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Navigating Trauma For Kids & Teens: Back-To-School & COVID-19

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Navigating Trauma For Kids & Teens: Back-To-School & COVID-19

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This webinar provides information on helping students with the trauma associated with the Covid 19 Pandemic.

Mental Health America. (2021, October 18). Navigating Trauma For Kids & Teens: Back-To-School & COVID-19 . Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faff0i7_KOA

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Navigating Trauma For Kids & Teens: Back-To-School & COVID-19

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How Covid has Impacted Undocumented College Students

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How Covid has Impacted Undocumented College Students

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This article discusses how the pandemic impacted undocumented college students through an ecological framework. This is an important read for any educators who work with students who might be undocumented.

Enriquez , L. E., Rosales , W. E., Chavarria, K., Morales Hernandez, M., & Valadez, M. (2021). COVID on Campus: Assessing the Impact of the Pandemic on Undocumented College Students. AERA Open.

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Reflections on the Pandemic: Lessons Learned

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Reflections on the Pandemic: Lessons Learned

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This webinar highlights lessons we have learned from the Covid 19 Pandemic. Specifically, the experts on this panel focus on how we can better improve education for students with disabilities.

Disability Rights CA. (2021, June 4). Reflections on the Pandemic: Lessons Learned. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5nQ4SUUw6Y

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Reflections on the Pandemic:Lessons Learned

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Third of U.S. College Students Consider Withdrawing

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Third of U.S. College Students Consider Withdrawing

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Though for many Americans, the pandemic is "over," its impact on college students still continues. This Gallup article discusses Covid-19's impact on college students and the increase in the number of students thinking of leaving school behind.

Marken, S. (2022, April 27). A Third of U.S. College Students Consider Withdrawing. Retrieved from Gallup: https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/391823/third-college-students-consider-withdrawing.aspx

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A Third of U.S. College Students Consider Withdrawing

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About a third of U.S. college students report they have considered withdrawing from classes for a semester or more. Emotional stress is the most important reason they are considering doing so.

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Webinar: Innovations in Teaching During the Pandemic

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Webinar: Innovations in Teaching During the Pandemic

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This webinar does a great job of highlight teaching innovations that occurred because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Five subject matter experts discuss how we can learn from these innovations and employ them in our classrooms!

Georgetown University. (2021, March 9). Webinar: Innovations in Teaching During the Pandemic . Retrieved from FutureEd: https://www.future-ed.org/events/innovations-in-teaching-during-the-pandemic/

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FutureEd - A New Voice for American Education

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The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the education sector. But it has also led some schools and school districts to embrace innovative staffing and scheduling strategies that could be valuable post-pandemic. FutureEd, Education Resource Strategies, and EducationCounsel brought together educators for a virtual conversation with educators about how these innovations are playing to teachers' strengths, providing them with more instructional support, and better serving students.

The conversation was moderated by FutureEd Senior Fellow Lynn Olson, drawing on her recent report, Teaching Innovation. Panelists included:

David Rosenberg, Partner, Education Resource Strategies

Victoria Jackson-Dinkins, senior coordinator of Opportunity Culture programs, Indianapolis Public Schools

Felecia Evans, principal, Lander Elementary School, Mayfield Heights, Ohio

Nilesh Patel, director of teaching and learning , Kairos Academies, St. Louis, Missouri

Read the Teaching Innovation report Read ERS's 5 Power Strategies Download the webinar recording
Photo courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.

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Webinar: Innovations in Teaching During the Pandemic - FutureEd

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The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the education sector. But it has also led some schools and school districts to embrace innovative staffing and scheduling strategies that could be valuable post-pandemic.

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This is a podcast made for educators. The podcast covers stories about students and educators in Illinois and addresses many topics related to covid-19 and education.

NPR. (2022). Teachers' Lounge. Retrieved from National Public Radio: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/741951884/teachers-lounge

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Podcasts >

Education >

From Northern Public Radio

Teachers' Lounge is a new podcast from WNIJ diving into the issues impacting students and teachers across Illinois, and giving teachers themselves space to tell stories from inside their classroom.

Most Recent Episodes

June 17, 2022

A school year in the life of a teacher | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

June 17, 2022 • Our classroom correspondent tells the story of his school year – a year in the life of a teacher — the ups and downs, holidays, tests, all of it. It's a month-by-month trip through the 2021-22 school year.

