STUDENT TEACHING FROM A
Student Jessica Fressle, an education major and a member of the women’s basketball team, is tackling the challenges of student teaching online. When Jessica Fressle isn't on the basketball court, the senior from Levittown, N.Y. student teaches fifth-grade math at Pond Hill Elementary School in Wallingford, Conn. and volunteers with the Hamden Transition Academy, helping students with disabilities.
This is a challenge we weren't prepared for, and the amount of learning that will come from it can only be beneficial in the future. Now, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden shift to online learning, Fressle is teaching her students from her home in Levittown.
"The transition to distant learning has been a challenge for all classroom teachers, parents, and students," Fressle says. "As a student-teacher, my responsibilities are limited; however, I am continuing to plan and teach all math concepts to my amazing fifth graders. Teaching math through online learning and without real interaction has been a challenge, but I have learned new technology tricks that have helped me reach my students the best way possible." According to Fressle, one of the challenges faced by teachers in the virtual classroom is the ability to measure each student's level of understanding accurately. Her students, however, have done "an incredible job throughout this difficult transition," despite the the lack of socialization and inperson support, which, Fressle points out, can impact academic performance.
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"This is a sudden change for everyone, and young students have also been extremely affected," Fressle says. "I have been tutoring my [9- and 10year-old] cousins who have autism, and they have struggled with the adjustment of schedule change and online work. My heart breaks for all the students who are struggling with this transition for so many reasons." Fressle is hopeful that good will come out of this challenge, and that it will help us to value what we have and what we are able to do. "As a teacher, it makes us appreciate being in the classroom with our students every day," Fressle says. "There aren't many jobs when you leave at the end of the day and think, 'Wow, that was a great day!' And all you did was your normal routine. Just like other people in their career, this is a challenge we weren't prepared for, and the amount of learning that will come from it can only be beneficial in the future."
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