Written By: Alesia Mickle Moldavan (Fordham University)
Using Digital Education Amid a Global Pandemic to Address Coursework and Wellbeing
The COVID-19 global pandemic has elicited an unprecedented response in teacher education and the education field at large to examine the practical and pedagogical challenges of tending to students’ learning needs during turbulent times. The nature of COVID-19 has forced higher education and K–12 schools to quickly rethink teaching beyond the traditional classroom setting (e.g., in-person instruction). As schools began to close for the unpredictable future, school leaders, teachers, and stakeholders turned to innovative alternatives for instruction (e.g., digital education) to mitigate the immediate impact of missed in-person class time (Reich et al., 2020). While the transition posed opportunities to expand new learning horizons, it also illuminated issues regarding access to technology, the quality of remote learning, home support, and teacher/student wellbeing during a pandemic’s learning disruption. To prepare for a better tomorrow, we must make time to reflect and learn from our experience so we can be equipped to create the conditions needed to thrive as we reconceptualize the future of education, especially digital education.
As a program director and teacher educator in higher education who prepares beginning teachers for K–12 classrooms, I am one among many colleagues who have had to quickly adapt my professional practice to meet the needs of my students, most of whom were already navigating the stressful balance of work while also completing their field experiences during the day and simultaneously taking graduate-level methods courses at night. In this critical reflection, I report on the impact COVID-19 has had on education by unpacking the significant challenges and opportunities that I have witnessed first-hand being at the epicenter of the crisis in New York City. I share with you my experience speaking with beginning teachers who consented to sharing their stories transitioning their instruction to remote learning. I also reflect on transitioning my own courses online with asynchronous and synchronous coursework and the response from my students who abruptly adjusted to digital education. Additionally, I discuss how I made use of a newly developed online learning platform, known as EduBeing, to facilitate discussions of teacher wellbeing and serve as a supplemental resource for beginning teachers to develop professional identity and wellness. My hope in writing this piece is to provide a space to learn from those integrating innovative digital education to support teachers and students. As society continues to battle COVID-19, the field of education must be tasked with not only providing guidance during this period of transition but also informing what such resources may offer more broadly for education, pedagogy, and practice.
Thinking Beyond the School Walls While Sheltering at Home
Without a doubt, COVID-19 has presented significant challenges and exacerbated the racial, economic, and educational inequities that plague society worldwide. The disproportionate impacts of the virus have exposed fault lines that were already threatening communities of color and those without proper access to healthcare, shelter, food, and educational resources (Armitage & Nellums, 2020; Van Lancker & Parolin, 2020). Even before the pandemic, families struggled to confront unemployment, food shortages, and housing insecurity. Additional stressors in response to the pandemic’s disruptions and closures have only exacerbated the numbers of families facing such struggles coupled with the added demands of anxiety and depression when faced with caring for others fighting the virus or, worse yet, mourning those who lost their battles to the disease (Wan, 2020). While I could go on to discuss my disappointment in how limited guidance surrounding the virus has resulted in a health crisis fueled by targeted hate groups, conspiracy theories, and political agendas, I find it more beneficial to shed light on the communities who have united to support the continuation of education (e.g., K–12, higher education) and advocate for social justice to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all students. While the call for such social justice has been no small order and is nowhere near complete, great efforts have been made to think beyond the traditional classroom setting so students can continue learning. Knowing we have been asked to shelter inside to protect ourselves from the virus, we have had to resort to other ways to stay connected and improve the current state of education.
In speaking with New York City school leaders, teachers, and parents, I have repeatedly been told that shutdowns and school closures have disrupted teaching and learning routines as well as students’ readiness to learn while negotiating the social-emotional stresses of an uncertain time. Schools not only serve as structured places to learn and challenge one’s mind but also serve as places of support for vulnerable students. Many students who rely on school for academic engagement (e.g., extracurricular activities, friends, ceremonies), food for sustenance, and in-person relationships with caring adults have had to face the negative impacts of not having those same opportunities coupled with social isolation. Undoubtedly, the transition bridging the school to the home has been challenging, especially when the home setting may not be set up for learning (e.g., quiet space with minimal distractions, device access/sharing, high-speed internet, parental academic supervision). In hopes to reduce digital divide barriers to learning at home, many school districts sent technology (e.g., Chromebooks, iPads, laptops) home with students and partnered with service providers to provide access to hotspots and high-speed internet in areas that previously lacked the infrastructure or could not be afforded by families. While such actions helped to provide access to technology, an in-service teacher of mine shared the difficulties of not being able to control for other learning measures at home. She teaches in the Bronx and says how her students often lack parental guidance at home due to parents working essential jobs. The lack of structured support makes it hard for students to be held accountable for learning, especially when older children are asked to look after their younger brothers and sisters. She also shared how she has her students come to her saying:
“Miss, I can’t learn in this ghetto. I have to be at school. I was going to school to leave this ghetto so I could learn, but COVID-19 has taken me back to the ghetto and the things that I don’t want to do.”