A school year in the life of a teacher | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

June 3, 2022

'Never smile until Christmas': tales from teaching in the 1960s | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

June 3, 2022 • "When I started teaching, as a teacher, you were extremely isolated. You were closed in this room with them. In my second year of teaching, I had 50 3rd graders!"

'Never smile until Christmas': tales from teaching in the 1960s | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

May 20, 2022

State of the Students | Teachers' Lounge podcast

May 20, 2022 • Destiny Hudson was in 5th grade when COVID-19 shut down schools back in 2020. Now, she's finishing up 7th Grade. Devin Snow was a sophomore when it all went down and now he's graduating high school. They've both been through this weird learning experience, but at very different points in their education journey.

State of the Students | Teachers' Lounge podcast

May 6, 2022

The 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

May 6, 2022 • The 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year joins Teachers' Lounge to talk about what it means to her, being a small-town educator, teaching new languages, and much more!

The 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

April 29, 2022

30 Days to Empathy | Teachers' Lounge CLASSIC

April 29, 2022 • We revisit our conversation with the teacher, author and creator of the class-sourced novel: Jay Rehak!

30 Days to Empathy | Teachers' Lounge CLASSIC

April 29, 2022

30 Days to Empathy | Teachers' Lounge CLASSIC

April 29, 2022 • We revisit our conversation with the teacher, author and creator of the class-sourced novel: Jay Rehak!

30 Days to Empathy | Teachers' Lounge CLASSIC

April 15, 2022

A New Illinois Hip-Hop Anthem | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

April 15, 2022 • University of Illinois music professor Lamont Holden AKA producer TheLetterLBeats talks about crafting the school's new fight song and forging new traditions.

A New Illinois Hip-Hop Anthem | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

April 1, 2022

Teaching students how to care for the dying & bereaved, part 2 | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

April 1, 2022 • "I remember telling my high school pastor that I thought about being a pastor. I'll never forget his response, actually. He told me, 'Well, I've only known two women in my life who I thought could do this work.' And he said 'You might go from a funeral in the morning to a youth group party in the evening and most women can't navigate those emotional changes.' I looked up to him, he was the pastor. But I should have said, 'That's the biggest bunch of BS I've ever heard!'"

Teaching students how to care for the dying & bereaved, part 2 | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

March 18, 2022

Teaching students how to care for the dying & bereaved, part 1 | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

March 18, 2022 • In an episode unlike any we've had before, Dr. Kadi Billman tells us about teaching her class "Caring for the dying and bereaved" at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Teaching students how to care for the dying & bereaved, part 1 | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

March 4, 2022

A Special Edition Substitute Teachers' Lounge! | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

March 4, 2022 • Kevin Beverley is a retired teacher — and current substitute teacher! We talk a lot about what it's like as a sub during the pandemic. Unfortunately for weary listeners, no substitute host.

A Special Edition Substitute Teachers' Lounge! | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

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Teachers' Lounge is a new podcast from WNIJ diving into the issues impacting students and teachers across Illinois, and giving teachers themselves space to tell stories from inside their classroom.

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Webinar - Responses to Covid Learning Loss

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Webinar - Responses to Covid Learning Loss

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This webinar, hosted by Johns Hopkins, addresses learning loss during the Covid-19 Pandemic. In this webinar, a panel of education subject matter experts discuss responses to learning loss that educators can pursue.

Johns Hopkins. (2021, March 16). Webinar: Innovative Responses to COVID-19 Learning Loss . Retrieved from Johns Hopkins Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions: https://schoolhealth.jhu.edu/2021/03/webinar-innovative-responses-to-covid-19-learning-loss-monday-3-22-21-4-5-pm/

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Join us in the important conversation about "Innovative Responses to COVID-19 Learning Loss".

Speakers include:

Cami Anderson, Founder of ThirdWat Solutions and former Superintendent, Newark Public

Kechara Bradford, Deputy Superintendent of Learning at Providence Public Schools

Amelia Coleman Brown, Associate Superintendent, School Distric of Philadelphia

Moderator: Sara Johnson, Co-Director, Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions

In case you missed it, watch the recording here:
Join Our Mailing List

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Webinar: Innovative Responses to COVID-19 Learning Loss - Monday 3.22.21, 4-5 PM EDT

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Join us in the important conversation about "Innovative Responses to COVID-19 Learning Loss".

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This report, published by the World Bank, provides lessons learned about remote learning. The report examines how remote learning was dealt with by countries around the world during the pandemic. It also outlines five principles for reimagining remote learning in the future.

