# data[].attributes.body
One of the important takeaways from the article is where it says "the role that student-teacher familiarity plays in learning".  This is one of those things that we know in the back of our minds, but bringing it to the light and explicitly examining it is necessary. This makes me want to pour more of my personality into my classes and create lessons that are exciting, fun, relevant.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Start A Learning Revolution. Throw Out the Gradebook.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Matt Brisbin has been a teacher at McMinnville High School in McMinnville, Oregon for fourteen years. In 2018, he decided to fundamentally change the way he used grades in the classroom: he threw them out altogether.

# data[].attributes.body
An interesting article with some great ideas.  https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/57241/six-ways-to-build-community-in-online-classrooms

# data[].attributes.body
Anonymous- please expand on what you mean by teaching outside.

# data[].attributes.body
Loved reading that article. Even though I've been experiencing it firsthand, I agree it is useful to get the perspective of others and helps me understand.

# data[].attributes.body
“Our personal and our fun part of our day is also now completely combined with our work and our studies.”  This part resonated with me the most. We have to remember that many of our students are doing their schoolwork in a bedroom - the same place they would usually relax after school. School has become intertwined with their personal lives at home. Additionally, many of our students are home alone all day. I feel socially isolated when working from home, so I am sure they do as well. 6th grade (and middle school in general) is a crucial point in students' social/ emotional growth. eLearning does not provide them with the same opportunities as face to face instruction does to socialize with like aged peers. I do my best to foster peer to peer interactions with fun daily attendance questions, but this can never be the same as real face to face interactions. Lack of peer to peer interactions combined with social isolation can have a huge impact on our students' mental health. Anyone who has struggled with mental illness knows that sometimes just getting out of bed and getting dressed can be a big accomplishment. We can never truly know what is going on inside our students' heads and homes. We cannot run things like any other school year because this is not just another school year. I'm not sure what the answer is, or if there even is one. The only perfect answer would be for covid to disappear so that we can go back to school face to face. We just have to be understanding and be willing to make changes to meet our students where they are.

# data[].attributes.body
Several parts of this spoke to me, on behalf of the students and teachers. It is so easy for us to think, "why are they late?? They only have to go from one meet to the next..." I said that a lot at the beginnig of the year and it wasn't tardy as related to my class, it was tardy as related to core content classes. Then my own children started school (They attend school on post) and I have seen the VALUE of breaks. My own kids attend four thirty minute sessions with breaks in between. They have "independent work time" but that can be done when it's convenient for the parents. My kindergartener is probably not where he would be if he were in school, but he isn't so far behind that I worry about his educational career. He is still excited about school. He looks forward to attending classes and clicking the "submit" button when done with class.

This is one area I feel like the entire system could improve. We should not expect students to "attend" school the same amount of hours and get the same, if not more, completed. It doesn't work like that. Not to mention, we take for granted their environments. My son spilled an ENTIRE cup of milk on the floor during class and I was able to call my husband (as he is on leave). The kids are the ones being called...because they are watching over younger brothers and sisters. To be honest, I rely on my 6th grade student (the one that I still have to remind to put on deoderant regularly) to ensure that my kindergartener get on for his meets. I am not unique in this as there are MANY middle and high school students taking on this responsibility. I am lucky with the way DODEA schools are set up but I am not unaware of the tasks many of our students are responsible for completing.

Also, I took SEVERAL classes as an online students. Those classes are substantially harder than in-person classes. Being in my own environment to learn can make it hard to focus. This was as I was working on a doctoral degree (where I WANTED the information and was paying tons of money)...so I can't imagine the OVERWHELMING distractions that exist for students, many of whom do not yet have intrinsic motivation and may not have any help on subjects that don't understand.

