A New Way to Teach

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A New Way to Teach

  • February 3, 2021
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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Wow Wednesday Stories from the Classroom

Teaching face to face during the COVID pandemic has been challenging and rewarding. The difficult tasks of mask-wearing, distance- keeping, not sharing materials, continuous disinfecting, and following COVID protocols have been frustrating at times. Even though the changes we have had to make to keep safe have been challenging to our daily routines, the students have been a constant source of delight. The smiles on their faces, their laughs and daily conversations along with their learning have been the biggest reward this year.

As teachers, we all learned to adapt our teaching style when we had to teach remotely in the spring to keep everyone safe. With the pandemic still an issue this school year, many of our teachers continue to use online programs along with their face to face instruction to minimize students’ transfer to on-line learning if our school was sent back to learning remotely.

The use of technology while quarantined has changed how we teach our students during this pandemic. I was quarantined for 8 days and was still able to teach my students daily through zoom meetings. It was a strange feeling to see my students in my classroom with masks on as  I was sitting in front of my iPad, without a mask, teaching them their daily lesson. They had access to all their supplies in the classroom and were able to ask questions, just as if I was in the classroom with them. Since my students had already established a classroom routine, we were able to successfully complete daily lessons while I was quarantined! It was such an eye opener to think that only a few years ago, when a teacher was gone from their classroom for a lengthy time, the only way a lesson could be taught was by a substitute teacher or staff member. Video communication was not something that was used in the classrooms to teach your class while you were not able to be there. What amazed me the most was that no learning was lost while I was quarantined!

~ written by JoAnn Burke, LSEM teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Monroe, MI