Muñoz-Najar, A., Gilberto, A., Hasan, A., Cobo, C., Azevedo, J., & Akmal, M. (2021). Remote Learning During Covid-19: Lessons from Today, Principles for Tomorrow. Washington: The World Bank.

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This NYT article describes how Covid 19 has hurt community colleges. All too often, when we discuss higher education and the pandemic, we focus on four year universities. However, community colleges have had to face their own unique challenges.

Saul, S. (2021, April 2). The Pandemic Hit the Working Class Hard. The Colleges That Serve Them Are Hurting, Too. Retrieved from New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/politics/covid-19-colleges.html

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The Pandemic Hit the Working Class Hard. The Colleges That Serve Them Are Hurting, Too.

The community colleges largely serving low-income, Black and Latino students are reeling, and experts worry that inequality in education will increase.

Credit...Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times

Published April 2, 2021 Updated June 2, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has been uniquely hard on America’s working class, causing higher unemployment among people without college degrees and eliminating low-wage jobs by the millions. Now, the education system created to help those very workers also is in jeopardy.

Colleges of all types are struggling under the shadow of the coronavirus, but the nation’s community college system has been disproportionately hurt, with tens of thousands of students being forced to delay school or drop out because of the pandemic and the economic crisis it has created.

Enrollment is down by 9.5 percent at the more than 1,000 two-year colleges in the United States compared with numbers from last spring, according to preliminary figures from the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization that found a similar drop last fall. That is more than double the loss experienced by four-year schools.

Community college enrollment among Black and Hispanic students has declined even more sharply, with a 19 percent drop from fall 2019 to fall 2020 among Black students and a 16 percent drop among Hispanic students. Of the nation’s five million students enrolled at community colleges, about 40 percent are Black or Latino and nearly half are low-income, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.

“Many of our students come to college with challenges,” said Tracy D. Hall, president of Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis. “Now you add a pandemic to that, it just exacerbates it.”

Community colleges, a vast majority of which are state-run schools, have historically provided a low-cost alternative for students who lack financial backing from their parents or academic preparation for four-year colleges. They also are a critical training ground for students seeking jobs in local businesses, from auto mechanics and welders to dental hygienists. About 27 percent of the nation’s more than 17 million college students are enrolled in two-year programs.

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Credit...Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times

By arranging free tuition for many, though possibly not all, students, the Biden plan would also free up other forms of federal aid to low-income students, such as Pell Grants, to pay for things like housing, food or books, according to congressional aides who have been briefed on aspects of the proposal. Food and housing insecurity are often cited as major reasons for low-income students to drop out of college.

Over all, community colleges in Tennessee have lost about 10 percent of their total enrollment, mirroring the national figures. Southwest, a two-year public school with seven locations in the western part of the state, has lost 19 percent of its enrollment in the past year, making it one of the most profoundly affected of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges.

At Southwest, about 800 Black men have paused their studies. Now there is concern that the pandemic will permanently derail their educational paths, along with low-income and minority students across the country — potentially deepening educational inequities with white students.

“It’s depressing,” said Russ Deaton, executive vice chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, which oversees community colleges in the state. “A lot of the students we’ve lost were loosely tethered to higher education anyway. It didn’t take much to push them out of the education path.”

Many community college students are adults — the average age is 28 — and even before the pandemic, they struggled to stay in school, juggling academic work with financial pressures, child care needs and even homelessness. Before the pandemic, statistics showed that at least 40 percent of students at community colleges left school before earning a certificate or degree.

For these students, the pandemic upset an already difficult balancing act, leaving many just plain exhausted. For Corey Ray Baranowski — a 33-year-old father of five children, age 5 months to 11 years old — the breaking point came last year.

Before the health crisis, Mr. Baranowski and his wife juggled their large family, several jobs and studies at Jackson State Community College, another school that was hit hard by the pandemic, in Jackson, Tenn., 90 miles northeast of Memphis.

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Credit...Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times

The dominoes started tumbling last spring, when the pandemic reached his small community of Lexington, Tenn.

First, the school system where both Mr. Baranowski and his wife, a photographer, had worked as substitute teachers shut down. Then, that same day, their three school-age children were sent home to learn remotely. Their community college also suspended in-person classes.

“It was unsettling,” Mr. Baranowski recalled. He and his wife, then expecting their fifth child, struggled to keep up their own schoolwork while making sure the children did theirs, overloading the family’s home computer capacity — and their multitasking skills.

“There were some bologna sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly going on, trying to manage money,” Mr. Baranowski said. Overwhelmed, he dropped two classes last spring and decided not to re-enroll this year.

