More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously - The Washington Post

More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously - The Washington Post

More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously

With third grade back in the building, Meghan Foster was teaching math one recent morning to two classes at once: 14 students who filled her classroom on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and another six children logging in from laptops at home.

To make it work, the veteran teacher from Caroline County used a desktop computer, a laptop and a document camera, adjusting for glitches as she went along. She strove to meld the in-person with the virtual, to strike a balance between children who are near and far.

During a pandemic school year when nothing in education has been perfect, the kind of double duty needed for simultaneous instruction is its own kind of lesson, Foster says.

“Sometimes, I want to teach them how to multiply, but I end up teaching them how to persevere when things get tough or how to problem solve,” said Foster, 41, who called it the greatest challenge she has faced in 20 years of teaching.

Parents and teachers: Tell The Post how you’re handling school during the pandemic

Simultaneous teaching — also called simulcast or concurrent — is what many districts across the country have settled on in an attempt to solve the logistical jigsaw puzzle involved in bringing back some students for in-person instruction while others continue learning from home.

And it’s about to get ramped up in dramatic fashion. Under pressure from President Biden and governors, and facing mounting evidence that schools can reopen if safety measures are followed, districts in the Washington region and nationwide are embarking on the difficult mission of returning hundreds of thousands of children to classrooms that have been shuttered for nearly a year. CONTINUE READING:  More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously - The Washington Post