COVID19 and Educational Change?

It is 8:00 on a Monday Morning. I am awake in a quiet house making a cup of tea. My husband is off to work as an essential employee. I check my emails and log on to Google classroom to post the upcoming week’s assignments for my 7th grade social studies students. In the last few quiet moments before I drag my own kids (5th and 7th grades) out of bed, I take a few moments to update the family calendar: A department meeting on Zoom for me, a lunch bunch meeting for my 5th grader, an algebra lesson for my 7th grader, virtual piano lessons for both….and the list goes on. This is my new reality as a teacher and a parent during the COVID19 crisis. It would seem that I have more time on my hands but that time is spent feeling busier than ever and yet not feeling very accomplished at the end of the day. It is maddening and exhausting. Yet there are moments in which I feel that there could potentially be some good to come out of this, mostly in the form of being a catalyst for change. As the future remains uncertain, it makes me wonder how this COVID19 situation is going to change education as we know around the world. 

COVID19 has forced schools to close their doors all over the world. By the end of March 2020, nearly 1.4 billion students worldwide were affected by school closures, according to UNESCO. With a staggering figure such as that, the question about how education will be affected is critical. In most cases, government and school officials have turned to online or virtual learning. In those cases, students and teachers are using various learning platforms and resources to interact and provide resources via the internet. This can be problematic, however, in countries and communities where the equity of access cannot be ensured or the infrastructure is not developed enough for everyone to have access to internet and hardware. In these cases, learning opportunities are being provided via television and radio. For more information, check out this list, compiled by UNESCO, regarding national learning platforms and tools being utilized in different countries around the world. 

I think that it is safe to say that no matter where you are in the world, the teaching and learning that has been taking place while schools are shut down is more of a crisis management situation, rather than a step toward changing schools for good. But, and this is a big but, what if we look at this as an opportunity to analyze the effectiveness of teaching and learning as a whole by allowing the crisis to identify areas on which educational policymakers should focus? After reading a bit about what experts and stakeholders have to say about how COVID19 could impact education around the world, the following are important take-aways. 

1. The strain of online teaching and learning has left many educators to focus on shorter lessons that zero in on essential content. There is less “lecture” style teaching and a greater focus on alternative methods and assignments to ensure learning. So the paring-down and innovative assignments that began as a way to simplify school during COVID19 may help educators shift the way they deliver content in the future. 
2. Teachers and students alike have realized just how important it is to be connected. The fear and anxiety over what is taking place has in many cases motivated teachers to be more responsive to how their students are coping. Perhaps the realization that feeling safe is just as important to learning as any curriculum will keep social and emotional learning at the forefront of educational policy makers’ minds. 
3. COVID19 has highlighted inequities both on a global scale and within nations. Some students not only have access to hardware and Internet, but also are already fluent with the technology. For example, my students were already used to navigating a digital textbook and online learning platform in addition to having district-provided laptops. This made the transition to virtual school a bit easier in that I could focus on just adapting content rather than teaching students how to access materials as well as the teaching of the material itself. On the other hand, there are many students in other communities who had to scramble to get devices in the hands of the students and then grapple with navigating the online tools for delivering the content. Now that these inequities have been brought to light, stakeholders can begin to address them more effectively. 
4. Learning outside of the classroom is likely bolstering the development of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in education. Very simply put, PPPs develop when public monies are used to pay private enterprises to provide services. In the case of education and the COVID19 crisis, companies all over the world have extended services to help schools with providing everything from software, to devices, to databases and resources, to actual lessons. In many ways these partnerships have allowed governments to fill in many of the gaps in services that may have been highlighted by the crisis. The extent to which these are effective in the long term remains to be seen. 

Teaching and learning during this time of crisis has been eye-opening. It has been stressful. It has left room for change. I am the type of person that sees change as an opportunity to change for the better and so I choose to be optimistic about the ways that COVID19 will affect education in the years to come. 

