The Real March Madness

~Coronavirus, both disruptor and catalyst for change in education

Spring 2020 is an unprecedented time. More than a billion students worldwide are learning in unfamiliar ways. We are at a crossroads. Where virtual learning is redefining what is “real.” It is the road less traveled. Families and teachers alike must take it.  For many  it is uncomfortable. Yet as Robert Frost surmised, this “road” will make all the difference.

Virtual learning is a grand opportunity, an adventure of sorts. One that cannot be painted with a single brush. Though some may be crusaders; either remiss, disapproving, or outright rejecting alternative approaches to education, the fact remains, the status-quo is not an option. Meaning, the situation worldwide is one in which the traditional learning within the confines of brick and mortar school houses, is not even lawful. So, this “battle” mentality will not serve students because this is not a war. Further, it is wholly myopic to abridge the current Coronavirus crisis and the challenges it presents to education. Whatever the case, future focused education is now pushed into the crosshairs. 21st century skills, learning, literacy, and life skills, no longer a postscript.

 

Silver Linings Abound

Though some educators may try to put new wine in old bottles, this quickly grows tiresome. Holding fast to a model of learning contingent on information, and simply attempting to replicate the physical experience by bringing it all online, is daunting but also nearly impossible. Recording lecture videos, digitizing assignments and entire curriculums is but one futile step along the “road”. This is because what beckons is a more human approach, couched in creativity and collaboration. Where we can streamline feedback but also design a type of learning where students feel a more invitational approach. A venue for personal learning.

 

Personalized Learning

Standing for a few minutes in a Starbucks and listening as customers put in drink orders, attests to novelty but also personalization. “Grande, quad, nonfact, one pump, no whip, mocha.”  Followed by, “Venti iced skinny hazelnut macchiato, sugar-free syrup, extra shot, light ice, no whip.” There are few repeats. Next, consider the impact of Netflix. Video streaming allows us to watch whatever, whenever, and wherever. This begs the question, might education begin to follow a similar path to personalization? With the demands of high-stakes testing in a seeming state of decay, the time for personalized learning has never appeared riper. Further, might the current COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on outdated models of teaching and learning, be the straw that broke the camel’s back? The impetus for a change long overdue? A paradigm shift in education.

 

How We Might Move Forward?

Clearly, of primary concern during this strain, is students feeling cared for and understood. A central tenet of teachers’ motivation to educate is to develop relationships with students. It is critical to harken back to this motivation as Teaching Tolerance elaborated in a March 23, 2020 article titled, “A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching Through Coronavirus”.

As educators and families move past the panic, a new more optimistic mindset must be in motion. COVID-19 is forcing us to think differently about all segments of the way we work, but hopefully also about how students might be able to learn. Where experiences are created that motivate but also empower students. Invitational approaches as opposed to mere mechanisms of compliance. Where context presides over content. And  where learning is more guided and supported, than directed or controlled. Digital platforms such as Zoom allow for connection and collaboration. According to Samantha Murphy Kelly of CNN Business, “On Monday March 23, Zoom was downloaded 2.13 million times worldwide, up from 2.04 million the day before.”  With virtual learning on such platforms, the valuable skill of collaboration is not only possible but necessary to utilize.

As hierarchies continually dissolve in our flattening world and systems, Zoom breakouts are but one example, where a teacher is able to pop between student discussions, yet trust is necessary. Trust that learners will stay focused because they can, but also because they care. In a traditional physical classroom, a teacher may have comfortably sat in error atop an omniscient high horse, eavesdropping and feeling like they could see and hear all that transpired within the four walls of their classroom. Containment provides a sense of control. Now, the walls are removed. The Zoom lesson may be expected to be recorded and some parents even watching. So, vulnerability and trust are vital.

 

From Consumers to Creators

The current pandemic situation is an opportunity for educators to determine how students might learn differently. Where they might be provided with greater autonomy,  and opportunities to develop their strengths while pursuing their passions. The Information Age, caused by the advent of the world wide web has not entirely passed us by. Only now, we find ourselves swimming in what is being called, the Experience Age. There is no denying that COVID-19 has us fully immersed in this “experience”. It only seems sensible that education mirrors the times. The factory model of education is six feet under.

Virtual learning presents an opportunity for students to experience; to be more engaged in meaningful processes. In turn, processes which result in products designed with purpose and audience in mind. Part of the Experience Age and project-based learning, is the prevalence of the “gig” economy and freelancing. According to Fast Company and Jessica Klein, a freelance journalist herself, “35% of the U.S. workforce is now freelancing—10 million more than 5 years ago.”  Students are not “moving into” a world commanding them to know how to be creative and autonomous. They already are living in this world!

Just found out about this amazing man, Paul Salopek, and his “Out of Eden” walk around the world. He thinks the coronavirus may change our values to slow down and savour life. https://t.co/uoQWust8n9

— Elizabeth Woodworth (@Abettervision) April 6, 2020

Slowing Down

Amidst the pandemic, teachers have some decisions to make. After defining how they can best meet the needs of students, they must determine what is the essential learning. Simplicity is a lesson already learned by early adopters of virtual learning. Further, the design for essential curriculum requires close consideration of what will be sustainable over the long haul. Whatever districts, schools, and departments decide, flexibility and navigating ambiguity are essential. As is, the critical need to be poised, patient, and observant. Slowing down in this already ramped up world might be one gift of quarantines and lock-downs. National Geographic explorer, Paul Salopek, is seven years into his walk across the planet, a “road less travelled” as he steps 21,000 miles. Traveling at such a slow pace allows him to get to know people and then tell stories imbued with hope, resilience, and connection.

COVID-19 has forced us in many ways to slow down. This slowing down paramount.  Barren city streets, shuttered businesses, and social distancing has definitely illustrated strangeness. Finding calm amidst the pandemic storm often feels illusory. The chaos, fear, and panic pervasive. “Keeping Quiet” (partially excerpted here), a poem by Neruda, reminds us of the value of stillness and silence, but also the reassuring fact that we are in this together.

 

For once on the face of the Earth

let’s not speak any language,

let’s stop for one second,

and not move for one second, 

and not move our arms so much.

 

It would be an exotic moment

without rush, without engines,

we would all be together

in a sudden strangeness