Bridging the Gap: Attending to Students’ Needs After the Pandemic

Feel free to read and share this article from PDI’s Director of Content Development, Kristin LeBeau. Stay tuned for more information regarding our newest course (set to open March 2021) designed to help educators with bridging the academic gap left by remote learning as a result of COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 forced a near-total shutdown of schools around the world. At first, there wasn’t much to worry about. The measure was precautionary, as many countries were trying to “flatten the curve.” At the time, it was the consensus of scientists, researchers, and epidemiologists that shutting down entire nations for two weeks would go a long way towards slowing the spread of the virus over time so that health care systems worldwide would not become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, this was just the tip of the iceberg. As the world looked on in horror, the number of coronavirus cases and deaths continued to skyrocket, with no prospect of letting up. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, as of January 26, 2021, there have been 99,900,714 confirmed cases of the disease worldwide, with the vast majority residing in the United States (25,312,454).

The U.S. education system is not set up to remotely serve students for extended periods of time, whether the interruption is caused by a global pandemic, war, or natural disaster. Because of the extended shutdowns like those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers, administrators, students, and parents have all worked tirelessly to keep students learning. Nevertheless, despite the yeoman’s service displayed by hundreds of thousands of school communities across the nation and world, these efforts are not likely to produce the same quality education as provided by in-person learning. Because of this, when students return to in-person learning on a full-time basis, new evidence suggests that the shutdowns caused by COVID-19 could exacerbate the achievement gaps that already exist between the lowest and highest performing students.

No matter what your role in education might be, a daunting task awaits us when it comes to transitioning students back to in-person learning. Aside from all the logistical and social and emotional challenges, there are going to be significant academic challenges once schools have been given the green light to return to in-person instruction. “Summer slide” is a real thing and returning to school after a long absence like the circumstances surrounding the pandemic takes this phenomenon and magnifies it ten-fold. Add to the fact that not every student was at the same place when schools abruptly had to shut down in March 2020, nor did every student have the same remote learning experience. Fortunately, PDI will soon have a course in place to help teachers address the immense needs of their students — academically, behaviorally, socially, and emotionally — upon their return to school.

How can we, as educators, address the immense social and emotional needs of our returning students?

There is no doubt about it — teaching and learning have changed, and chances are they might be changed forever. When the decision was made to transfer students to remote learning in response to the March 2020 outbreak of the novel coronavirus, little did policymakers know how requiring the country to lockdown would affect students and their families. Although well-intentioned, the decision to lockdown was based strictly on controlling the spread of the virus; it did not consider some of the unintended consequences which stemmed from the unprecedented shutdown of society. Virtually overnight, students were removed from their support systems — their teachers, friends, sports, and other after-school activities. Gone was the chance to mingle with friends over lunch, share a laugh, or collaborate over a project. In the blink of an eye, everything changed. And with it came some very unexpected and life-altering changes, oftentimes triggering a series of traumatic events, for students and families alike.

But this will not have happened in vain. In fact, the pandemic has served to stress the importance of students’ social and emotional well-being, a topic of great consequence. PDI’s newest course addresses this in several ways.

·       All students have the legal right to attend a school in which they feel safe. The unintended consequences of trauma are real, making it impossible to meet students’ psychological and self-fulfillment needs without first attending to their most basic needs, including safety, security, and cultural competence issues.

·       It reiterates the important role that social and emotional learning plays in the overall process of learning. By addressing students’ SEL needs in a culturally responsive manner, educators can encourage students to adopt a growth mindset. As students learn how to use their metacognitive skills to support a growth mindset, they become more motivated and eager to put some “skin in the game.”

·       The course offers specific guidance, strategies, and differentiated activities that are designed to give students voice and choice in the classroom. Doing so helps teachers regain rapport and trust, ultimately leading to engaged and resilient learners.

Where to begin?

While it may seem obvious, the best place to begin is at the beginning. Teachers must remember that no two students are exactly alike nor will they learn in exactly the same manner. This course is designed to help teachers meet students where they are, by doing the following.

·       Assessing and identifying learning gaps

·       Setting goals and tracking progress

·       Creating an action/remediation plan, and using learning contracts to stick to that plan

·       Providing a multi-tiered system of support through the activation of prior knowledge, tiered lessons, and backwards planning.

