10 Remote Learning Practices to Avoid

Educators, schools, and districts have earnestly rolled out remote learning plans to support students and fill in gaps as a result of extended closures.  We have seen fantastic progress in a short amount of time as teachers, with little to no training in this area, have valiantly risen to the occasion. Are the plans perfect? Not by any stretch, but that is because they don’t have to be. As I have been working with schools and districts to help get their remote learning off the ground, we have come to a consensus on essential elements. The key areas to focus on with any plan are equity, meeting the needs of special education students, sound pedagogy, and consistent communication with families.

The education community should be proud as they are building the plane and flying it at the same time. However, other educators and I have developed some concerns based on what we are seeing and hearing. Typically, I refrain from telling any educator what to do. That is not my place since I am not currently working full time in a school or district. 

My role is to provide support and advice while staying in my lane. Thus, please take what I am going to share below as just some suggestions to try to shy away from when it comes to remote learning.

1. Piling on too much work
2. Posting assignments with no plan for feedback
3. Providing just digital options (HERE are some non-digital ideas)
4. Traditional grading practices (avoid these altogether as learners are in inequitable situations)
5. Relying solely on low-level worksheets, packets, or Teachers Pay Teachers materials (that are low-level)
6. Thinking that you have to abide by a traditional school day schedule
7. Forcing teachers to follow a traditional schedule while working remotely
8. Using video tools in violation of FERPA
9. Posting videos or pictures of kids learning online without proper consent (basically we shouldn't be sharing screenshots of kids during a Zoom or Google Hangout/Meets session)
10. Covering the entire curriculum and every standard

Some of you might be thinking that common sense dictates that the practices above should be avoided. I wish that were the case. As more and more educators reach out to me to share their experiences and ask for advice, I thought it might be a good idea to put some of the issues out there front and center. Maybe I am wrong, or just perhaps you might be dealing with some of the unsound practices above. Either way, we are all in this together as educators, parents, and optimists in that we will rise from this challenge stronger, wiser, and more resilient than ever.

If there is anything that you feel should be added to the list, please post in the comments section below. For more ideas and resources be sure to check out the entire #remotelearning series. 

Vet What You Buy

Teaching is tough. It might very well be one of the most challenging jobs on the planet when you consider the time that is put in both in and out of school. I, for one, would spend hours planning and grading in the evening, at night, and on weekends. The workload might have been exhausting, but I never second-guessed my career choice. As the years have passed, it seems like expectations and workload of teachers keeps increasing. What has resulted is a pursuit of ways to work smarter, not harder, while still improving outcomes for all learners. In the schools I have the honor of coaching in, I see more and more evidence of co-planning and sharing of resources both within the school and across the district as a means to lessen the load. I also see plenty of investments in materials from Teachers Pay Teachers. Herein lies the point of this post.

Let me be extremely clear. I am all for teachers selling lesson plans, assessments, support materials, and other resources to their peers. Pay for those who dedicate their lives to other people’s kids is totally inadequate not only in the United States but in other countries as well. I also feel that if the purchasing of quality resources can help lessen the burden of a teacher, then go for it. If something an educator created is pedagogically-sound, then, by all means, let’s get it in the hands of as many teachers as possible while making some cash in the process. Now here comes the rub. It is incumbent upon both teachers and administrators to ensure that what is being purchased and used with kids is actually good.

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Now I am not saying there aren’t sound resources available on the site. However, I do question a great deal of what I see being used in classrooms across the country. Quite frankly, it’s not very good. Here is where educators have to be critical observers and consumers when something is purchased to support or enhance the curriculum in the classroom. Below you will see one of many examples that fall into the category of a resource that is not pedagogically sound. The assumption was that it was a rubric. You be the judge as to whether or not this is a quality resource that clearly conveys to the student or teacher what was learned.

When you think about a rubric, there have to be clear indicators as to what the student was able to demonstrate on their way to master a concept or standard. Let’s take a minute to process what a rubric really is and the role that it plays in assessment:

Rubrics are explicit schemes for classifying products or behaviors into categories that vary along a continuum. They can be used to classify virtually any product or behavior, such as essays, research reports, portfolios, works of art, recitals, oral presentations, performances, and group activities. Judgments can be self-assessments by students, or judgments can be made by others, such as faculty, other students, or field-work supervisors. Rubrics can be used to provide formative feedback to students, to grade students, and/or to assess programs.

There are no such categories in the example above, just the arbitrary awarding of points with no succinct rhyme or reasons. For example, what are the success criteria that justify the score? How does the number for each item or total score reflect what a student has really learned? Where is the connection to the standard(s) or concept? To put it bluntly, this is not a rubric, should not be advertised as such, and does not represent a pedagogically-sound way to assess students. Hence, the question must be raised as to why it was not only purchased but also used in numerous classrooms. In addition to “rubrics,” I also see a lot of worksheets. Again, I don’t have a problem with this. The issue arises when all, or the majority of the questions, are multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank at the lowest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy (i.e., recall, knowledge).

I have said my piece and will now provide a practical course forward. The burden of responsibility doesn’t just fall on teachers and administrators where purchased resources are used in class, but even more so on the creator and seller. Buyers need to vet what they purchase to make sure it is a quality resource. Creators need to be cognizant of what they put up for sale. In both cases, the litmus test should be whether or not the resource type (and there are tons of options) aligns with good pedagogy, what the research says about effective teaching and learning, and sound instructional design.

My post doesn’t just refer to just sites like Teachers Pay Teachers, but also a wide range of materials from a variety of sources. To assist with the vetting process, I suggest you take a look at the Digital Instructional Materials: Acquisitions Policies for States site from SETDA. Here you will find so many resources that can be used to make the best decision and help ensure that you get your bang for your buck.

In the end, it is incumbent upon all educators to vet what they plan to buy (or use if it is a free resource), as we owe this to our learners.