As I write this, we are over a month into Social Distancing, which for schools across the country and world means online learning. It's like the Wild West right now. Educators, parents, and students are scrambling to figure out how to create a new way of learning for a while. At this point, we know it will continue through the end of our school year. Nobody is sure what the next school year will look like, and we can't worry about right now. We have to prepare for the long haul. There are many school districts across the country which were unprepared for this sudden need to switch to digital learning. Teachers had little to no training on using online presentation tools, accessing digital resources, sharing digital work with students and families, or collaborating with colleagues via digital means. What we found out as the days went by, was that many families didn't have enough technology to support fully online learning for their children. So, the focus shifted from sharing digital resources to sharing activities and materials that could be used offline. This was when children's talents really started to emerge. The focus changed from webquests and digital worksheets to more creative activities. Kids got more choice of how to share their learning. Many of the activities incorporated things from nature or their homes.
In having to do the business of school and learning differently, many of us discovered that our students have amazing talents we knew nothing about. We've also adopted a whole different mindset about teaching and learning--one we probably should have been using all along. We teach kids, not standards or concepts. Kids are SO different from each other and bring a multitude of hopes, wishes, dreams, talents, weaknesses, emotions, and ideas to class with them. It doesn't matter whether we have class in person or remotely. If we are to do our very best for our students, we must really look at who they are and what they need while we plan for their learning. The expression "Meet them where they are" has become ubiquitous for good reason. It sums up best practice quickly. It is, however, only a sound bite. It offers no direction or explanation of how to do that or why it is so important. While we always have learning targets for our students, ideally, the support we provide varies by student. I'm working on a series of blog posts. One of the main goals is to guide teachers in figuring out which kids need what support to develop their talents as fully as possible. Each post will highlight a different type of student, including some common traits and needs of that type of learner. I'll also share key tips that provide a helpful place to start. I hope you'll join me in exploring where we go from here. Until next time, Dr. Kraeger
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AuthorHoping to reach others living and learning in the world of education. Archives
September 2018
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