What Schools Should Look Like in the Fall

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BY MARGARET SEARLE

What did we learn this spring that will help us rethink how we start in the fall? According to a national survey of teachers conducted by the Gotham Research Group, here are five major COVID-19-related barriers to student learning:

1. Teachers’ stress because they can’t keep up with the learning curve and hours adjusting to remote lessons 2. Students who lack necessary skills or resources to succeed in a remote environment 3. Loss of personal relationships causing stress, anxiety, and depression in many students 4. Lag in academic performance due to poor engagement and attendance 5. Limited availability of family members to assist with remote learning

Regardless if we open with full classes in school, total remote learning, or some hybrid of the two, we need a plan. Here are a few suggestions to consider:

Chronic stress in teachers compromises both social-emotional

and academic growth in students. The number of hours teachers are working compounds an already stressful job. To reduce the workload teachers must work as teams to accomplish a number of things. One is to determine which standards and content are essential, which are important, and what is simply great to know. Consistency from teacher to teacher is essential not only in what to teach but also for which basic learning tasks to assign. Given a consistent plan across a grade level, teachers can then differentiate for students needing pre-requisite, extension, and enrichment skills. This consistency also makes it easier to share tasks like: who is comfortable in front of a camera to record remote lessons, who will design learning projects, who will assess individuals or small groups remotely?

We must prepare for another possible shut-down. In the fall, students need to be taught immediately how to use the platform and apps for that grade level. Basic remote learning skills need to be taught to mastery as early as possible: how to log in, find folders, ask questions online, create videos, upload pictures and documents, participate in chat rooms, and stay focused. Small groups should practice these skills together and learn to answer each other’s questions, with the teacher only as a guide. Gradual release of responsibility is critical to student independence.

Students need to immediately feel safe, welcome, and stable. If each teacher takes time to intentionally build relationships—teacher/ student and among students—this barrier will not loom so large in remote learning. Also, if students are taught to work in small, flexible learning teams using consistent roles and protocols, they will be less dependent upon adults in both school and home learning environments.

Lessons and practice need to be highly engaging. Student talk should go from the typical 20% to 60%. This is accomplished best by having small student teams learn by generating alternative solutions and completing projects together. This will be a struggle for students at first but is well worth the effort. This powerful strategy does not work well without rigorous assignments that students cannot complete as well on their own as they can in a group. Assignments need to be fun learning games, standards-based projects, and activities where the team produces a product.

Having the district limit the number of K-12 learning platforms

and apps reduces the learning curve for parents. Consistency on how folders and files are labeled helps. Parents need regular, short tutorial videos that address problems they are likely to face. Survey parents to find out what problems they had in the spring and what support will be helpful. Having students help each other in learning teams of four should also relieve many of the homelearning problems.

Margaret Searle is president of Searle Enterprises. She specializes in consulting with districts and schools on social-emotional learning, executive function development, differentiated instruction, inclusive education, leadership team development, and implementing RTI and MTSS. Look for her newest book Solving Academic and Behavior Problems: A Strength-Based Guide for Teachers and Teams coming out in September. You can contact the author via email at searle@bex.net or via Twitter at @margaretann05.