Such comments illuminate the realities of navigating remote learning and the inequities that must be considered when mandating school-life shared with home-life.
When schools made an unprecedented shift to digital learning environments to continue student learning, teachers made changes in their instructional practices that required a paradigm shift considering variations in content delivery, learning modalities, student engagement, and patterns of assessment, feedback, and reflection to inform next steps. Knowing that children may be sharing devices and bandwidth with others in the household, many teachers (under the guidance/direction of their school and district leaders) pre-recorded lessons of themselves lecturing. This enabled students to watch the videos of their teachers at a time that best worked for their schedules at home. Along with the videos, students were provided guided notes and asynchronous tasks that would assess student understanding and provide enrichment. Several of my in-service teachers shared how the lessons and assignments were posted online via learning platforms (e.g., Google Classroom, Blackboard). Students would use such learning platforms to share assignment files and receive graded feedback from their teachers. Other video conferencing and chat platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype) were used to follow up with assigned group activities coordinated by teachers and students for purposes of completing synchronous tasks (e.g., experiments, debates, projects, student error analysis) and organizing office hours for individual and small group support.
While my in-service teachers shared their efforts to continue learning beyond the classroom walls, they also provided insight into the various challenges they faced during the transition. With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the indefinite length of school closures, many teachers received limited (if any) professional development (PD) on effective ways to engage students in digital education. PD that could have benefited the teachers (and students) included training on the provided learning and video conferencing platforms, stimulating discussions on setting virtual classroom norms and behavior management, promoting student participation and engagement, and making use of other compatible digital learning resources to enhance student learning outside the classroom. When such PD was not accessible, teachers looked to colleagues and anecdotal reports as they learned on the job.
As a teacher educator, I see the void in such PD as an opportunity for school leaders and various stakeholders in education to work together to create a shared vision that depicts the purpose and future of digital learning environments. While I recognize that digital learning environments may differ based on school-specific needs, such environments still share a commonality in that they need to provide learning spaces that are safe and sustainable for both teachers and students. Furthermore, efforts must be made to create inclusive communities that center students’ assets as the foundation for equity-focused content, curriculum, and pedagogies. When students see themselves as learners and doers of the content (e.g., mathematicians, scientists), they can develop the cognitive and emotional resiliency skills critical to thrive as a learner in a time of uncertainty. I suggest the following recommendations to develop an inclusive digital learning community:
(a) set high expectations and meaningful learning opportunities for all students;
(b) build on students’ knowledge, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, family practices, and learning experiences to honor diversity;
(c) provide opportunities for students to identify inequities in their communities and problematize reform;
(d) promote reflection on societal issues and theorize ways to connect with others across communities;
and (e) support the social-emotional needs of students by building trusting relationships and adjusting teaching to reflect students’ needs.
Digital education that is reflective of the community and social aspect of its learners coupled with the technological needs of those participating can foster a humanistic perspective toward learning that intrigues, motivates, and lures others into seeing (and experiencing) the opportunities of digital culture and education.
Staying Connected in Digital Space in Higher Education
Similar to the beginning teachers navigating new terrain in digital education, I also had to transition my own courses online in response to my university shutting its doors to in-person instruction. With about two months of the spring semester remaining, I knew I had to rethink my syllabus, adjust my instruction, and console my students that we were still going to have an effective semester just through another medium that so few had experience with or never imagined partaking in during their program. Luckily, I had prior experience teaching online using asynchronous and synchronous learning tools. Next, I provide an overview of some of the resources I used to facilitate digital education. I share this information to not only provide a context for my courses but also insight into my thought process for using digital education to enhance my instruction and elicit student participation and academic success.
Prior to the transition to remote learning in response to COVID-19, I taught methods courses for pre and in-service teachers. Each course met in-person once a week for lecture, hands-on activities, debates, peer presentations, and group projects. I would prepare each class with about one-third of the time focused on lecture and review of research while the rest of the time was student-led with targeted tasks that facilitated exploration, discussion, and reflection. These tasks often required tangible materials (e.g., manipulatives, lab equipment, simulators/calculators) that would be used by the students to share their findings using chart paper, gallery walks, skits, and presentations. I made it a priority of mine to keep the in-person instruction interactive, engaging, and meaningful. I also used informal and formal assessments to modify my next steps for both current and future lessons. My students were responsive to the set classroom norms and actively participated in the planned activities and assessments.
