Virtually There: An Introspection on Teaching in the Age of COVID-19

Mara: Today, we’re talking with Cathy Hill, Growing Up Boulder’s Education Coordinator. As a career educator, Cathy has taught in private, public, and international schools for more than 3 decades, and taught third grade at Whittier International Elementary in Boulder, Colorado for 23 years. She’s here to share some reflections on the COVID-19 crisis and how educators around the world are responding to new teaching challenges.

​Mara: Cathy, let’s talk about virtual classroom priorities - what are some of the critical tools and resources educators need to implement to respond to the COVID crisis effectively? ​

Cathy: Teachers are capable, resilient, and adaptable human beings. Even so, going to virtual classrooms overnight is a huge undertaking. Parents everywhere can support their child’s onboarding to online learning by being patient. Teachers are doing their best to re-establish learning and the learning community, and students are doing their best to do what is now being asked of them. Everyone is adjusting. For example, at the beginning of week 2 of online learning, one BVSD teacher shared with me “the training wheels aren’t off yet, but this week is going so much better than the last.” Patience is key. And let’s remember that children look first to their families for guidance and reassurance, and then they look to their teacher. Successful families will have a strong triad of support between student, parent, and teacher.

Mara: Cathy, at its core, what is classroom teaching and learning about for you? ​​

Cathy: The classroom is essentially a place for a community of learners, of all backgrounds, to make sense of the world. The best teachers are able to create an engaging, interactive space where they and their students find real meaning, deep connection, and authentic purpose together as learners. Learning is highly relevant and rigorous and meets all learners where they are. This goes for online learning, too.

Mara: What motivates students in the learning environment?

Cathy: Kids thrive on real-world issues and current events that are relatable to them. Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects. Brain research tells us that when kids are emotionally connected to their learning, they experience 11% higher academic success than if they’re not. When teachers create project-based units, they integrate real world issues meaningfully into the standards that they are required to teach.

Mara: Could you provide a quick example of what this looks like in the classroom?

Cathy: Sure. In my former classroom, a student brought in an article about gray wolves being taken off the endangered list; based on this interest, our class explored the history of gray wolf populations in the US. Students researched both ranchers’ and environmentalists' points of view and debated the issue. We sent letters to the US Fish and Wildlife Service staff to share our opinions on the subject. 
Paralleling PBL research, students in this example found a great amount of connection, focus, and purpose. They became passionate and self-directed leaders, advocating for their own learning, and they brought their whole selves to the work. Ideas for taking action naturally occured, and they experienced success in every way. 

Mara: If you were to design a virtual learning space that responds directly to the most pressing needs of educators and kids amid this pandemic, what would it look like?

Cathy: If I were teaching virtually today, I’d prioritize 4 key aspects and implement them well. Think of these aspects as concentric circles - starting with the individual in the center, and expanding out into the classroom community, the local community, and then to the furthest reaches: the global community.

• So, first, the individual: I’d check in 1:1, outside of the school day, with each of my students and their families to assess their needs, give them an opportunity to be heard, and get them connected to people and resources that can support their needs. It’s important to remember that this pandemic exacerbates needs that under resourced families already had prior to the outbreak. It’s widely understood that if children don’t have their basic needs met - food, shelter, safety, love, social belonging - then learning takes a back seat.

• Next, I’d re-establish our classroom community. This is important at every age, preschool through high school. I’d restart our morning meeting practice by gathering in a circle. I’d lead a mindful moment together, and afterwards, model a check-in practice by going “around the circle,” listening to how every student was doing, and welcoming  every voice in the room. Connecting on a socioemotional and human level would be a priority throughout the day - not just at the beginning and end of our day. I’d incorporate lots of practices from Boulder-based PassageWorks Institute’s book, The 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching, into every subject I am teaching.
  

• Then, I’d look for ways to develop a meaningful connection to my local community, in my case, the Boulder community. I find that in times of uncertainty, students want to be informed and involved. Depending on their age, they often derive benefit from knowing how their local government is responding to keep families safe. I believe that connection can serve to reassure and anchor kids so they can move on to focusing on learning. For example, before I retired from teaching at Whittier Elementary, my students and I spent three years collaborating with Growing Up Boulder on current city projects. One of these projects was to give input on the new Civic Area, including the new Creekside playground. My students loved having their civics and social studies standards integrated with a real community project. They loved having a stake and voice in shaping a real city planning undertaking that entailed learning beyond the classroom as well as civic involvement and civic responsibility.

•  Going outward from the local community, I’d also look for ways for my students to connect with students across the US or world in order to create a global classroom. Technology is making these connections really do-able. Depending on what my students are passionate about, I’d integrate my standards with some sort of shared learning or service learning project that is applicable across cultures. In the instance of the COVID outbreak, we’re looking at a world-wide issue that has touched every living human, so that might be the main issue to explore, if my students were developmentally ready. I would establish a pen pal relationship with an international classroom to identify a shared unit to learn about, bring in multiple perspectives, and cultivate a sense of shared humanity and empathy.

Mara: Do you think there’s value in school-wide community projects during COVID?

Cathy: Absolutely! The school community is another one of those concentric circles where students and families plug in and find belonging. Implementing a school-wide service learning project during this time (or maintaining one that was already scheduled for April or May) would serve to bring the entire school community together with purpose and agency. It might be a school-wide Innovation Fair or a drive to provide cloth masks to local hospitals.

Mara: Any parting words to the teachers listening in?

Cathy: Yes, Mara, one final point.  If I were a teacher in the virtual classroom now, I’d be thinking hard about what academic and socioemotional learning outcomes I wanted for my students during this time of virtual learning. Teachers use this “backwards design” strategy to effectively plan--what outcomes do I want?  And then, how do I want to get there? When COVID is over, and my students reflected back on this time with me, what would they most remember? What would they take away from the experience? What would they appreciate the most about our time together? Will it be that they learned multiplication, how to write an essay, or facts about some science topic? Or would they most remember the feeling of our welcoming, virtual classroom culture, the inspired teaching and learning despite being apart, or the strong sense of belonging and purpose for learning that we were able to cultivate across remote learning platforms? No doubt, every student will answer these questions differently, but I know what my priorities would be - ensuring that my families were in a good place and developing community at each level.

Mara: Cathy, before wrapping up today’s conversation, what resources on our own Growing Up Boulder website do you think would most effectively support teachers, parents and students during the COVID quarantine?

Cathy: By visiting our website, growingupboulder.org, you can find an entire section dedicated to our very own virtual resources targeted toward families and teachers. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for updates on opportunities to get involved in our current projects that are switching to online engagements. For example, there are great opportunities for young people and whole classrooms to provide input on some of Boulder’s current city planning projects via narrated slideshows, video tutorials, and creative activities. There are also opportunities for young people to connect to each other. Finally, we’ll offer simple ways to keep children, families and teachers engaged, active and positive.  ​

Mara: Thank you for taking the time to share your expertise with us today, Cathy. If listeners want to reach out to you, how do they contact you?

Cathy: I’m happy to receive emails from students, parents, and teachers interested in being involved at catherine.hill@colorado.edu ​