But in August, Mr. Baranowski found a job at a juvenile correctional center. The couple hopes to return to college next fall.

“My goal is to graduate and become a teacher,” he said.

As George Pimentel, the president of Jackson State, puts it, “Many of our students have just hit the pause button.”

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Credit...Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times

Community colleges normally lose students during boom times when jobs are plentiful, then see enrollment increase during economic downturns as unemployed people seek training for new careers — as happened after the recession of 2009.

So why is there currently an enrollment bust during a downturn? One theory is that the relief packages enacted by Congress, combined with the hope that jobs will return swiftly once the pandemic is over, have made those who are unemployed less apt to enroll in community colleges to retrain for new careers.

“There’s always been a sense that jobs are going to come back as soon as the numbers go down, so why would you start a degree program?” said Doug Shapiro, executive research director for the National Student Clearinghouse.

Another theory is that many of the skills taught at community colleges do not transfer well to online teaching formats. Rushton W. Johnson, vice president of student affairs at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., which has had a 15 percent enrollment decline since last spring, says the pandemic was a “perfect storm” for community colleges.

“It’s impossible to learn to weld, drive a truck, cook, draw blood, wire a network online, without handling the equipment and tools,” Mr. Johnson said.

While many low-income students in Tennessee can attend community college tuition-free by using federal and state grants, job disruptions have made it difficult for many to pay for basic living expenses.

Last spring, Katie Dollar, 25, could no longer afford rent when the game arcade where she was working closed because of the pandemic. She packed up and returned home to live with her father, with plans to continue her studies at Pellissippi online.

But the balky satellite internet service at her father’s rural Tennessee farm made it impossible for her to participate in remote classes. “Livestreaming classes was not an option,” Ms. Dollar, a theater student, said.

She decided not to enroll in the fall, but she is back in school this semester after landing a job at a Trader Joe’s and a new apartment.

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Credit...Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times

Enrollment declines have been particularly steep among first-year students who have never attended college at all, including high school graduates of 2020. Freshmen enrollment dropped by 19 percent at community colleges in Tennessee.

The pandemic has also blown a hole in community college budgets, forcing layoffs in some cases. The financial hit to community colleges has been exacerbated by state funding cuts aimed disproportionately at two-year colleges, according to a recent study by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Southwest is facing a budget shortfall — more than $10 million — and is hoping to be rescued with funds from the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed this month by Mr. Biden.

Of the nearly $40 billion that is allocated for colleges in the bill, an estimated $12.7 billion will go to community colleges, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.

With its main campuses in Memphis, a predominantly Black city, Southwest is expected to receive about $12 million from the stimulus package.

Dr. Deaton, of the Tennessee Board of Regents, said that aggressive outreach to students could be the key to encouraging many of them to re-enroll. Community colleges throughout the state are already working to lure back the students who had their education disrupted by the pandemic.

Southwest has begun such outreach, convincing 80 Black male students to return. It also purchased 3,500 laptops for students, installed wireless internet coverage in a parking lot and provided hot spots in some homes to encourage students to stay enrolled.

But Southwest has yet to persuade Charles Moore to come back.

A year ago, Mr. Moore, 20, was supporting himself by waiting tables while studying criminal justice at Southwest. Then the coronavirus spread to the United States and his plans for a college degree fell apart.

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Credit...Whitten Sabbatini for The New York Times

First his employer, the Olive Garden, laid him off. When his campus shut down and shifted to remote classes, he struggled to adapt to learning online. He was able to get a new job in security, but it required him to commute into Mississippi, leaving him little time to do his schoolwork. In May, he dropped out.

Mr. Moore says he wants to be a sheriff’s deputy, a job that does not require a college degree. So amid the uncertainty and unpredictability of the pandemic, he has made no immediate plans to return to school.

But he still thinks about campus life, about being exposed to new people and ideas, about getting “that college experience.”

“It felt like I was headed toward something,” he said.

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The Pandemic Hit the Working Class Hard. The Colleges That Serve Them Are Hurting, Too. (Published 2021)

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The community colleges largely serving low-income, Black and Latino students are reeling, and experts worry that inequality in education will increase.

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How Covid-19 Threatens Education for Girls in Kenya

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How Covid-19 Threatens Education for Girls in Kenya

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This podcast episode highlights the challenges that some young girls in Kenya have faced when trying to attend secondary education during the Covid 19 Pandemic. The host talks with Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, a Kenyan educator who has made the empowerment of women and girls her life's mission.