References: 

UNESCO (2020). National learning platforms and tools. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/nationalresponses#WESTERN%20EUROPE%20&%20NORTH%20AMERICA

Hughes, C. (2020). What lessons from the coronavirus pandemic will shape the future of education?. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/covid19-lockdown-future-education/

Li, C. & Lalani, F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning

Tam, G. & El-Azar, D. (2020). 3 ways the coronavirus pandemic could reshape education.World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/3-ways-coronavirus-is-reshaping-education-and-what-changes-might-be-here-to-stay

Beyond Human: Learning in the Time of COVID-19

My classmate, Kadia, tells the story. Her son decided to be a pilot, so he is so obsessed with this idea that he wants to learn nothing but the science of aviation. As it is COVID-19, he has enough time and space to do his research and learn on his own, and Kadia says it is ok. Maybe it’s the right time to pursue his real interests.

This story makes me think that COVID-19, while shedding the light on many current troubles we are facing (inequality of opportunity, poverty, etc), also creates the space to pause and think. What are the values of education? What is the essence of learning? Is school about learning or it’s only about credentials today?

We can’t deny that we have lots of anxieties and problems facing students in this time, but what we can do is to stay with troubles and figure out how to adjust our behavior, at least, to do less harm, at most, to create a better environment for learning.  And maybe, instead of romanticizing or denying reality, we should evaluate the situation as it is and engaged with the World as it really is. 

So what we can do? Instead of brainstorming, I surfed the internet to see what educators have already been doing and what might be relevant for us to learn. 

Changing Student-Teachers Relations

We know from research that students’ achievements depend heavily on teachers (Hattie, 1993). Besides teachers' preparedness and experience, such an intangible factor as teachers’ expectations towards students and their feedback are playing a major role. The shift to mentorship and stewardship instead of knowledge delivery might be something to experiment with during remote learning.  

One of the experiments by Gupta, School in The Could, which is based on the idea of self-discovery and experiential learning, is an example of how students, even in very impoverished areas, may organize a self-learning environment with a little guidance from teachers. However, it requires a shift in thinking on what is learning and how to bridge the gap between the role of schools and the outcomes of education. 

While we are thinking about it, retired teachers association from Illinois have started to act offering students mentorship, or the Boston Partners team is providing mentorship for high-school students. Small good news that makes a difference. 

Besides, many teachers at schools and universities, I think, have consent to do less. This time might be challenging for every student, their family members may suffer, their regular routines have changed due to the overwhelming stress. So, the safety and health of the students must have, everything else is nice to have. 

Examine What We Teach

More and more educators are working towards moving from the paradigm of human exceptionalism to more-than-human thinking (Manasi and Karthik, 2017). For many decades, we had built our thinking on the notion that humans are the pinnacle of evolution and our role is to conquer the resources and nature, the neoliberal discourse moved us even further in the direction of economic success and consumption by any means possible. However, COVID-19, global warming, an environmental change made us pause and reflect. Do we really teach students how to be engaged with the World as it is? Are we really that exceptional? What else lays beyond economic success?

There are some projects, Persephone,  using theater to build community and spark environmental justice, and climate change activism. Or, Common World Research Collective, providing educators with ideas about how to integrate everything surrounding us into the learning process. 

Perhaps, there are many more things we can do: how about integrating contemporary writers, who are working to eco-consciousness, into school programs? How about learning geography through tracking plastic bottle from raw materials to recycling? What history can teach us about pandemics and sustainable development? 

Institutional Practices

Of course, one might say, that all of these changes depend on self-agency of the individual. Teachers are facing lot of pressure to deliver expected outcomes. However, we cannot deny the fact that there are already teachers who are working in this direction, who are already mentoring students, engaging them in real-world problems, making education relevant. It’s already happening. We just need to create a space for them and hear their voices, and, perhaps, learn from them. My biggest hope is that we will take this time to listen, to experiment and incorporate this small, very often, individual efforts, into institutional practices. If not now, when?

Hattie, J. A. (1993b, July). What works: A model of the teaching-learning interaction. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Teacher Education Association, Fremantle. 

Menon, A, & Karthik, M (2017) Beyond human exceptionalism: Political ecology and the non-human world. Geoforum 79: 90–92. Google Scholar | Crossref

Liliya Borovets, Lehigh University

Educational Policy Makers and School Leaders: Preparing for the unexpected

How do we prepare for the unknown? Is it possible? What if a year ago today someone told you that the entire world would be shut down, and over one hundred thousand people would die around the globe due to a virus. Would you think it's possible?  Or would you feel that it is just a conspiracy theory?  Would you take some form of precaution? Would policy leaders or school leaders take action? Or would they continue to focus on pressing issues at the moment?