Furthermore, what many students seem to have missed the most was being able to collaborate with their peers. Naturally, COVID-19 has thrown teachers and students a curve ball. However, the good news is that teachers and students are resilient, and they can learn how to safely collaborate in a new environment. By maintaining rigorous standards, teachers can guide students as they work to build their stamina.

How can rapport be established so that students are re-engaged in their learning?

It has often been said that any relationship is a two-way street, and that mutual respect and trust need to be earned. Not surprisingly, it can be difficult for teachers to establish and maintain a positive classroom environment in the absence of mutual respect and trust. When students return to in-person instruction, the best way to go about this is to begin to unpack assumptions so that boundaries and expectations can be established. Once this foundation has been built and students begin to believe in their teachers and classrooms, they can then begin to believe in themselves. After that, teachers will have a much easier time re-engaging students using several strategies, as detailed throughout the course.

·       By engaging all learning styles in every lesson. This includes using multi-sensory and high yield learning strategies.

·       By empowering students with active learning strategies. This includes embracing a variety of visible thinking strategies in an effort to support students’ metacognition.

·       By putting students’ newfound technology skills to good use. There was a huge learning curve when the lockdowns were first established. Now is the time to transform the curriculum so that it better supports a blended learning model. Depending on the grade level and the technological skills of the students (as well as the teacher), flipping the script may not be out of the question.

Is one type of curriculum model “better” in terms of addressing students’ academic needs?

It may surprise some teachers, but many students who experienced success with remote instruction may at first be reluctant to come back to the classroom. Why? Because they enjoyed the freedom of being in control of their own learning. And while it is true that every student responds differently to different types of instruction, one thing is clear: When students are put at the center of the learning, they begin to thrive. Now is not the time to take that control away from them. Teachers may need to experiment, but there are several strategies that give students the opportunity to control not what they learn, but how they learn it. This course provides an in-depth look at several of those strategies, all of which are designed to close the achievement gap and prevent future learning loss.

·       The guided inquiry model places students at the center and uses authentic simulations to make the content “come alive.”

·       When looking at the workshop model, it almost seems too basic and predictable to be successful. The concept is simple: short, but explicit mini lessons, a bulk of time for independent work, and a share time to wrap up the day’s lesson. This method of teaching uses the concept of the gradual release of responsibility to provide structured supports until students no longer need them. This, in turn, encourages students to take charge of their learning by following a predictable daily routine.

·       Commonly referred to as PBL, project-based learning embraces John Dewey’s concept of “learning by doing.” This active learning strategy is associated with creativity, discovery, and innovation, all of which are essential 21st century skills. With PBL, students learn about a topic or concept by working within the context of real-world problems. Students take the driver’s seat as they work in groups over an extended period to find solutions to a relatable problem. Teachers serve as mentors as they guide students through the process, helping to keep them focused and on the right path. Due to its very nature, the topics under investigation rarely have one correct answer. Instead, depending on how the problem is viewed, there can be many different (and equally good) solutions.

·       Curriculum compacting is an instructional strategy that allows for the modification or condensing of the curriculum as a way to streamline the learning experience and reduce the repetition of previously taught and mastered material. This can be highly advantageous, once teachers have determined their students’ individual needs. By compacting the curriculum, teachers make a conscious decision to modify their pacing guides, as necessary and appropriate. When an academic area or curriculum is compacted for a student’s benefit, it allows him or her to allot more time to accelerated learning experiences or enrichment opportunities, as opposed to having to work on what they already know.

What role does assessment play?

As every educator is undoubtedly aware, assessment is likely to play a huge role in terms of helping teachers identify exactly what and where they need to focus. This is where data-driven instruction comes into play. Also known as DDI, at its core, data-driven instruction is a thoughtful decision-making process that is designed to improve student learning. Through the principles of assessment, analysis, action, and culture, DDI rises to the challenge of using data from all kinds of assessments to further drive teachers’ instruction. This is especially important once students return to the classroom. Assessments are designed to take the raw data (D) at the bottom of the DIKW pyramid and transform it into reliable information (I) so that knowledge (K) can be transformed into wisdom (W). Additionally, knowing from whence you came certainly helps teachers plan for future interruptions, like when students are absent for long periods or choose to continue with their remote learning situations. This PDI course is intended to assist teachers as they use the backwards design process to plan their lessons for all types of learning situations, both now and in the future.

For more information about our upcoming course, or to inquire about individual or group training for teachers, please contact Caryn Chavez at caryn@webteaching.com