Now that a global pandemic and its multiple impacts on education have coincided with a renewed focus on equity, there’s a lot to be mindful about. And with the new school year about to present even more challenges and uncertainties, staying mindful and staying focused on providing an equitable education are likely to prove more difficult and important than ever.
Preparing learners for academic success is essential. But students must be able to carry what they learn from school to the real world where they will ultimately live and work. In a recent edLeader Panel, educators and entrepreneurs—committed to developing students’ academic and lifelong skills—shared strategies and tools designed to propel student engagement, strengthen academic proficiency, and build young people’s capacity for gainful employment and financial well-being.
Lexia Learning’s Chief Learning Officer Dr. Liz Brooke’s steadfast determination to ensure students of all abilities can become successful readers and confident learners continues to be the driving force behind all of her work. According to Brooke in a recent edWebinar, during this time of remote and distance learning, “There have been various levels of implementation, fidelity, and various levels of learning happening.”
In a recent edWebinar sponsored by NWEA, “Articulating a Plan for Addressing Interrupted Learning: Best Teacher Practices for Back-to-School 2020,” NWEA Strategic Content Design Coordinator Brooke Mabry highlighted instructional approaches that can fill COVID-driven academic gaps and put every student on a fast track to grade level. However it shapes out, the school day has been redefined. These few months of interrupted education call for a rethinking of how students learn.
One of the many challenges with distance learning is finding ways for students to engage in active and interpersonal learning experiences that increase their understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). These types of activities are especially important because they can make abstract scientific concepts more accessible, and engage diverse learners in using engineering processes that are helpful for 21st century careers.
In a recent edWebinar sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company, “Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms: A Response to Racism in America,” four recognized early childhood education specialists, and lead authors of the newly released book Don’t Look Away, Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms, emphasized that to challenge bias, educators have to recognize the role implicit bias, microaggression, and white privilege hold in undermining the learning experiences of marginalized Black and brown children.
While reopening plans for many school districts remain uncertain, a growing number of districts are planning to open remotely or use a hybrid model in which only some students are in an actual school building each day.
Before COVID-19, home internet access for all students was a goal—one that some districts even thought they had achieved. But the pandemic and forced distance learning have exposed a plethora of inequities in schools that many district leaders now see as issues they must address. In the edWebinar, “Digital Equity Strategies for Learning Beyond the Classroom,” the presenters talked about how they are managing digital equity in the COVID-19 era and what they see as the critical next steps.
The extent of the challenges and unknowns involved in safely reopening our schools may seem daunting, but educational organizations and schools now involved in the process are developing helpful frameworks and innovative solutions that show what can be accomplished and how.
edWeb.net and Eduscape have entered into a partnership to offer Virtual Learning Summits on today’s most important topics for teachers and administrators, including remote teaching, STEM education, Google and Microsoft 365 classroom, SEL, and early childhood education. The announcement was made today by Lisa Schmucki, Founder and CEO of edWeb.net, a free professional learning social network, and Alex Urrea, Founder and Managing Partner of Eduscape, the emerging leader for K-16 educator professional development in North America.