There is no perfect solution and SOMONE will always be upset over decisions. I know we all hear the "give them grace" and may cause some to roll their eyes...but this is so true.  - Anastasia Thomas

# data[].attributes.body
Try teaching outside on our E-Learning days....just a thought :)

# data[].attributes.body
https://azbigmedia.com/business/heres-how-distance-learning-impacts-mental-health-of-students-teachers/

# data[].attributes.body
Here are my thoughts on the ASCD article, followed by answers to Mr. Bishton's questions: In the "Standards Over Tasks" section, it questions why do we set up our gradebooks with different categories if we want to move to standards-based grading? This question resonated with me and I immediately thought that this would need to come from the district-level, maybe even the state. I don't know if it would ever be possible for districts in SC to be given the power to let individual schools decide for themselves how their school should establish their own grading systems, process, protocols, etc. Q1: The purpose of grading in my orchestra classroom is to show the students the importance of mastery of a performance skill, technique, etc. Q2: I do think that our present system of grading is an accurate way to gauge student learning. I think about my playing assessments - when a student performs live in class or submits a flipgrid video of a playing test assignment, I can tell IMMEDIATELY if he/she has mastered the content. I conduct many informal assessments (usually without the students even realizing that's what's going on!), like I'm sure we all do. Those are helpful for me to see exactly where our strengths and weaknesses lie. Those are like alarms going off in my head of "OK-they are not getting this concept" or "Yay!  Students are really understanding this!" For the past 17 years of my career, I have always given students more than one chance to redo or resubmit a playing assessment, because to me, the mastery of the material is the most important thing.  Counting something for a grade makes it (or should make it) "real" and "important" for the student. I completely agree with what Ms. Cuffy said about motivation. It has been frustrating, to say the least, when you've got students who ARE capable of achieving at a high standard, but who are making the choice not to turn in work, be engaged in class, etc. I do agree with the content of this article that things do need to change, but in high school, undergraduate and graduate programs, the military, and the workforce, our students will be expected to do THE WORK, whatever that might look like for them. Our students need to understand the importance of following directions, completing tasks in a timely manner, and giving it their all, because they will be held accountable for all of those skills in whatever path they choose.

# data[].attributes.body
Mr Phillips - I agree. I think that the shift from kindergarten to our students is that in between the focus remains on grades. I shifted my grading to standards-based grading 6yrs ago. I spent a lot of reading figuring out how standards-based grading translates to numerical, but I think I have a handle on it now. I spend an inordinate amount of time sharing with students that everything is graded, not everything goes in the gradebook. By the end of the year most get the idea of that. We focus on Levels of Understanding and it really is difficult with the 6th and 8th graders, but it's helpful for them to be able to know how they learn when we do PBL units. I'd say that this year, I've been focused more on ownership of learning and how they can motivate themselves because the extrinsic motivation isn't working. I'm constantly having to find ways to motivate them extrinsically when the problem (they've told me) is that they're not strong enough to push on by themselves. I asked those 8th graders making 22% or have 11% why they're not doing the work. They said they know that they can do it and it doesn't have anything to do with not being able to make up the grade, it's just easy to procrastinate, they don't know how to organize themselves, and it's easy to be distracted. They lost those intrinsic motivation from kindergarten to now and I think it's important for them to figure out how to motivate themselves because they DO have to get the work done on their own during eLearning. There's only so much I can do. For the 6th graders, we've been reading articles on owning learning. For the 8th graders, I'm bombarding them with constant reflections, quotes, career advice, college research, and specifically how their brain works. Hopefully, something sticks....but who knows.

# data[].attributes.body
I read your shared article on rethinking grading.  There has been a real shift toward standards-based grading in general; before the pandemic.  There has been slow, but increasing agreement with the practices.  Perhaps the current teaching and learning conditions will inspire more to embrace quality over quantity, performance over number and disregard grade as penalties or leverage over students.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_brisbin_start_a_learning_revolution_throw_out_the_gradebook?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tedspread

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-reasons-teachers-are-going-gradeless

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol14/num31/more-teachers-are-going-gradeless-i-asked-them-why.aspx

