Where is God Today? God is found today in adaptation and in noticing what’s around us amidst all the changes, challenges, and profound loss. Fr. Pedro Arrupe, the twenty-eighth Superior General of the Society of Jesus, in his Personal Prayer, invites us all “to see everything now with new eyes” so that’s how we do this . . . Through frequent online meetings with teachers in our school’s academic departments, we are moving out of our comfort zones, to find new ways to engage students in learning. God is in the struggle, the newness, the flexibility. One department chair reflected, “How can we examine our current remote learning practices and to be consoled that some practices and learning are even better than what they were?” What a profoundly forward looking and positive challenge. God, indeed. God is present during online interviews with future Alum Service Corps volunteers - seniors in college who are not only learning to learn remotely themselves as they think about graduating, but also are excited to serve as teachers and mentors in our school next year – to give back in gratitude for their Jesuit education. God is present in experiences of administrators and teachers during those interviews, as they reflect on our loving learning community and our commitment to their faith, our students and their families. Finally, and most importantly, God is present in our students who are adapting to new ways of doing things, forming new habits, succeeding in their learning, and teaching us about hope, cadence, and resilience. God, indeed. What Have We, as Teachers, Learned After Week One? Online Expectations As teachers, we set and reinforce clear expectations for when we are going to be online to help address student questions about content, skills, and assignments. It is reasonable to expect that we are interacting with students during class. Perhaps this is during a 10-15 minute video and response or chat. It is not reasonable to expect that we respond to students at all hours of the day and night. As teachers, we need to set expectations verbally and in writing, and students need to be aware of those expectations, with opportunities to ask questions and help shape those expectations. We remember that we are helping students to form and build new remote learning habits. So, when students know that they will be actively participating during the first part of class, they log in and get to work. We help them build these habits. Online Etiquette Now is the best time to talk with our students about what they are experiencing online and to share with them best practices as they relate to online etiquette: presenting themselves online, doing work online, listening, and positively contributing. Some of our teachers are using the article below as a nice starting place for conversations. Teachers who modeling behavior helps students. Every day we take our students where they are and bring them along . . . today is no exception. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238902 Classroom Expectation Reminders We review classroom expectations with students every day. Whether it’s reminding students to re-read the expectations we set at the start of remote learning or directing students to a video about our expectations, we continuously return to remind students each day. We try to remember, students take 6-7 classes. Anything we can do to remind students about our expectations is helpful. Attendance and Class Participation We take attendance during class. This attendance is part of the student’s grade. Students must check in at the start of their classes – not before, not after. Attendance is taken by providing students with a contextual prompt or reflection question that they respond to online. Teachers mark attendance using our online educational platform, and give students points for attending. We remember that we are helping students build habits when we use attendance to help students with executive functioning skills. During class, students are doing something interactive and interacting with the teacher and with one another. Assignments and Work We are scaling back workload and expectations, to be sustainable. We strive to make directions clear and simple – written and/or verbal (audio). And we know that when students experience directions online, it is different than when they experience directions during class in school. We use online time to review directions, model what we are asking, and check for understanding before students get started. We provide students daily opportunities to show what they know and turn that in online through our online educational platform or through email. Larger assignments are okay when they are broken into smaller, more easily digestible chunks. Is what we ask students to do clear and doable during the 75-minute block class? What can students turn in and get feedback on? We are considering this question after week one: Is own behavior and preparation – our own workload – sustainable for a longer period of time? Sustainable for teachers and for students, over the longer-haul? And how are we reflective practitioners, continuously reviewing and revising? We know that we have a solid remote learning model to follow. We also know that we can and will make changes to that model – so that it works for students. Assessment In this new remote learning model, assessment looks different. We are a supportive community. We encourage one another to find new and effective ways of assessing student learning. We share those ideas with one another in our Microsoft Teams online support communities. Gradebook The first few weeks is about getting a feel for what works and building a routine that is predictable and supportive for our students. We do not shy away from trying new things. We do not shy away from failure. At the same time, teacher flexibility and humor – with ourselves and with our students – is becoming the norm. As remote learning continues, we will continue to post attendance, participation, homework, and project grades in online gradebooks. As we settle more and more into this remote learning routine, the student’s online gradebook is one tool where students and parents can go to see progress. It is one tool where students are held accountable for what they do. It is important that grades are posted and the gradebooks are updated. Weekend We made it! We are using the weekend as a time for much needed rest and relaxation. We all need the time and space to step away from our work with remote learning to engage with our families, the outdoors, a hobby, or a favorite past-time. Perhaps we take time for prayer and meditation. While our community steps up to make learning easier and routine during a very uncertain and scary time for our students and families, we know that we also need to care for ourselves and our families and friends. Our community is simply the best. We all cannot wait until the day we are all again together in person, but until then we will keep learning & teaching remotely in a very Jesuit and Ignatian way. Finally, we find consolation in the Personal Prayer of Fr. Pedro Arrupe: Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes, to discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of the times, to relish the things that are yours, and to communicate them to others. Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius.
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Pete MussoAssistant Principal, Curriculum & Instruction Archives
May 2022
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