An update on: Structures & lessons learned for teaching and learning during COVID19

I couldn't agree more with the EdWeek article, titled How Hybrid Learning Is (and Is Not) Working During COVID-19: 6 Case Studies..... Below was a model I shared with others during the height of the pandemic. Overall, I was advocating for a tutorial system that would better meet the needs of students...I still think the tutorial system.

Earlier I'd written:

Carefully planned curriculum and instruction has never been more important than it is today during the COVID19 pandemic. Now is the time for schools to agree about what to teach, when to teach it, how to deliver curriculum, and how to assess and give feedback. What follows is one high school principal’s view on school structures, teaching, assessment and evaluation as we move forward during the COVID19 crisis. There are a number of values embedded in the suggestions: 1. Normalcy 2. Instructional Best Practices 3. Pragmatism 4. Flexibility.

Currently, NYS plans mandate that we plan for In-Person, Hybrid (Limited In-Person and Remote Learning) and Remote Learning. As such, In-Person schooling and the Hybrid Model of schooling, with a mixture of In-Person students with students using Remote learning necessitates traditional scheduling and normal periods at our high school. As such, all students would report to school, either In-Person or via Remote Learning, beginning at 7:20 each morning and continuing until the 2:05pm. (In the hybrid model, teachers would take live, in-person attendance, and then students would record remote learning attendance via a time stamped Google Form and then information about remote students attendance would be entered into eSchooldata. Similarly, in a remote learning scenario, ALL students would record attendance in a Google Form). At the conclusion of the day in a hybrid model, each teacher would spend the extra help period, Period 9, giving live synchronous extra help with students that were remote during that day. In terms of instruction in a hybrid scenario, students would remote into classroom instruction with their teacher and fellow in-person students for twenty-five minutes of every class period. Remote students would be expected to be logged in prior to their scheduled instruction time and the in-person class would join them at the scheduled time. Please note that this daily hybrid schedule could easily be adapted to a different scheduling scenario, such as a Day 1 Period 1-4 and Day 2 Period 5-8. An example of this alternative schedule is included and can be adapted to a Hybrid scenario.

In terms of time a Remote learning schedule, if the entire student population was unable to attend In-Person classes, the times for periods would shift to later in the day. Developmentally this time change makes sense, and later schedules wouldn’t conflict with outside programs, athletics, or busing conflicts.

It is important to think about the structure for synchronous learning and how to develop a schedule that provides a sense of normalcy and manageability. Utilizing a tutorial system model combined with flipped classroom practices in a remote learning scenario can support continuity of learning. The daily schedule provided in the following example shows one model for live synchronous instruction with a whole class as well as live small group tutorial instruction. From a teacher’s perspective, the example shows one period of live whole class instruction per day, alongside small tutorials which, based upon class sizes no larger than thirty students, have tutorial groups smaller than eight students. Student contact time in a synchronous modality during remote learning would be ninety-two minutes weekly, and a minimum of an additional two hours of synchronous extra help weekly.

In order to teach effectively in the hybrid model, or the remote model, carefully planned curriculum and instruction is essential. In terms of reimagining schools, the COVID19 crisis affords educators an opportunity to thoughtfully and collaboratively work together on quality instructional materials and processes. While this has always been true, the importance of agreement on the “what”, “when”, and “how” to present and assess content and skills is essential. On a practical note, teachers that teach the same coursework could effectively divide the workload and assessment in the remote learning scenario by having one teacher be the lead content creator for flipped lessons, whilst colleagues, pick up some of that teacher’s tutorial sections. Additionally, by planning an extra period for each course in our student management systems, containing every student from every section of an individual course (for example all Geometry students from every section and have every teacher as a co teacher) could allow teachers and students to toggle between live, hybrid, and remote learning, while allowing teachers working collaboratively to post content, learning activities, and grade assessments in our student management systems (eSchooldata and Google Classroom). In other words, Teacher A’s “Google Period 1 Geometry Classroom” set up for live and hybrid instruction, would give way to a universal “Google Geometry Classroom” overseen by all Geometry teachers who can break up grading and provide student feedback during a remote period.