# data[].attributes.body
The purpose of grading is to evaluate the level of understanding or mastery a student has acheived.  Unfortunately with a change to more skills based standards this has become increasingly difficult to acheive with a numerical or alphabetical representation.  Probably more detrimental is the idea that so many of our students are only interesteed in a grade and not the learning of the material which defeats the purpose of school in many ways.  I have recently dug into the issue and come across an idea that is becoming more popular; which is the idea of "gradeless schooling".  It is progressive to be sure, and I have not done enough research to truly understand it, nor am I completly comfortable with the idea as it translates to the logistics of college admission, promotion, or implementation across a single school district.  The premise is simply that without grades students can truly focus on the process of learning and teachers can focus on student growth and feedback.  The best example I have found is the idea that kindergarderns don't ask their teachers how much an acitivity is worth, they just go and explore.  As a father of a child that age who is extremely curious, I would love to know what our students would do if they had that same thought when they walked in our rooms.  Some reading below, sorry for the super long response.

# data[].attributes.body
Ms. Cuffy's post is a perfect fit for us as it aligns with the AVID way of thinking-in order for students to be successful they need to accept ownership of their learning.

# data[].attributes.body
Engaging students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The sudden, unplanned move to distance learning during spring 2020 drove a wedge into the middle of the school year-disrupting academic schedules, putting an end to extracurriculars, and undercutting the assessment and academic feedback cycles in most schools. Student motivation, predictably, foundered.

As one of our students put it, online school "is just like in-person school but with all the fun bits removed." Without the ambient social interactions that are such a rich part of a regular day at school, and without in-person guidance from teachers, coaches, and counselors, many of the key motivational drivers were suddenly gone. In most K-12 schools, there were no fully formed distance-learning alternatives waiting in the wings. Indeed, glaring holes and inequities were exposed in the first days and weeks of distance learning: families with sporadic or no connection to Wi-Fi; students who lacked a calm place to study; siblings who needed to chip in to take care of brothers and sisters, or needed to contribute money by getting a job. Over and above it all were increased levels of trauma.

In short order, the move to online learning also laid bare some of the instructional flaws in our traditional structures of accountability, evaluation, and standardized testing. We hope for intrinsically motivated students, but we tend to design for the opposite, often with the best of intentions in mind. But motivating students with carrots and sticks-through endless, demoralizing cycles of high-stakes testing and assessment-is not getting us the deep learning and love of learning we desire.

Fortunately there is a science of motivation, and we need to design it into the very fiber of our virtual courses. There is a pressing need to do so now in order to help keep students engaged through the challenges of distance learning, and to avoid exacerbating the previously existing gaps in learning opportunities born of systemic inequities.

A Two-Stage Approach to Motivation

You may have heard of the major theories of motivation that researchers discuss, like self-determination theory and expectancy-value-cost theory. We will discuss these in a second article coming soon. For now, we think that learning mindsets-students' beliefs about themselves, their potential, and the learning context-are a better starting point that we can understand and implement relatively quickly in classrooms. Once we get proficient at learning mindsets, then we can go take the next step toward an understanding of the deeper structure of motivation, and how it can be applied to create fundamental structural reform in schools.

Researchers talk about three learning mindsets: sense of belonging, purpose and relevance, and growth mindset. If we want to design for intrinsic motivation, this is where we need to start. Some of these learning mindsets may be familiar to you, but they are often misunderstood and misapplied in schools.

Creating a Sense of Belonging

Make students feel heard: Include activities, topics, and examples that students identify with so they feel it's OK to bring their authentic self to class each day. Work hard at eliminating identity threat. Every child deserves to feel seen, listened to, and respected, and that their unique story is a part of the larger story of the class.

For example, you can create a ritual for starting your online class in which every child speaks and every child hears their name spoken by somebody else; incorporate fishbowl discussions online and encourage students to "speak from the I perspective"; co-create class rules and norms with your students and post them on the first page of each unit on your learning management system (LMS), and revisit and renew the norms periodically; have each child share their preferred pronouns with you instead of making assumptions.

