From there, the magic began. “My motivation was to get them into another world of focus and concentration, to be proud of what they’re doing, and still learn and have fun in the midst of something we can’t comprehend,” says the art teacher of 24 years. Students have submitted artwork by the dozens, and their work is “sensational,” Corcoran shares.
How Innovative Educators Are Engaging Students Online BY BRENDA ÁLVAREZ, NEA TODAY
When governors and state superintendents closed schools because of the coronavirus, it took teachers and faculty a matter of days—and in many cases a few hours—to move their classes online. Despite the differences between online learning and faceto-face learning, the level of commitment and creativity from educators is stronger than ever. Cecily Corcoran, a middle school art teacher from Arlington Public Schools in Virginia, was ahead of the online learning game because she made it her personal goal earlier in the school year to update her materials and transition them onto Canvas, an online learning management platform. “I wanted students to access what I had taught in case they had missed a lesson,” says Corcoran. Once her school closed, she went into overdrive and created 60 video tutorials of under 10 minutes in length. Additionally, before her students went home, she supplied them with basic art supplies: pencils, sharpeners, erasers, and paper to make sure learning was “equitable from the beginning.” 28
Maine Educator • COVID-19 Special Edition
“I couldn’t just sit here and enjoy this alone so I got back on Twitter and Instagram and told them I would share their work. They got really excited.”
A Focus on Health
Jillian Nemeth, a health and physical education teacher also in Arlington, Va., sent her students on a window scavenger hunt in their neighborhood. Students created a sign that said: “SMS (Swanson Middle School) Strong,” and were asked to put it in a window that faces the street. The goal was to see how many “SMS Strong” signs they could spot. Nemeth connected this activity to a previous lesson on the health triangle, with each side representing a different type of health: physical, mental, and social. “All 3 of these sides are interrelated,” she says, “and the three sides need to be balanced to accomplish true ‘health.’ If one side of the triangle is emphasized too much—or not enough—the other sides will change. This leads to an imbalance.” How can this scavenger hunt help balance our health triangles? Nemeth explained that going on walks or runs around the neighborhood, while maintaining social distancing, is one way to help with physical health. Part of mental health is based on how well students relate to others, while social health is focused on seeking and lending support to others. The “SMS Strong” signs? They were meant to give students a sense of unity and community during these difficult times of social distancing. “I believe now, more than ever, our students need us, the health and PE teachers. We have the ability to pass along coping strategies that we all need right now, kids and adults. We have the platform right now to really highlight life skills they can implement in their lives at this very moment,” Nemeth explains.
‘It’s Difficult…But There’s No Better Option’
Jim Parry is a coordinator for a program called REACH (Relationships, Education, Accountability, Character, and Hard work) at Stewartville Middle and High School in Stewartville, Minn. While he uses various tools to connect with students, including