Fleischman, J. (n.d.). How Covid-19 Threatens Education for Girls in Kenya. Retrieved from Center for Strategic and International Studies: https://www.csis.org/podcasts/aids-2021/how-covid-19-threatens-education-girls-kenya

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Students around the world are struggling to return to school in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, but these challenges are especially acute for vulnerable adolescent girls and young women in low income countries, where Covid-19 has magnified the barriers they already faced in getting an education, including HIV, economic hardship, gender-based violence, early marriage, and unintended pregnancy.

In this episode, we're looking at why education for girls, especially secondary education, is so critical for girls' health and development, and how Covid-19 threatens their ability to go back to school. Janet Fleischman speaks with Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, a Kenyan educator and founder of Kakenya's Dream, which educates and empowers girls and works to end harmful traditional practices, like female genital cutting/mutilation and child marriage. Kakenya describes the impact of Covid-19 on the school for girls that she founded in Kenya, and how the school responded. Janet then takes us to western Kenya, where she speaks to Linda Achieng Orodo, a 19-year-old secondary school student, who participates in the PEPFAR-led DREAMS program. Like many girls in her community, Linda faced many challenges in returning to school after the Covid lockdown, and she gives us a glimpse of why secondary school is so critical for girls in Kenya.

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How Covid-19 Threatens Education for Girls in Kenya

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Students around the world are struggling to return to school in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, but these challenges are especially acute for vulnerable adolescent girls and young women in low income countries, where Covid-19 has magnified the barriers they already faced in getting an education, including HIV, economic hardship, gender-based violence, early marriage, and unintended pregnancy.

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Parents’ Perspectives on Remote Learning 

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Parents’ Perspectives on Remote Learning 

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A very eye-opening study done by Boston Children's Hospital on parents' perspectives of remote learning and social media during the pandemic. You might be surprised by some of the results. For example, "More than half of parents
said that technology has helped their children in terms of their family relationships, friend relationships and
educational achievement." Check it out for more information!

Boston Children's Hospital. (2020). Parents’ Perspectives: Media Use & Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Boston: Digital Wellness Lab.

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Students with dyslexia have had to cope with their own unique challenges during the pandemic. This fascinating article describe the experiences of medical students with dyslexia and how they both thrived and struggled with distance learning.

Shaw, S., Hennessy, L. R., & Anderson, J. L. (2022). The learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological study. Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice, 27(1), 107–124.

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The learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID‑19 pandemic

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Mobile Learning Acceptance Post Pandemic

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Mobile Learning Acceptance Post Pandemic

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Much has been said about asynchronous learning during the pandemic (lectures on zoom, etc.). However, mobile learning often gets overlooked. Mobile learning (a type of distance learning that occurs via a mobile device) has been growing in popularity and will inevitably impacted by the pandemic. In this article, researchers examine how mobile learning has become an essential aspect of engineering education, even post pandemic.

Jeya Amantha Kumar, Sharifah Osman, Mageswaran Sanmugam, & Rasammal Rasappan. (2022). Mobile Learning Acceptance Post Pandemic: A Behavioural Shift Among Engineering Undergraduates. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 14(6), 3197–.

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Covid 19's Financial Impact on Higher Education 

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Covid 19's Financial Impact on Higher Education 

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This PBS Newshour segment discusses the deep financial toll that the pandemic has had on universities. It discusses the impact on small liberal arts institutions and larger public state schools. This brings up a lot of questions about if enrollment in university will continue to decline throughout the coming years. As Rock Jones, President of Ohio Wesleyan University stated, "I believe that Covid has not created challenges, it has accelerated challenges."

PBS NewsHour. (2021, January 5). Pandemic's toll on higher education leaves some institutions fighting for survival . Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gkhd76S1nI

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Pandemic's toll on higher education leaves some institutions fighting for survival

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"What COVID-19 revealed about US schools"

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"What COVID-19 revealed about US schools"

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Excellent TED talk about 4 major lessons learned about how we can improve education. To me, I believe her idea to "focus on the whole student" is the most valuable lesson from Covid-19. If we don't help students thrive in every aspect of their lives, we are doomed to fail them when it comes to teaching.

TED. (2021, Feb. 12). Nora Flanagan: What COVID-19 revealed about US schools -- and 4 ways to rethink education | TED . Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LC4YFenynI

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Nora Flanagan: What COVID-19 revealed about US schools -- and 4 ways to rethink education | TED

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Fascinating video about how Covid-19 has impacted girls' education across the world. This is an important topic so this will be the first of many resources addressing it.