Reduce barriers to connecting online: Let students know that there is an easy way to communicate with you outside of class-you can manage expectations by telling them how quickly you'll respond-and that they are welcome to do so. While setting clear expectations for the whole class, it's also important to be creative and proactive in identifying and finding solutions to challenges-emotional or academic-that individual students are facing. For example, you can set up one-on-one phone or video calls with each child on a rotating basis, or offer them the ability to text or call you directly.

Remind yourself that social time is as important as academic time: If you are teaching online, deliberately use some of your precious time for social connection. For example, begin your class time with a social ritual: try a short "mental stretch" break; offer some monitored hangout time before class starts; or create small groups that meet socially asynchronously. This isn't wasted class time-it's an investment to help keep them motivated and present for the long haul.

Connecting Work to Purpose and Relevance

Work hard to articulate purpose: Teachers often underestimate the importance of purpose and relevance in building motivation, and overestimate how good a job they are doing making the purpose clear. Deliberately and regularly state the purpose of assignments and activities-this is especially important when you are distanced from your students.

Use online surveys to solicit-and leverage-student interests: Ask students about their interests and passions, and design activities that target things that your students genuinely find personally relevant. It's not always necessary to make the activities academic: During distance learning, you should cut down some of your traditional content in order to forge deep connections-the goal is to boost students' long term buy-in for the year.

Build connections to real life: Research suggests that students' motivation toward education is improved when they take the time to link their learning to their existing interests-or to the world around them.

Try having students complete this activity, which asks students to connect recent academic insights to their interests, by interviewing each other, perhaps over Zoom.

Give students choice: Adding well-chosen, constrained elements of choice in topic or medium are great options to help boost motivation during distance learning-students feel empowered while also learning how to improve their ability to choose. But be mindful that too much choice creates decision fatigue. Example activities: Choose from one of these four essay prompts; select a renowned leader that meets a set of criteria to study for your project; produce your work in the form of a podcast, children's book, 2- to 3-minute video, art installation, or paper.

Hard Work, Failure, and Growth Mindset

Explain how learning works: Begin by talking to your students. Tell them that studying is hard, but it gets easier over time when you begin to use effective study strategies. Teach them about neuroplasticity-that effortful practice over time helps rewire their brains.

Give them effective study strategies: Students should favor study strategies like articulating key concepts in their own words, active retrieval, and spaced practice over rereading and highlighting-and you should build in time to let them practice and refine those strategies. During distance learning it is especially important to be deliberate about this because students are on their own more often and need strategies for self-regulation.

Help them get unstuck: Be concrete with students about the fact that they will periodically get stuck, so they'll need tactics to get over the hump. Have you created a class climate where kids feel comfortable asking peers for help-or considered setting up small study groups to facilitate better communication? Have you given your students easy ways to contact you during business hours, and even urged them to do so when they're stuck? Have you created a useful, easily accessed list of class resources in your LMS?

Use tech to create a low-stakes environment: Create low-stakes quizzes in your LMS, or use tech tools like Pear Deck, Quizlet Live, and Poll Everywhere to support frequent but gradeless retrieval practice and formative assessments. Reposition these "quizzes" as part of continuous learning, and help students see them as useful tools to get a sense of where they are, how well their study strategies are working, and what they need to do next. Finally, don't confuse low-stakes with easy; students work harder and learn more deeply when they are challenged. Build time for getting things wrong and learning from those mistakes into every class.

Alter your grading systems and structures: Despite the conventional wisdom in education, grades don't motivate students to do their best work, nor do they lead to better learning or performance.

What better time than now to adjust your grading structure to reward growth, development, and improvement? Even if summative assessments are beyond your control, consider adjusting your mid-unit grading by awarding points and grades based on student work related to continuous improvement. This not only helps the struggling learners, but also pushes the top achievers to show that they are putting in the effort needed to demonstrate clear improvement in their skill levels.

