was the most challenging aspect of finding a job during the recession?

All of the uncertainty and frustration I faced. Several of the jobs that I applied for suddenly lost funding or were put on a hiring freeze. These unknowns exist today, and unfortunately, there isn’t anything we can do about them, but we can keep applying for jobs, learning new skills, and making new connections. Anything you can do to keep you going one day at a time.

3. What advice would you share with your younger self and/or graduate students who are just now looking for jobs?

Don’t give up! I know this sounds hokey, but the only way things will not work out is if you stop looking for a job, stop honing your skills, and stop building connections. Find some free (or even not free, but cheap) mini-courses on data visualizations, creating one-pagers, learn R, start a blog! Also remember that you have learned amazing skills during graduate school that can be applied to many fields, not just academic jobs. Businesses are looking for skilled workers who can analyze data, create effective data visualizations, share results in an easy to understand way. If you take a job that is below your skill level, raise it up! Bring in your skills to show that you can do more and be more, maybe you can create an opportunity for yourself by showing all of your skills.

I know this is a challenging time, but we are all in this together. As cliché as it sounds, I truly believe things will work out one way or another. It might not be exactly what you had planned, but it is how we deal with setbacks and adversity that define use. These experiences force us to look inward and grow, and In the end, I truly believe that we will come out stronger than we were before.

Good luck!