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Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Opinion

Q&A Collections: School Closures & the Coronavirus Crisis

By Larry Ferlazzo — July 12, 2021 10 min read
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During the summer, I will be sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 10 years. You can see all those collections from the first nine years here.

Here are the ones I’ve published so far:

The 11 Most Popular Classroom Q&A Posts of the Year

Race & Racism in 69ý

Today’s theme is on school closures and the coronavirus crisis. You can see the list following this excerpt from one of them:

fundamental

* How 69ý Want to Reimagine Education Next Year

The main features students are looking for are relevancy and supportive relationships.

* Ten Ways I’ll Be Teaching Differently Next Year

I share 10 instructional practices I’ve developed during the pandemic that I will be continuing into the next school year.

* Alternatives to Standardized Tests During a Pandemic Year

Three educators suggest alternatives to federally mandated standardized testing during this year undercut by COVID-19.

* ‘There Is No Playbook’ for How to Do Hybrid Teaching

Four educators wrap up a nine-part series offering advice on hybrid/concurrent teaching.

* We ‘Can Lower Expectations and Still Have High Standards’ in Hybrid Teaching

Four educators make recommendations for effective hybrid teaching, including how to use “stations.”

* ‘Virtual, Hybrid, & Concurrent Are Three Words I Never Expected to Use’

Four educators write what they’ve learned about hybrid teaching, such as not being afraid to quickly change a lesson when it isn’t working.

* ‘Give Yourself Grace’ as You Teach Concurrently

Three teachers continue a special series supporting educators moving from full-time distance learning to a hybrid model.

* It’s Like ‘Teaching Two Classes at Once’

Four educators provide technical advice and instructional strategies to use when teaching the same class simultaneously online and in person.

* ‘Hybrid Teaching Is Multitasking to the Umpteenth Degree’

Four educators offer advice to those of us who are just beginning “concurrent” teaching as we return to the physical classroom.

* Strategies for Teaching 69ý Online and Face to Face at the Same Time

Four educators share how they are teaching students simultaneously online and in the physical classroom.

* Six Strategies I Apply to Make My Distance Learning Classes Not Terrible

Larry Ferlazzo shares the six key strategies he’s using in his distance learning classes, including developing student-leadership teams.

* The Idea of ‘Learning Loss’ Begs Us to Ask, ‘Loss From What?’

A Georgia educator challenges the present thinking about “learning loss” and asks, “What if the loss is a loss in inflicting harm?”

* 69ý Respond to Adults’ Fixation on ‘Learning Loss’

A Boston educator shares three guidelines for responding to “learning loss” she developed based on conversations with her students.

* Pandemic Lessons for a Post-COVID-19 Classroom

Five educators share ideas for lessons learned this year that will carry over when they return to “normal” classrooms.

* ‘My Online Learning Experience as a Student This Fall Has Been Great’

Three students share a relatively positive picture of their full-time virtual learning experiences this year.

* ‘Online Learning as a Student Has Been ... Hell on Earth’

Four students write about their online learning experiences, and it’s not a pretty picture....

* Distance Learning ‘Has Been OK, I Guess': 69ý Share About This Year’s Experiences

Four high school students write about their distance learning experiences this year, sharing mixed feelings, including liking not having to wake up early but also suffering from eye strain.

* Teachers Share This Year’s Best Classroom Moments So Far

Many educators, including me, share their best classroom moments so far this year, including a Halloween costume unveiling and virtual visits from poets.

* Teacher-Recommended Tools for Online Learning

Four teachers offer several suggestions for online tools to promote interactive learning, and many others offer readers’ comments about their favorites.

* 10 Favorite Online Teaching Tools Used by Educators This Year

Three other teachers and I share our favorite online tools to use during this unusual year.

* Effective Strategies for Using Online Student-Discussion Boards

Two educators share tips on how to incorporate online discussion boards in virtual or hybrid teaching environments, including going for fewer and deeper ones rather than many shallow conversations.

* What Is & Isn’t Working for Teachers & 69ý This Year

Three teachers and I share what has been working—and what hasn’t—during the first few weeks of the school year, including the value of student “leadership teams” and giving “fresh starts.”

* Making Hybrid Teaching Work for Educators & 69ý

Three educators offer do’s and don’ts of successful hybrid teaching, including setting boundaries and practicing self-care.

* The Do’s & Don’ts of Hybrid Teaching

Three educators offer lessons from their hybrid teaching experience, including emphasizing differentiation and “flipping” the classroom.

* Nine Ways to Implement Culturally Responsive Teaching During Distance Learning

Four educators offer ways teachers can implement culturally responsive teaching during remote learning, including incorporating students’ lives into lessons.

* Strategies for Implementing Online Culturally Responsive Teaching

Four educators offer suggestions on how to provide online culturally responsive teaching, including by providing choice and opportunities for self-reflection.

* Strategies for Promoting Student Collaboration in a Distance Learning Environment

Another teacher and I share strategies to encourage student collaboration in a remote or hybrid learning environment, including through group presentations and class-created “norms.”

Four educators share their experiences of blended learning. They suggest elements needed to make it work in remote teaching such as emphasizing relationship-building and minimizing the number of online tools.

Three educators share how they are adapting the principles of “blended learning” to the COVID-19 environment, including through involving community members and using a “flipped” classroom.

Six educators share tips for teaching virtually, including making time to connect personally with each student and emphasizing collaborative work.

Three educators offer tips for online instruction, ranging from keeping videos short (3-5 minutes) to laying out an agenda at the beginning of each class.

Four educators share instructional strategies for online instruction, including adapting face-to-face techniques like “think-pair-share” and “learning stations.”

Two teacher guest contributors and I highlight lessons that we learned in the spring, including emphasizing what we can control and not worrying (much) about what is outside of it.

Four educators share how they are going to apply lessons they learned in the spring to this new school year, including by reaching out to students as well as to parents.

Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey (co-authors of The Distance Learning Playbook), Isabel Morales, and Kiera Beddes share lessons they have learned from the spring, including the need for “empathetic feedback” and community-building.

Five educators share recommendations for effective distance learning, including limiting the number of online tools teachers use with students and not assuming that caregivers will be around to help with schoolwork.

Wrapping up this series on the dos and don’ts of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, three educators suggest such strategies as creating online and offline content and embracing uncertainty.

Two educators call for schools to use this time of crisis to focus on equity issues like desegregation and community involvement.

Three teachers offer colleagues suggestions for this fall, including showing “grace” to students, parents, and themselves and emphasizing flexibility.

Four educators share instructional recommendations for the pandemic-influenced fall, including setting boundaries and showing patience.

Four educators share ideas on how to start a pandemic-effect school year, including by organizing scavenger hunts and having students share and write captions for their favorite photos.

Three teachers explain how they are going to start the COVID-19-affected new school year, including by sending videos or letters to students before classes begin.

Katie Hull Synieski and I share a book excerpt offering ideas on building relationships as our online or hybrid school year begins, including question starters and “show-and-tell” activities.

We Might Have Gotten Remote Learning Wrong. We Can Still Fix This School Year


The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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