Students in
Jenifer Scott’s after-school program at Kokomo High School completed a weekly
STEM activity – which on this particular day involved engineering a spider
utilizing only recycled aluminum foil.
Ms. Scott,
in addition to teaching English at Kokomo High School, serves as the KHS coordinator
for Purdue University’s GEAR UP STEM program. During the school year, Ms. Scott
met regularly with 43 KHS sophomores for tutoring and STEM enrichment.
Those
meetings initially took place at Kokomo High School, but when a global pandemic
forced school closures across the nation, the meetings moved to a virtual
space. Students joined a video conference at 3 p.m. on Mondays for a 30-minute
STEM activity. Ms. Scott had to be creative with these activities to ensure
students had the materials needed for completion.
One
activity challenged students to develop their own mathematics equations using
small objects found in their homes. Classmates then attempted to solve the
equations. During another activity, Ms. Scott tasked students with creating
catapults using household objects.
“My biggest
takeaway from our at-home STEM activities was that students enjoy using their
creativity to demonstrate understanding of concepts,” Ms. Scott explained.
Following
the planned activity, Ms. Scott remained in the video conference until 5 p.m.
to offer homework help to students, and to give the educator an opportunity to
connect with the young adults.
“I learned that students want to
stay connected to their classmates and teachers,” Ms. Scott noted. “While using
a computer for that connection is not ideal, it does help.”
On Thursday, April 2nd –
during the scheduled Spring Break for Kokomo Schools – Indiana Governor Eric
Holcomb issued a mandate requiring the closure of all school buildings for the
remainder of the 2019-2020 school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At
that time, Kokomo School Corporation officials extended the Continuity of
Education phase of the district’s comprehensive response plan through the
last day of school, Thursday, May 21st.
Kokomo
School Corporation’s eLearning/remote learning was conducted on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while classes were cancelled on Tuesdays and
Fridays.
Kokomo
School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hauswald noted: “During this
challenging time, I saw only the best in our students, families, teachers, and
staff. While this was not our preferred way to deliver instruction, our
teachers worked tirelessly to create quality lessons and activities to keep our
students engaged and learning while at home.”
As teachers
made the rapid transition to remote learning, they relied on their
administrators and each other to adjust lessons and develop new plans.
Greta
Faurote teaches AP and IB biology and the Tomorrow’s Teachers course at Kokomo
High School, but she assumed an additional role during remote learning. Mrs.
Faurote, a technology leader at the high school, volunteered to help her
colleagues as well.
Every
weekday from March 11 through the end of the school year, Mrs. Faurote helped
at least one teacher navigate technology issues. During the first few days of
eLearning, Mrs. Faurote was on her computer – working with students and
teachers – from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Each day after that, though, Mrs. Faurote
spent a little less time coaching her colleagues.
“Teachers became
more comfortable with remote learning and pushed themselves to do more as the
school year progressed,” Mrs. Faurote explained. “Instead of helping teachers
with major issues, by the end, I helped mostly with minor issues. Teachers
still reached out every day, though, and I loved the interaction!”
Mrs.
Faurote provided lessons on how to use video conferencing technology, so
teachers could interact with students “face-to-face”, and in real time. Some
educators sought help to learn the best ways to record lessons. This allowed
students to see and hear their teachers explaining concepts, and to watch the
lessons as many times as needed.
“The most
amazing thing about all of this is that my colleagues took what they learned,
and went way beyond that,” Mrs. Faurote added. “The teachers sent me so many
eLearning tools that they discovered. I had fellow teachers taking online
classes on how to run an online course because even though none of us liked the
situation, we tried to be prepared. I think many of us realized that some
components of eLearning blend really well with face-to-face instruction and
will enrich student learning in the future.”
Lafayette
Park International Elementary School preschool teacher Cierra Wisher-Williams
sought help from as many educators as possible during the building closures.
She constantly texted some of her teacher friends and had weekly video
conference meetings with this same group. Mrs. Wisher-Williams consulted with
her best friend, who is an educator in Indianapolis, and with her sister, who
is an administrator for Kokomo Schools. Mrs. Wisher-Williams also sought
feedback from parents through surveys to determine which activities were most
effective.
Remote
learning at the preschool level required many adaptations since much of the
preschool curriculum focuses on developing the social/emotional skills needed
for kindergarten. These skills are not easily taught online.
Mrs.
Wisher-Williams said she focused on maintaining as many classroom routines as
possible, while continuing to build her relationships with students and
parents. The preschool teacher recorded read-alouds, finger plays, and songs
the students know and miss. These videos were sent out daily. Students were asked
to respond to some of these videos with drawings, photos, videos, or voice
recordings. In weekly video conference calls, students experienced show &
tell, color scavenger hunts, a GoNoodle dance party, and a guided drawing.
Teachers
throughout the district used their creativity to develop remote learning
lessons that kept students engaged.
Maple Crest STEM Middle School math
teacher Matt York moved eLearning outside for a day. Mr. York traveled to
students’ homes and used sidewalk chalk to write math problems on their
sidewalks or in their driveways. Lafayette Park International Elementary School
1st-grade teacher Victoria Schneck partnered with Purdue University
Cooperative Extension Service to provide her students the opportunity to
participate in a virtual Chicken Embryology project.
Students in Mary Page’s humanities
class at Central Middle International School created their own illuminated
letters after reading about how manuscripts were crafted during the Middle
Ages. Kokomo High School transitions teacher Angela Lovegrove developed special
projects for her students with special needs. In social studies, Mrs.
Lovegrove’s students developed their own COVID-19 time capsules to help them
document the details of their life during the pandemic.
During the past several months,
educators worked to respond to the emotional needs of students in addition to
their academic needs.
Mrs. Wisher-Williams noted that during
building closures her most important goal was to remain a positive presence for
her students.
“It was
important for me to send something to my students daily… even on weekends, and
even during Spring Break,” the teacher noted. “It was crucial that my students understood
that we were still around, and we still cared even when we couldn’t tell them
in person. Our students are loved, and missed, more than they could ever know!”
During the
first weeks of building closures, Mrs. Wisher-Williams, Lafayette Park 5th-grade
teacher Elizabeth Schuck, and a school social worker made, and delivered, goody
bags for students. Thanks to a PTA donation, the bags were filled with school
supplies, such as crayons, markers, and paper, as well as fun activities. In
the last weeks of April, Mrs. Wisher-Williams also created, and delivered, yard
signs to her students and their families. The signs read, “Mrs. W. Loves Me!”.
Ms. Page
utilized the discussion function on Canvas to provide her students a space to
have conversations about how they were, and what they were doing.
“Some
students used this to carry on conversations, while others just popped in to
say hello,” Ms. Page explained. “When I had a check-in from a student I hadn’t heard
from in a while, I made sure to tell that student how happy I was to hear from
him or her. I felt it was important to let our students know that we still worried
about them, and still cared about them, even when we weren’t physically
together in class.”
Technology
Academy at Pettit Park Elementary School 1st-grade teacher Lashanna
Fuller learned a valuable lesson from this remote learning experience.
“I learned
that having grace is so important,” Ms. Fuller noted. “I came to understand
that not everyone had the same access to technology, and not every parent or
student could focus on school during the building closures. The world is filled
with uncertainty at the moment, so the best thing we could do was offer grace.
It was a humbling experience."