The rapid transition to online learning created significant technological difficulties. For one, the district did not have a 1:1 computer program, meaning that not all students had access to computers they could take home. Additionally, being in a rural area, internet connectivity was limited. Therefore, due to lack of technology access, the district chose to make the remainder of the year optional with asynchronous assignments.<\/p>\n
The lack of technology and internet connectivity was a barrier for some to be able to continue. And so because of that, our district made everything in the spring of 2020 optional. So we used the students\u2019 grades that they had earned so far as their second semester grades.<\/em><\/p>\n Since Mr. Johns had already been utilizing Google Classroom to post lecture slides and other online assignments, the transition was not particularly burdensome for him. However, he noted that teachers were generally expected to work through this this transition to virtual learning on their own, with limited or no district support.<\/p>\n We had a week to a couple weeks where we were supposed to have stuff posted and then have assignments for the rest of the year, but it was all kind of on our own. We didn\u2019t have any training about any of this. Certainly nothing in person that prepared us for it.<\/em><\/p>\n Given that his science instruction typically included numerous hands-on experiences, providing engaging online instruction was challenging for Mr. Johns. He dealt with this issue by attempting to find virtual replacements or cutting out some labs completely. However, he soon found that supplementing his lessons with online alternatives was not very effective for student learning.<\/p>\n Our human body systems class, it\u2019s Project Lead the Way, the curriculum\u2019s online, so it wasn\u2019t a huge transition to go virtual. However, it does involve a lot of hands-on lab activities, which we had to either go find virtual replacements for them or just skip over those parts. So it wasn\u2019t the same experience as they would\u2019ve gotten in class. Chemistry was difficult, it was very lab-based. So there are a few simulations and types of things we can do online, but I think it was not nearly as effective as being in person.<\/em><\/p>\n This struggle to provide effective science instruction was amplified by the added planning and instructional time required to take up the topic of COVID. Mr. Johns indicated that it was important for him to provide students with access to accurate information from reliable sources during a time when quite a bit of misinformation about COVID was being spread.<\/p>\n I did pass along a few tips about how to prevent the spread of COVID, what social distancing looks like, handwashing, sanitation, and then some of the CDC guidelines about quarantine and those kind of things. . . . It was a time when there was all kinds of information flying around about what\u2019s best and what\u2019s recommended and not recommended, so trying to be a reliable source of information was part of the goal there. Just trying to be a good source of information for students.<\/em><\/p>\n The following school year (2020\u201321), the district abided by federal guidelines and began with instruction completely online. To alleviate some of the challenges from the previous school year, the district was able to provide all students with a laptop. Although internet access was still a barrier for some students, instruction was much smoother than in the previous school year. Mr. Johns held short synchronous classes with students in the morning and then assigned them work to do on their own in the afternoons. He also held office hours for students who sought out help.<\/p>\n I think we had a shorter schedule where it was about a 30-minute synchronous class, and then we were supposed to have assignments for the afternoon, and we had office hours and stuff where they could get extra support.<\/em><\/p>\n Although attendance was no longer optional, Mr. Johns explained that student engagement and participation in his classes was almost nonexistent.<\/p>\n One of the issues with online was the students. A lot of times they would log on, but they wouldn\u2019t even show their faces, so I didn\u2019t really know who was paying attention, who wasn\u2019t. I would ask questions, and no one would unmute and answer them. It was just not very interactive.<\/em><\/p>\n As federal and state COVID guidelines shifted, the district transitioned into a hybrid schedule where students were split into two groups and alternated between days of in-person instruction and online asynchronous assignments. However, as students began\u00a0returning to school on the hybrid schedule, the district set health and safety guidelines, including the addition of intense sanitation procedures both in the classrooms and for the entire building. Mr. Johns explained that these guidelines provided a lot of extra work for teachers and conflicted with their teaching responsibilities.<\/p>\n It was a challenge to sanitize the desks between classes and those kinds of things . . . Then a lot of times, I\u2019m trying to get this lesson plan and get it set up just right and get on the Zoom, and I\u2019m supposed to be sanitizing desks, and so there\u2019s some small-time commitments where, \u201cDo I devote this time to make sure my Zoom class is ready, or do I sanitize?\u201d And so some of those decisions, \u201cDo I sacrifice instruction for making sure the desks are sanitized?\u201d those kind of things. We also had a temperature-scanning station, hand-washing station, and sanitizing station coming into the building. So I was manning those duties two or three times a week in the mornings. So the students got off the buses, [and we were] making sure they were wearing their masks, checking their temperatures, escorting the ones whose temperatures were too high to the isolation room and getting them checked out, all<\/em> Because virtual instruction was a key piece of the hybrid schedule, Mr. Johns devoted a vast amount of time to adapting his instruction to this new way of teaching.<\/p>\n I would record the lab activities and they would watch the video instead of actually doing it. We would do a lot of that. It was a lot of time that I would spend in the evenings trying to put together lessons and Google Slides that students could interact with. So it was a significant increase in time commitment to move a lot of the stuff that we\u2019ve done in person and try and find a way to do it online.<\/em><\/p>\n In the later part of the 2020\u201321 school year, all students transitioned to being back in school full time. As a result, safety precautions became increasingly important. Mr. Johns began devoting class time to discussing why masking was important from a public health standpoint, which helped his students see the value in following COVID protocols.<\/p>\n These things we were learning about related to their experience with the pandemic and why we were wearing masks. . . . I think especially knowing just how it\u2019s spread, how the viruses work, and how it was easily transmissible through respiratory droplets. It was a little added motivation and understanding of, \u201cIt\u2019s not just a rule we\u2019re asking you to follow, it\u2019s actually for your protection and for others\u2019 protection as well.\u201d And I think they were more eager to at least buy into it than just the requirement by itself. . . . Students having an understanding of how the disease is spread, how their behavior and their compliance with wearing masks and different things helps protect people is helpful.<\/em><\/p>\n In-person instruction continued throughout the 2021\u201322 school year, and Mr. Johns described feeling that things were getting back to normal. In particular, he was happy to return to lab activities he had effectively used in the past.<\/p>\n I was glad to have students back in person to be able to return to some of the hands-on lab stuff that we have been able to do in the past. So yeah, last year was as close to normal as we\u2019ve had in a while, so I enjoyed that part of returning to some of those allowing students to work in the lab and do lab activities.<\/em><\/p>\n Mr. Johns also continued to incorporate COVID into his instruction as a way to help students connect science to their lived experiences.<\/p>\n I brought COVID up again when it was appropriate. . . . I think that\u2019s a helpful way to learn. They can take the topics we\u2019re learning, and they can see how it applies to their situation that they\u2019ve been through just recently.<\/em><\/p>\n Looking back, Mr. Johns expressed optimism that the knowledge about COVID gained by his students can impact in the community at large, both now and into the future.<\/p>\n I think students then can take this information that they gain in school and even share that with their families and friends, and those they interact with. That they can promote a more informed population, then we think we can have a better response if anything like this happens in the future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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