Teachers and students all across the country are gearing up to return to in-person learning if they haven’t already begun. For some, this will be the first time back in the classroom in a year, after the global pandemic forced many communities to embrace remote learning almost overnight.
Like any event of this scale, this transition will come with challenges. Safety, of course, will be of highest concern as schools work to abide by local and state guidelines around social distancing. Then, there’s the challenge of keeping students engaged, as some remain fully remote, or split their time between remote and in-person learning under a “hyflex” teaching model. To navigate potential hurdles, teachers, families, and community members will need to stay aware of any changes in safety regulations, as well as understand what resources and technologies are available to them during this time.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recently released new guidelines detailing how K-12 schools can safely return to delivering in-person instruction. Their recommendations emphasize the need for schools, and communities, to use and layer five key mitigation strategies:
These strategies, particularly #1 and #2, per the CDC, should be implemented regardless of the community’s level of risk, and regardless of the teaching model the school follows. Schools should also be prepared to provide additional accommodations to families as necessary, in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students.
The CDC made it clear that getting children back to school will be a community effort. The effectiveness of each school’s safety plan will be highly dependent on the health of the broader community. As such, the CDC laid out several phase-based options for reopening, all of which take into consideration the area’s current level of risk and ability to administer screening/testing of students and teachers.
Largely, it appears that teachers are in support of the CDC’s proposed plan. Though some wish it had come sooner, it is the first thorough and clear roadmap to be offered to educators during the pandemic. Still, concerns around health equity persist.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement to NBC that some schools still lack “the basic protections that the CDC has said are universally required.” If those schools do not put these protections into place, they will not be able to safely or successfully reopen, which will disproportionately affect “Black, brown, indigenous, and poor white students.”
The plan also does not require teachers or students to be fully-vaccinated in order for their schools to reopen. Some teachers have been vocal in their criticism of this, expressing that their vaccination is key to any plan that includes in-person instruction. In a recent NEA poll, 70% of respondents said they would feel safer working in-person if they were vaccinated.
Despite these concerns, educators agree with government officials that in-person learning is an invaluable resource to all communities. Rolling out its return, however, requires more thoughtful consideration.
As recommended by the CDC, schools will return to in-person learning in phases, starting with reduced classroom attendance, or a hybrid learning model. In order to make a full return to in-person learning, schools must first show that they are able to operate safely at this reduced capacity. This means that virtual learning is here to stay.
With a hybrid/hyflex model, students return to school in cohorts or pods smaller than the typical class size. While one pod receives in-person instruction, the remaining pod(s) can stay engaged with the curriculum at home by leveraging remote learning tools. Even if a school enters a phase in which in-person instruction is the preferred method, the CDC recommends that families should still be given the option to participate in virtual learning if someone close to them is at risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
If the name gives you any clue, the biggest perk of a hyflex teaching model is the flexibility that it offers to teachers, students, and families. The virtual tools that children have grown accustomed to over the past few months can now be integrated with some of the in-person practices that they might have missed. Students and teachers have the opportunity to re-imagine the classroom experience, and turn it into one that combines the best parts of remote and in-person learning.
Teachers now have access to cutting-edge technology that can make their hybrid experience run as smoothly and seamlessly as possible. This includes video conferencing platforms, collaborative education tools, and learning management systems that allow for easy classroom immersion, wherever your students are.
Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting and Skype have been heavily leaned on throughout the pandemic. While functionality varies slightly between the platforms, all of them offer a fairly simple way to hop online and connect with students face-to-face. Teachers can share their screen or create breakout rooms to increase engagement during a live session.
In a hybrid model, these platforms can be synced with a 360-degree, high definition camera like the Meeting Owl, which creates an easy and immersive experience for students, both at-home and in-person, to communicate with their teachers and peers in real-time. Or, teachers can pre-record lessons, so that students can watch them at their own pace.
Collaborative learning tools encourage students to participate in lessons without necessarily having to speak or show themselves on video. These include Google Classroom, Nearpod, and Blackboard. Both Google Classroom and Blackboard make it easy to sort, track and administer assignments. These tools will be critical for teachers trying to stay organized as they manage several, separate cohorts of students. Nearpod, on the other hand, offers an interactive presentation experience, allowing students to submit responses to prompts in real-time. This will help students feel involved and connected, even at home.
All of these technologies can be leveraged together to maximize classroom comfortability and engagement. If teachers are not sure where to start or want to do some research, they can refer to this guide on how to set up a hyflex school environment.
Social sites, like Pinterest, have also become popular among teachers. There, you can find whole boards dedicated to activity suggestions, classroom technology recommendations and tips for self-care. SlidesGo, another free tool, offers pre-designed presentation templates, helping teachers create more eye-catching lessons.