Be constantly ready to adjust your teaching: Because it's hard to "read the room" and determine what your students know in a virtual classroom, use your formative assessments to continually adjust your own teaching. This is a great way to model the growth mindset behaviors that you'd like your students to adopt.

Create a digital record of competence: Motivation can be boosted when students notice their growing competence. Create short activities to promote this rather than leaving it to chance-for example, bring back a piece of older work and do a then-and-now comparison, or create a simple online portfolio that can be regularly updated and revisited. Be sure that students link their competence to hard work and the right strategies, not to innate ability.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Science of Keeping Kids Engaged-Even From Home

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The upcoming school year will be filled with uncertainty, but the need to keep students engaged while working from home feels like a sure thing. Fortunately, there is a science of motivation.

# data[].attributes.body
14 Practical Tips for Managing Redos in the Classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
Student Ownership of Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Joi Ito - Director of MIT Media Lab - made a clear difference between education and learning in his TED talk:

Education is what people do to you, and learning is what you do to yourself.

Taking ownership of learning means independence. It's exciting to decide what you'll learn and experience based on your own interests. But it's also scary, since you become solely responsible for both success and failure.

When taking ownership of your learning, you have to ensure that time invested in learning a new skill was the right decision and you'll find application for it in real life. While in college, there is an academic program and professors who determine your education and guide you for the most part. A lot of people trust them and it's OK. However, when you're an independent learner, you have to trust yourself. You are the only person to decide and you'll learn.

By taking ownership of your learning, you have to be open for feedback and constantly seek environment that will stimulate your personal growth. Every single learning process consists of two parts:

1. Independent hard work to master the new skill;

2. Feedback from experts who already mastered the skill;

The first part is easier than the second one. With first part, it's only you who is responsible for deliberate practice. For second part, you have to find a mentor who will help you move in the right direction. The second part determines the pace with which you're going to grow and master a new skill. Obviously, it is way faster with the right mentor who helps you set the right direction for growth.

Taking ownership of your learning implies having intrinsic motivation for growth. Intrinsic motivation is directly opposite to one based on the grade in the class, praise from the boss or higher pay-сheсk. There is no doubt that grades, money and promotion contribute to motivation, but it is the why component of learning that has to become a driving force. The learning process is faster and way more efficient when your motivation comes from the desire to master the new skill to become a better version of yourself.

Taking ownership of your learning is hard, but it is also extremely rewarding as you gain independence and understanding of what you're capable of.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Does it Mean to "Take Ownership of Your Learning?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Joi Ito - Director of MIT Media Lab - made a clear difference between education and learning in his TED talk: Education is what people do to you, and learning is what you do to yourself. Taking ownership of learning means independence. It's exciting to decide what you'll learn and experience based on your own interests.

# data[].attributes.body
I love the resources mentioned in this article! Newsela and Edpuzzle are both great resources for students to take control of their learning since they can work at their own pace but still interact with the material in a meaningful way. Nearpod is a great way for students to collaborate since you can include a "collaboration board". You can even monitor answers before students post them to give them instant feedback.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.edutopia.org/article/effective-instructional-models-hybrid-schedule

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol16/num02/quality-over-counting-mindsets-for-grading-reform.aspx

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Make Lessons Cohesive When Teaching Both Remote and In-Person Classes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When some students are online and others in school buildings, how can teachers make sure everyone is learning what they need to learn?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
So, you are going back to school full time but the students will only be there part time. How will I manage in person AND online learning simultaneously? This might feel like you are being expected to do two jobs at once (let's face it, you are). Even though it feels daunting, there are many possible advantages to this structure. With a smaller class size, you can hone in on students' individual need better. Classroom management challenges have just been cut in half leaving more time for quality instruction. And even though the time students are not with you is being termed "online learning", the opportunity to send students home with materials allows for much more flexibility than we had during emergency distance learning in the spring. Here's how this can all work smoothly:

This sounds easier said than done. Yes, you are teaching in person and required to plan for remote learning, too. But, the schedule can work to your advantage. You are essentially teaching the same lessons in school twice. And, your remote learning lessons and materials will be going to all students. The key is to get into a groove where your groups of students are on very similar schedules. This could be tricky at first when you are just getting started. But once you see how the first week or two play out, you can start to see what tasks are most important in supporting your groups of students. You are still planning for 5 days! Break down your week to take a look at how things repeat. When I did this, I felt a little less overwhelmed (and color-coding things always helps!)

