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College of Education’s widespread response to COVID-19 monumental
T
he extent to which the College of Education had to react and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was as vast as it was fast … as comprehensive as it was conscientious. From facilitating a switch to online learning, to purchasing personal protective equipment, to being certain that students were meeting graduation requirements, to offering a virtual helping hand to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the college quickly had to come together even though its personnel were forced by the pandemic to be apart.
By Jim Carlson much as possible — a new normal. That included, but was not limited to, coordinating all necessary technology through the Carrera Education Technology Center as well as securing the talents of instructional designers from World Campus; ensuring that student teachers could meet graduation requirements if they were unable to continue teaching at their respective school districts; enabling Rehabilitation and Human Services students to complete
standards set by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf; distributing massive amounts of personal protection equipment (PPE); and working in conjunction with University Health Services to administer COVID-19 tests to College of Education students who were entering area school districts as student teachers. The college also hosted one of the first hybrid courses taught at the University, as Karen Eppley, assistant professor of education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, taught a pilot class in Chambers Building over the summer.
Greg Kelly, senior associate dean for research, produced “This is funny now, a website with but the first email I resources for remote sent was informing K-12 learning. Just a people to be ready to few of the available work remotely for the links included tips for next two weeks,” said supporting students Julian Morales, director socially and emotionally of operations for the during distance college. “Luckily, learning; resources people all had laptops for families to help and not desktop Photo: Jim Carlson children understand computers so going remote wasn’t as big of Student teacher Alex Karras conducts a classroom session at Mount Nittany Middle COVID-19; distance learning for special a lift as it was in some School from his Krause Studio office inside Chambers Building. education; and teaching other colleges. tolerance materials or receive credit for clinicals; “The second part was in that supplement the curriculum coordinating the college’s portion of to inform their practices and to conjunction with (Dean Kim a virtual commencement ceremony Lawless) and … just keeping up create civil and inclusive school for graduating seniors; and with the information because communities where children are communicating information about everything was evolving so respected, valued and welcome all of this to members of the college quickly.” participants. community. That merely scratched the Rayne Sperling, associate dean As coronavirus cases subsided surface. The college’s leadership for graduate and undergraduate slightly and some in-residence team, along with program chairs studies, and Alicia McDyre, director and others participated in countless classes were planned for fall of curriculum and instruction semester, barriers to overcome meetings and calls on Zoom and field experience, navigated the included figuring out building Teams for more than a year in a constantly evolving challenges of coordinated effort to achieve — as size and classroom size to meet placing student teachers and pre6
Penn State Education
