Superintendent of schools weighs in on key education findings amid the pandemic

Teachers and students across the country returned to classrooms for face-to-face tuition just weeks before the end of the academic year.

For the 2021-2022 school year, most schools will continue with full face-to-face teaching and prepare for an uncertain future of learning. The results of a recent survey conducted by tech company Instructure identified six key trends in U.S. schools in how the country’s educators plan for classroom life after a pandemic.

“Overall, we (distance learning) have become more adaptable, open to new approaches, and very student engagement focused,” said Trenton Goble, vice president of K-12 Strategy at Instructure. “At the same time, there is a lot of hard work ahead of us … We know that technology will continue to be of vital importance as the pandemic has shifted its role from a nice-to-have to an essential service of teaching, parents and students with the.” entire learning journey. ”

Instructure surveyed 464 teachers and 200 parents across the country. The survey resulted in six takeaways.

• Investing in teachers means investing in student success.
• The # 1 priority for teachers is student engagement.
• It is time for a profound valuation shift.
• Hybrid teaching and learning is here to stay.
• Technology is essential to keeping teachers, students and parents connected.
• Equal access is crucial to realizing educational equity.

“While the pandemic didn’t create inequality, it definitely exposed it,” said Goble. “Especially in the area of ​​access for students and teachers to key technologies that support learning. This will be an ongoing challenge for communities as they work to address these issues. “

What students need

High-quality teaching is still recognized as the most important factor for academic success. The survey found that 85% of parents rate this as the most important factor.

In addition, when looking at socio-emotional factors, educators (99%) and parents (91%) rated a student’s relationship with teachers as the most important factor.

“A student’s relationship with their teacher is critical,” said Deneen Guss, director of the Monterey County Department of Education. “If a student has a positive relationship with their teacher, they are much more likely to ask for help when help is needed. They are much more likely to feel more comfortable participating in class discussions and sharing concerns or needs with their teacher. The students have to feel comfortable, supported and connected so that their best possible learning is possible. “

After statewide closings, the districts looked for ways to get students involved. Teachers relied heavily on technology to connect with students and recreate the classroom experience.

However, low-income households were more than twice as likely to report having difficulty helping their children get involved, the survey found.

“This is likely because they may not have had a parent / guardian at home to assist them during distance learning,” Guss said. “If the student’s parent / guardian worked outside the home, the children were left with someone in charge of monitoring a group of children or a sibling who were watching another sibling. This situation presents these students with additional challenges. “

The future of education

Investing in technology will be vital to support classroom activities and to ensure that students stay engaged and parents are informed both inside and outside the classroom.

“We know that hybrid learning programs offer students and teachers the opportunity to engage in new ways by applying digital strategies in the real world,” said Guss. “We also know that the same strategies can be used in both personal and hybrid environments” learning environments through the use of blended learning techniques. “

Guss believes the majority of students want to return to face-to-face learning because they feel more connected to their classmates and their teachers in the classroom.

However, access to devices and a reliable internet connection will continue to play an important role in teacher preparation and student engagement.

Although the abrupt transition to online learning presented many challenges, the tools in place kept everyone on the same level and their continued use can have a positive impact on engagement and communication.

“As we saw from this study, people are more open to new learning modalities that offer more flexible options to support our students and their individual needs and learning styles,” said Goble. “Teachers have done an incredible amount of work in making the transition to online learning and this will serve as a foundation for getting students back into the classroom.”

The school districts now need to raise money to build the infrastructure necessary to sustain this learning model.

“Access to and the cost of broadband are still a major challenge,” said Guss. “… but the question is, what happens if all these funds are gone? How can we keep updating, replacing and supporting so many new devices? Going forward, schools will need ongoing funding solutions to continuously support the technology support positions they need to maintain equipment and digital networks. “

We have to prioritize planning and infrastructure with a future-proof point of view, because digital tools are so quickly outdated and the daily wear and tear and the shifts in programming cause a constant influx of new technology requirements.

It is also important to make time for teachers and families to learn about new technology platforms, programs, and devices.

“Technology has always been an important tool for teaching and learning,” said Guss. “However, it should not be seen as a substitute for teachers or schools. Technology is a tool that enables teachers to support their teaching in many ways. Going forward, I continue to see technology as one of the many tools that the classroom uses to support the classroom. “

A fundamental change

The pandemic has changed the way teachers monitor student progress.

Around half of educators and parents believe that the survey shows that students are clearly behind due to the COVID-19 school closings.

Because of the loss of learning, it requires an “actionable approach to assessment that is part of the regular class cycle,” Instruct found, to keep each student on track to meet grade level standards.

Which could take some time, said Goble.

“Research shows us that formative assessment is the most powerful as it gives teachers the actionable data they need to customize lessons and personalize learning in the moment,” he said, which hopefully will lead to that Districts and states adopt innovative assessment models that actually have an academic impact. “

When it comes to measuring student success, respondents consider standardized test results to be the least important of 14 factors with only 29%.

To check student understanding during the pandemic, 76% of educators provided formative assessments during distance learning. Almost 30% of educators indicate that assessment data is received either a little later or much later than necessary.

“Assessing learning has always been the best method,” said Guss. “This is not a new concept. In order for educators to know what students are doing and where there are gaps in understanding certain concepts, good educators have always used formative assessments … These are often in contrast to a summative assessment, which is usually at the end of a period of time. “

To learn more about Instructure, visit www.instructure.com.

David Rodriguez is an education reporter and staff photographer for The Salinas Californian. For tips or story ideas, you can contact him at (831) 269-9363 or drodriguez@thecalifornian.com. Subscribe to support local journalism.

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