Assessment and curriculum go hand in glove. As such, it is more important than ever for teachers to collaborate and agree upon what content and skills they will teach knowing that the speed (efficiency) of delivery, combined with a variety of circumstances for students learning remotely, and modalities of hybrid and remote instruction differ significantly from teachers’ preparation and past practices. BOCES has created Stoplight Standards counts that can help us determine the appropriate emphasis placed on specific learning standards based on analysis of prior NYSED assessments. Unpacking these standards can be used to create formal grade reporting based upon Standards Based practices for quarterly report cards. The need for revamping traditional assessment systems became clear in Spring of 2019, as our systems did not align well to remote learning. The draft of the North Babylon’s Teaching and Learning Plan acknowledges this when it states, “Grading practices will follow a standards-based framework designed to provide direct feedback regarding students’ mastery of course content standards, key understandings, and skills necessary for students’ success in future study”. In short, the COVID19 crisis may provide our schools with opportunities to positively transform classroom grading to inform, motivate and assess student understanding.

Before new grading practices can be implemented it is important to understand the purposes of grades in schools. Grades are used for administrative purposes, including matriculation, retention and course placement. Grades are used as a measure to offer guidance, course recommendations, and college selection. Grades have classroom and instructional purposes such as giving feedback about student achievement, provide some students with motivation, and should be used for instructional planning. Grades also often include measures of non-achievement factors such as effort, behavior, and attendance. Typically, teacher autonomy means that teachers can count assessments at different weights, offer differing amounts of assessments, test different knowledge and skills, and decide on differing levels of complexity, but if we move to a remote learning with one common course inclusive of all sections grades must be consistent. Grades should not depend on whether students are in teacher X or teacher Y's class and students who are achieving at the same level should get the same grade and receive feedback that is supportive of learning and progress. To be meaningful, grades need to be based on standards, outcomes, or expectations. In normal in-person school, getting a B in a history class tells students and parents almost nothing about what a student is good at and what needs improvement. Standards based grading at the secondary level can provide more in depth and accurate assessment information. Moving from a system dependent on mathematical averages, which can be skewed by one incomplete assignment in a given quarter, to a standards based grading system can help us reimagine schooling in-person, hybrid, or remote. Dr. Robert Marzano’s work can provide our secondary schools with examples of standards based report cards and hybrid report cards that include holistic grading alpha or numerical grading alongside standards based grades.

Examining Marzano’s example of a teacher’s gradebook is illuminating, as it notes that “final topic scores are not necessarily averages of column scores”. In short, the COVID19 crisis can help our schools deliver more accurate feedback via grading that seeks to measure student’s knowledge and skills.

TEACHER PLANNING FOR SUCCESS: HOW TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

I believe that by addressing the systems surrounding teaching and instruction we can support actual classroom functionality and normalcy for in-person, hybrid, or remote instruction. The real changes that can support the continuity of learning are instructional and require curriculum adjustments, and focus on instructional planning. In short, for weekly and daily planning teacher need to adapt the tutorial system, explicit instruction, flipped instruction, and focus on student’s writing as thinking.

The structure of the tutorial system can be scheduled, but the heart of its effective implementation centers around the instructional practices used during tutorial periods. Specifically, the tutorial periods can be used as part of an instructional model that primarily combines flipped instruction, with the explicit instructional model. Using the flipped modality of students watching teachers deliver the instruction via asynchronous video where they are modeling, and sharing their own metacognitive strategies in order to make their thinking visible to students. In other words, the blue “Modeling” part of the explicit instruction model occurs asynchronously and the small group scheduled tutorial sessions is where the magic occurs with guided practice or providing feedback based on students’ independent practice. Educators know that feedback must be specific and timely, and the tutorial sessions can incentivize fixing student’s work, exploring students’ thinking, and facilitating students sharing and driving student inquiry. In order to leverage standards based grading practices, it is important that teachers not grade students when they are still learning something and give students feedback to continue to grow. Incumbent upon teachers and students, and helpful to periodic evaluation, students can keep learning journals with two way conversations between students and teachers. Academic achievement should be the primary factor in assigning grades that measure subject matter content, thinking and reasoning skills, and students’ general communication skills.

Structures and lesson planning need to be complimentary, an of a singular purpose: increasing student achievement.