Communicating your expectations for students and families going to be key. Provide reminders about HOW and WHEN you are best reached. And, if they cannot reach you (like when you are in school teaching the other group of students), who can they contact for assistance?

Communicate you are and are not available to respond to messages and emails

Create a FAQ sheet for students and their families to reference when they have questions

Make video walk-throughs and store in one easy to locate place

Develop a back-up plan for when they do not know what to do or when technology fails

Find out if someone at school can be the "go to" person for urgent questions when you are not available

Another helpful tool for families is a suggested schedule. Obviously, this wouldn't work for every student but many families like to see what their day could look like. This is editable and free!

Lesson planning has never been more crucial! I created this hybrid lesson plan template (with example plans) to share with my colleagues. I made sure that my remote lessons all connected with what we learned the day before and that the activities were a balance of online and offline work.

We are using Seesaw for delivering remote learning materials. So, after I typed my plans, I went back and highlighted everything that would need to be uploaded onto Seesaw. My suggestion would be to split up the work with your team or try to upload things for the following week as you go. Then, at the end of the week, sit down and schedule everything that will need to be sent out.

Supporting your students in being independent learners and problem solvers will require empowering them with the resources they need for success when they are not with you. Find a system and stick with it. This is where consistency is key. I would recommend a simple checklist--whether on paper or digital (or maybe both!) for outlining what they will be doing on their "off" school days.

Using a paper checklist for each day might work best for some students. You can easily type in assignments and make copies for the entire week so these checklists are ready to go! Make sure to review what their expectation is for what they need to complete on their day(s) they are not with you.

I want to make sure my students and their families can easily locate everything they need to complete work. Using these symbols will definitely help!

If you are using Seesaw, a daily checklist either posted within the activities or on the main feed will help students know exactly what to do!

This template works great for older students who can easily read about their assignments.

This will work perfect for younger learners! You can now LINK pages within a Seesaw activity. Put this as the first page and then connect all of your subject activity pages to this main landing page.

Our students will need to be provided activities and resources that they understand how to use independently. Avoid sending home complicated projects, crafts or activities that have a lot of directions and too many steps. Keep it simple! Make it the same version of something you did in class (except with different questions/problems). Get them started on it in class so they have an example to work off of at home. Keep these activities things that they are used to doing and can complete with little adult intervention.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
So, you are going back to school full time but the students will only be there part time. How will I manage in person AND online learning simultaneously? This might feel like you are being expected to do two jobs at once (let's face it, you are).

# data[].attributes.body
test

# data[].attributes.body
1. Connecting the technological apps to the pedagogical purpose

This point really resonated with me- use the technology when it the best way to present the content. The technology needs to enhance how we teach to the intent of the standard.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/1207/Designing-Online-Instruction-What-Makes-for-Effective-Learning.aspx?_cldee=c2Jpc2h0b25AcmljaGxhbmQyLm9yZw%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-cfa30f0d30e9e91180fc000d3a044486-f5e25833faed4182a5c280686992a84a&esid=a31404f8-0925-eb11-8108-000d3a01cfd3

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
AMLE - Association for Middle Level Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Take a minute and study the following image from an online course. Let's start with a "notice and wonder" thinking routine. What do you notice (just the facts, please!)? What does this image (or those facts) make you wonder about (what interpretations do you have)?

The things I see are multiple formats of interaction (video, text, audio, PowerPoints), communication tips, layout explanations, and a paced-out unit of instruction. Some things I start to wonder about are how does a digital escape room work and how is the teacher evaluating the activities students are completing.