To limit course disruptions when in-person classes were canceled, I adopted a hybrid remote learning model that enabled me to blend synchronous and asynchronous instruction. I used Zoom and Google Drive (e.g., Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms) to interact with my students in real-time via a virtual learning environment. These web-based software and conferencing platforms enabled me to schedule times for us to virtually meet and live-stream class. Students would participate in chats and breakout room discussions, annotate on shared screens/whiteboards, and receive immediate feedback from their peers and instructor.
Outside of class, students would access weekly self-guided learning modules consisting of assignments and discussion posts via Blackboard. For example, a module would consist of a task that would direct students to a reading, video, narrated PowerPoint, or activity. After engaging in the task, students would respond to one or two weekly discussion posts by a set time midweek. For the remainder of the week, students were asked to carry out the conversation by responding to at least two peers’ posts by the module’s deadline. To guide the peer discussion posts, students were asked to respond to their peers using the following guidelines: (a) compare or contrast the peer’s perspective with your own, (b) offer constructive ideas for further analysis or an alternative perspective, and/or (c) expand or reinforce your own analysis or experience. The idea behind the discussion board was to create an online community of inquiry where individuals could collaboratively engage in purposeful discourse and critical reflection to construct meaning and articulate understanding with others (Garrison, 2007). My students were responsive to learning in the virtual learning environment I created. In my end-of-course evaluations, one student said:
“The course became more accessible for me. I could complete the asynchronous work at my own pace, watch the video tutorials as many times as I needed, and build on my peers’ ideas shared in the discussion posts. Then, the synchronous instruction enabled me to check for understanding with my instructor and peers.”
Another student commented on how the various learning materials shared in different formats encouraged her to interact with the content and stay engaged.
From an instructor’s perspective, I found that the use of digital education enhanced student participation in the course. I used the asynchronous modules as a flipped instruction model to encourage student engagement by moving lecture and research outside the classroom, thereby, leaving more time for student-led discussions and interactive activities during the synchronous instruction. Thus, the flipped instruction model enabled me to use technology to not only promote learning beyond the classroom but also create an active and collaborative learning environment (Clark, 2015).
It also helped that I enforced classroom norms that included requirements about camera use for participation purposes. The intimacy of seeing everyone looking at their screen enabled us to engage with one another, which led to better conversations. In an in-person setting, students typically sit at the same table and communicate with their same peers week after week. The breakout room feature of Zoom allowed me to randomly (or strategically) place students in various sized rooms outside of the main room to debate and share their ideas. If you asked students to move in and out of new groups multiple times throughout an in-person class, time would be wasted during the transition and individuals would get tired of relocating themselves. The breakout room feature reduced the distance between the students and allowed students to learn from each other, rather than seeing the instructor as the expert (Chandler, 2016). I could also join the breakout rooms to provide support and clarification about a task or monitor the discussion for assessment purposes. I recommend others interested in using similar features to familiarize themselves with the technical features and seek additional training on how to effectively design and facilitate appropriate activities to support students’ needs.
Supporting Teacher Wellbeing with Digital Learning Resources
Without a doubt, the teaching profession can be considered a highly stressful environment, especially for beginning teachers (Harmsen et al., 2018; Newberry & Allsop, 2017). Even before the added pressures of COVID-19, research suggested that beginning teachers experienced high levels of stress in response to demanding workloads and expectations as they learned to handle classroom management, job-related anxiety, exhaustion (e.g., mental, physical, social, emotional), lack of autonomy, and workplace satisfaction (Harmsen et al., 2016). The high levels of stress have shown to not only impact teachers’ wellbeing, quality of instruction, and retention but also students’ academic performance (Gavish & Friedman, 2010; Hanif et al., 2011; Malmberg & Hagger, 2009; Ronfeldt et al., 2013; Roth et al., 2007).
Knowing the challenges of navigating beginning teachers’ stress and the need for teacher preparation to support teacher wellbeing, I established a research partnership with colleagues at St. Mary’s University in London to create an online learning platform that could be used to develop beginning teachers’ understanding of wellbeing. The online learning platform, known as EduBeing, is a publicly accessible website (see www.edubeing.com) that supports teachers in recognizing the pressures of the profession and provides strategies to monitor personal wellbeing and establish a healthy work-life balance. The added stress of teaching during a crisis and time of uncertainty made the website a pertinent resource to communicate concerns of wellbeing through five dimensions: social, physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual (Seligman, 2011).