Due to this shocking change in the way in businesses and schools' functions, our society is rapidly forced to adapt to this new way of life. Educational institutions in the U.S. and around the globe have shut down to manage the spread of the virus. K-12 schools will be out of school for months, where students must continue their work online.
This brings to question how educators are using technology in their remote distance learning environments and how these new methods heighten inequalities among youth who come from lower socioeconomic families.

By being thrown into this new way of teaching and learning, educators are quickly uploading course content online. Educators' level of technological competence varies. The ability to navigate online instruction may be more difficult for some teachers than others.  This drastic social response to the pandemic requires rapid response and action on the part of the teachers. Educators are grappling with the need to develop course platforms quickly.   According to Forbes reports that educators "are responsible for deciding what remote/online tools they will use." As there are no standard structures in place or online course development guidelines, many educators are having to learn and build classes on a whim. Thus, learning becomes more arduous for students as they are not only adjusting to this new way of life and education but are also attempting to simply find course content.

Some families do not have laptops or computers within the home, making it extremely difficult to complete online assignments through a smartphone. To make matters worse, in 2017, the  National Telecommunications and Information Administration conducted a study and found that  7 million K-12 U.S. students do not have home internet services. In this technological era, which has been heightened by COVID-19, access to the internet is essential. To make matters worse, more than 20 million students in the U.S. rely on daily free meals for breakfast and lunch, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now, volunteers are risking their lives to ensure students still received their free meals. Sclar, a history teacher from New Jersey said to CNN, "You've actually perpetuated the public health crisis out of concern that the kids aren't going to eat. It means we're way, way behind in understanding how serious the problems are in our country."

The unexpected nature of COVID-19 forced the school sector to respond immediately. Lack of educational policy planning impacted school response where unintended setbacks for teaching, learning, and student support occurred. Policies and plans will be established as a precaution if similar events happen in the future. But what will be encompassed in these policies, and will the development offer support for all students? As Nieuwenhuis says, "The success of any educational policy lies in its implementation" (1997, p. 141). Language and structure of policies influence policy outcomes. Dyer discusses the notion of backward mapping where the plan meets the public by focusing on the need and behavior at the lowest level and developing steps to address these needs from the bottom up. Policymakers have limited control in these developments; however, if possible, policymakers should deliver support and guidance to ensure the sustainability of these policies.
Needs will vary depending on the location. We can see this reflected in lower-income school districts where economic disparities are heightened. Flexibility within policies would help to overcome certain obstacles by providing appropriately delegated resources. It would behoove policymakers and school districts to collect data on educators' and students' needs during this crisis. This information would deliver on the ground experience and support the structure of educational crisis response policies.

Immediate response is needed to ensure online learning is equitable for all students. It is clear that educators need more online training support and guidance so they can adequately create online learning modules for their students and focus on educational learning dissemination. States should provide technology resources for educators that include information on online rubrics, ePortfolios, student response tools, online assessments, ADA compliance, inquiry-based learning, communication, and more.  To ensure all students have access to class content, schools need to provide hotspots and laptops. Government and or private organizations should financially support schools in this process. Further, systems need to be established to guarantee students who receive free and reduced lunch still have access to these benefits. Based on what schools are experiencing now, hopefully, these unmet needs should be reached as educational policies are created through the backward mapping method.

Dyer, C. (1999). Researching the Implementation of Educational Policy: A Backward Mapping Approach. Comparative Education, 35(1), 45-61.

Goldberg, R. (2018). Digital Divide Among School-Age Children Narrows, but Millions Still Lack Internet Connections. National Telecommunications and Information Administration. https://www.ntia.doc.gov/blog/2018/digital-divide-among-school-age-children-narrows-millions-still-lack-internet-connections

Maxouris, C. & Yu, A. (April 17, 2020). The coronavirus crisis spotlights the inequalities in American education. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/us/coronavirus-education-distance-learning-challenges/index.html

 Newton, D. (March 26, 2020). Most teachers say they are ‘not prepared’ to teach online. Forbes.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2020/03/26/most-teachers-say-they-are-not-prepared-to-teach-online/#470f26f07f2c

Nieuwenhuis, F.J. (1997) Can research into the development of education in post-colonial Africa shape education policies in South Africa? International Journal of Educational Development. 17(2), 129-144.