What you just noticed and wondered about is a model e-learning Google classroom. This model classroom is based on research that has empirically confirmed that participants can learn up to five times more material in an online course than a traditional face-to-face-course (Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia & Jones, 2010) and an MIT study that shows that online learning can be as effective as a traditional course regardless of how much preparation and knowledge students start with (Colvin, Champaign, Liu, Zhou, Fredericks, & Pritchard, 2014). It is also confirmed by preliminary data in another study that used the principles in this model to support student acquisition of content to high levels, levels that were parallel to local common assessment data of previous cohorts in multiple different districts.

So, what makes for this success? The answer is not in the organizational systems or communication systems in place (although these can help). The answer lies in three pedagogical reasons:

1. Determining an aligned pedagogical purpose

2. Connecting the technological apps to the pedagogical purpose

3. Making student thinking visible in order capitalize on the formative assessment cycle

So, what does pedagogy need to look like in the online model? The key is a focus on the 5E model (NASA, 2020). The 5E model is a unit design model that allows for meaningful and deep learning. It begins with an engage phase where we pique student interest and pre-assess prior learning. After, students explore and engage in the topic in multiple ways. Next comes the explain phase in which students communicate what they have learned and this is followed with an extend section in which students can use their new knowledge in new situations. Lastly, an evaluation is performed in which both students and teachers determine what they have learned.

After determining the pedagogical purpose as aligned to learning standards, the next part of the process is choosing the right electronic tool to carry out the purpose. In my world, I use the acronym APPS to make sense of appropriate tools that can be used within the 5E model: they help acquire content standards, they must help students become more proficient, allow students to progress with meaningful feedback, and support thinking. I am also cognizant of COPPA (1998) and CIPA (2000) requirements that restrict certain apps for different age groups or for personal identification information requirements. (You can learn more about this usage of APPS at achievethecore.org). Using the chart below, you can see one conceptualization of how you can connect some APPS to some parts of the 5E model.

*Many of these methods/tools may appear in multiple areas of the 5E model.

Lastly, teachers must use visible thinking routines as part of a classroom assessment cycle (see the diagram), as we know that strong formative assessment practices make the difference for all learners whether digital or face-to-face (Drost, 2016; Strahan & Rogers, 2012). Visible thinking routines are pedagogical strategies that allow students to observe closely, reason, make connections, process their learning, and ultimately support the transfer of knowledge (Ritchart, Church & Morrison, 2011).

Harvard's Project Zero defines these routines as effective tools for helping students learn material regardless of the mode of instruction, virtual or face-to-face. By using these routines, teachers create engagement and independence to allow students to have deeper understanding on a wide range of topics. (You experienced one of these routines at the start of this article: Notice & Wonder). See this website for examples of all of the different routines possible. This matrix here shows some examples of the routines as well.

While students are engaging in thinking, teachers must be making instructional adjustments by making moves in formative assessment (Duckor & Holmberg, 2017). Moves in formative assessment are the behaviors that teachers do when they are informally gathering information to make instructional adjustments. As Duckor and Holmberg have described, there are seven moves that teachers need to think about: tagging, bouncing, probing, pausing, priming, binning, and posing. These actions can happen in any direction and connect instruction to assessment.

Move in Formative Assessment
Definition (Adapted from Duckor & Holmberg, 2017)

Tagging

Publicly representing the wide range of student responses

Bouncing

Sampling a wide range of student responses

Probing

Asking follow-up questions based on student response

Pausing

Providing time to process

Priming

Establishing norms, a culture, and procedures for formative assessment practices with students

Binning

Noticing patterns across student responses and using them to inform next steps for learning

Posing

Asking questions that determines a learner's strengths and weaknesses on a topic

Now that we know the principles, let's apply these principles to our model Google classroom to show why students can learn when elearning is pedagogically structured in this manner.