Using an inquiry model similar to that of how I organized the asynchronous instruction of my courses, the website offers five modules with each module corresponding with one dimension. When users select a module, they are provided with background information and additional readings about the dimension. For example, the cognitive wellbeing module references Feldon’s (2007) research that provides a comprehensive discussion on why teachers react the way they do in classrooms and shares implications for how teachers can better understand the strategies they use when teaching. After users familiarize themselves with the selected dimension, they are introduced with a stimulus (e.g., video, image, interactive activity). Following engagement with the stimulus, the users are prompted to reflect on several discussion questions that are linked to a community forum. Various activities (e.g., create a concept map of social communities, track physical activity, design a graphic that depicts a current emotional state) are also listed to have teachers gather data related to each dimension to help them plan obtainable goals. The impetus for the activities is to use the feedback from each activity to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses to inform next steps. Next, I highlight a few examples of how my students engaged with the platform and received constructive feedback from other users for purposes of acknowledging the need for similar resources to be used in digital education to enhance personal learning and reflection, especially during a pandemic.
When studying my students’ participation in the modules and community forum, I noticed that they spent ample time reflecting on the different aspects of their overall wellbeing in relation to their work-life balance (or lack thereof). For instance, to encourage reflection around social wellbeing, my students were asked to create a concept map of their social communities. Several students referred to the use of social media for connecting with others to build friendships and support systems, especially during the social isolation of quarantine. EduBeing’s community forum served as one such example of using social media for participants to find like-minded individuals to share ideas with and challenge one another’s growth while negotiating the role of a teacher.
Another module that sparked deep reflection from my students was that of their physical wellbeing. The students shared their continued efforts to find balance between work and physical health. There were several comments made where they shared their concerns for not yet finding a balance between all of their priorities due to not enough time in the day. There were several students that recognized that their health had not been prioritized and that this was problematic for them. An often-cited reasoning for this was the emphasis on schoolwork and feeling exhausted from the workday. They shared their physical activity charts and helped one another find balance by organizing each other’s schedules and strategizing ways to incorporate more exercise into their daily routines, especially when access to gyms and other facilities have been closed due to quarantine restrictions.
When the students reflected on their cognitive wellbeing, some students cited not being able to think clearly, having clouded thinking, or feeling as though they were in a fog when they became stressed with teaching. Several students also cited changes in mood in the form of depression, irritability, and anxiety when they felt overwhelmed with work and community concerns about the virus. To provide support to one another, students offered relaxation exercises (e.g., progressive muscle relaxation, yoga) and references to support groups. Many of the students reflected on how the EduBeing modules helped them put their lives into perspective and engage in reflection as a method for reducing overall negative thoughts or pessimism. Many students additionally cited positive self-talk in the form of affirmations as ways to reduce negative thoughts and become more present and intentional in their coping mechanisms. These examples serve as just a few of the many observed benefits from those interacting with EduBeing. Thus, I share this work to recognize the need for relevant resources to be used in varied learning environments to foster learning, discussion, and reflection while also highlighting the need to enhance teacher wellbeing education for the retention and mental health of our current and future teachers.
Building a Roadmap for Digital Education
Advances in digital education have enabled society to adapt to the ever-changing needs and interests of its users. The innovative use of digital tools and technology has paved the way for unique learning opportunities for individuals to engage in a variety of technology-enhanced instructional practices that develop understanding, collaborative problem-solving skills, and global awareness (Groff, 2013). Amid a pandemic, we have learned that digital education can be effectively used to bridge learning between one’s home and school when appropriate resources and training are provided. While there are still practice and pedagogical challenges that must be considered, digital education may act as a catalyst for adjustments made to “normal” instruction that keeps teachers, students, and families connected during times when physical connection may not be possible. For K–12 and higher education to reap the benefits and possibilities of digital education, it is imperative that we learn from those engaging with its various resources and build a roadmap for how digital education can be adapted to thrive in the field.
For digital education to enrich classroom learning, we must creatively rethink how we can use such tools to make shifts in our instructional modes to enhance our current learning routines and other activities (e.g., summer camps, youth programs). We must work with families and community leaders to ensure students have access to learning environments at home with effective technology, training, and infrastructure. The same applies for teachers looking to adapt technology-facilitated pedagogical innovation. We know bridging in-person instruction into a digital learning environment presents specific challenges; thus, training in digital education’s best practices (e.g., use of technology, effective instruction, virtual engagement) must be conceptualized and offered. We must also call upon the need to use digital education as a way to incorporate social and mental wellbeing resources so students and teachers can develop skills to monitor their wellness, especially when coping with the stresses of a pandemic. If digital education is to be seen for its accessibility and opportunity to supplement and enhance our current initiatives in education, we must capitalize on its momentum and map its current progress and future success.
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