Our first quarter of full-time distance learning ends this week, and I thought it would be interesting to some readers, and helpful to me, to take some time to reflect on what I’ve been doing and how it’s been going.
I’m dividing this post into several categories: Summary, Concerns, and then specific discussions about what’s happening in each of my classes (ELL History, ELL Intermediate/Beginners English, IB Theory of Knowledge (I have three periods of TOK).
SUMMARY
I’m feeling that – overall – my students are learning a lot and like our classes and, based on the regular anonymous surveys I’m using regularly (see HERE ARE STUDENT RESPONSES TO SURVEYS I USED ONE-MONTH INTO FULL-TIME VIRTUAL LEARNING), most agree with that assessment. Distance learning is clearly not as good as face-to-face teaching in normal times, but our classes are nothing to sneeze at.
I believe I worked harder during the first six weeks of this school year than I ever have during my teaching career (including my first year!) but, fortunately, the last two weeks I’ve been able to complete all my lesson planning for the following week during the previous work week. Prior to that time, my entire weekends were spent planning and grading. This still means I’m working lots of hours after-and-before school, including making calls to students’ homes, and the hours are still not reasonable. It does mean, however, that the odds are increasing that I might be able to sustain this pace for at least the next few months without major damage to my mental or physical health.
Maybe.
Nevertheless, I continue to have a number of concerns…
CONCERNS
There are many.
I think that most of the students – at our school, at least – are going to CONTINUE READING: First Quarter Report On What I’m Doing In Full-Time Distance Learning & How It’s Going | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