Looking at our model Google classroom, you'll see a pre-assessment that is the engage section of the 5E model. The pre-assessment is a padlet where students share things about the planets. Padlet is a brainstorming webspace where you can embed videos, have discussions, and post information on a given topic. Here's how to create one. However, it's not enough to simply have students post a thought. The teacher must make students' thinking visible to capitalize on the formative assessment process. In this case, why not couple the padlet with a Circle of Viewpoint routine in which students choose a perspective and describe the issue from a perspective such as a researcher or a parent or the president. With this approach, the teacher can then bounce, tag, and bin to make instructional adjustments and decisions.

Another example you'll see in the model classroom, is a discussion using backchannel chat as part of the explain stage. Backchannel chat is a similar tool to the chat feature of a zoom or google meet (learn how to create it here), but can be used asynchronously when students are watching or engaging with something else (think like the comment feature in Facebook). In our model classroom, the teacher had a discussion where students were engaged in sharing out the various things related to the planets and showed a video to capture some keep concepts. However, in the model classroom the teacher just didn't stop there and had students complete a visible thinking routine, called the headline routine where students create a headline that captures the important ideas or aspects of the discussion. This allowed the teacher to tag, bounce, probe, and bin to make instructional adjustments for students.

A final example is when the teacher evaluates using a flippity escape room. Flippity is a website that uses Google spreadsheets to create interactive activities for students (you can learn how to create one here and see an example here). In our model classroom, the teacher used this as an assessment of student learning on the planets, then coupled it with the "I used to think" to "now I think" routine, which allowed students to discuss misconceptions on the planets. This allowed the teacher to bounce, probe, pause, bin, and pose and ultimately improve student achievement.

In my own practice as a teacher administrator, I have seen the power that these practices have in improving student success in the digital classroom. While there are no guarantees these three steps will be the silver bullet to online learning, the research is clear that when teachers engage with visible thinking routines in formative assessment and applications connected to the 5E model of instruction, the chances that students will learn to high levels increases exponentially.

Additional resources
Standards for Online Learning from the International Association for K-12 online learning
Quality Matters rubrics for checking your courses features
5E video lib guide at Kent State University to learn more about effective pedagogical models for synchronous or asynchronous learning

References

Colvin, K. F., Champaign, J., Liu, A., Zhou, Q., Fredericks, C., & Pritchard, D. E. (2014). Learning in an introductory physics MOOC: All cohorts learn equally, including an on-campus class. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(4). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i4.1902

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq. (1998). <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ554/pdf/PLAW-106publ554.pdf ">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ554/pdf/PLAW-106publ554.pdf

Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). 20 U.S.C. § 9134 et seq. (2000). <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ554/pdf/PLAW-106publ554.pdf ">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ554/pdf/PLAW-106publ554.pdf

Drost, B. (2016). 8 digital formative assessment tools to improve motivation. AMLE Magazine, 4(2). http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet.aspx?ArtMID=888&ArticleID=675

NASA. (2020). The 5E instructional model. https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/teachertoolbox/the5e

Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible. Jossey-Bass.

Duckor, B. & Holmberg, C. (2017). Mastering formative assessment moves: 7 high-leverage practices to advance student learning. ASCD.

Strahan, D., & Rogers, C. (2012). Research summary: Formative assessment practices in successful middle level classrooms. http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/Research/Article/TabId/198/ArtMID/696/ArticleID/108/Formative-Assessment-Practices.aspx

Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M. & Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf
Bryan R. Drost, Ph.D. is a central office administrator in northeast Ohio. He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in assessment from Kent State University. He is an Ohio Department of Education Regional Data Lead, a national supervisor for edTPA, former chairperson for NCME's Standards and Test Use Committee, and one of Ohio's Core Advocates.
drostbr@gmail.com
Published in AMLE Newsletter, November 2020.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Designing Online Instruction: What Makes for Effective Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take a minute and study the following image from an online course. Let’s start with a “notice and wonder” thinking routine. What do you notice (just the facts, please!)? What does this image (or those facts) make you wonder about (what interpretations do you have)?