UNICEF. (2021, December 3). Coping with COVID-19 | Season 2 I Episode 5: Girls stand up for education. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FVhSSBXUPw

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Coping with COVID-19 | Season 2 I Episode 5: Girls stand up for education

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Excellent article about lessons learned from the Covid-19 Pandemic. This article focuses on remote learning and draws conclusions on how to improve this type of learning for students.

Tulaskar, R., Turunen, M. What students want? Experiences, challenges, and engagement during Emergency Remote Learning amidst COVID-19 crisis. Educ Inf Technol 27, 551–587 (2022).

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“Learning in the Time of Covid.” Cambridge University Press. 2020.
https://www.cambridge.org/files/4915/9827/7191/ELT_44137_CDOIG_web_07_20_infographic.pdf??utm_source=wobl&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=woblcontent&utm_campaign=general&utm_class=download

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A lot of the conversation surrounding remote learning during the pandemic has been largely negative. I wanted to share a few resources that also highlight some of the positives that came about because of the pandemic. This article goes into detail about some of the benefits of the pandemic on education. They include: decreased bullying, more time to understand students' needs, and greater opportunities for students who have special needs. I will share more resources on the benefits of the pandemic on education so that we can get a full picture of Covid-19's impact on education across the globe.

Abramson, A. (2021, September 1). Capturing the benefits of remote learning. Retrieved from American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/09/cover-remote-learning

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With schools open again after more than a year of teaching students outside the classroom, the pandemic sometimes feels like a distant memory. The return to classrooms this fall brings major relief for many families and educators. Factors such as a lack of reliable technology and family support, along with an absence of school resources, resulted in significant academic setbacks, not to mention stress for everyone involved.

But for all the downsides of distance learning, educators, psychologists, and parents have seen some benefits as well. For example, certain populations of students found new ways to be more engaged in learning, without the distractions and difficulties they faced in the classroom, and the general challenges of remote learning and the pandemic brought mental health to the forefront of the classroom experience.

Peter Faustino, PsyD, a school psychologist in Scarsdale, New York, said the pandemic also prompted educators and school psychologists to find creative new ways of ensuring students' emotional and academic well-being. "So many students were impacted by the pandemic, so we couldn't just assume they would find resources on their own," said Faustino. "We had to work hard at figuring out new ways to connect with them."

Here are some of the benefits of distance learning that school psychologists and educators have observed and the ways in which they're implementing those lessons post-pandemic, with the goal of creating a more equitable, productive environment for all students.

Prioritizing mental health

Faustino said that during the pandemic, he had more mental health conversations with students, families, and teachers than ever. "Because COVID-19 affected everyone, we're now having mental health discussions as school leaders on a daily and weekly basis," he said.

This renewed focus on mental health has the potential to improve students' well-being in profound ways-starting with helping them recover from the pandemic's effects. In New York City, for example, schools are hiring more than 600 new clinicians, including psychologists, to screen students' mental health and help them process pandemic-related trauma and adjust to the "new normal" of attending school in person.

Educators and families are also realizing the importance of protecting students' mental health more generally-not only for their health and safety but for their learning. "We've been seeing a broader appreciation for the fact that mental health is a prerequisite for learning rather than an extracurricular pursuit," said Eric Rossen, PhD, director of professional development and standards at the National Association of School Psychologists.

As a result, Rossen hopes educators will embed social and emotional learning components into daily instruction. For example, teachers could teach mindfulness techniques in the classroom and take in-the-moment opportunities to help kids resolve conflicts or manage stress.

Improved access to mental health resources in schools is another positive effect. Because of physical distancing guidelines, school leaders had to find ways to deliver mental health services remotely, including via online referrals and teletherapy with school psychologists and counselors.

Early in the pandemic, Faustino said he was hesitant about teletherapy's effectiveness; now, he hopes to continue offering a virtual option. Online scheduling and remote appointments make it easier for students to access mental health resources, and some students even enjoy virtual appointments more, as they can attend therapy in their own spaces rather than showing up in the counselor's office. For older students, Faustino said that level of comfort often leads to more productive, open conversations.

Autonomy as a key to motivation

Research suggests that when students have more choices about their materials and activities, they're more motivated-which may translate to increased learning and academic success. In a 2016 paper, psychology researcher Allan Wigfield, PhD, and colleagues make the case that control and autonomy in reading activities can improve both motivation and comprehension (Child Development Perspectives, Vol. 10, No. 3 ).

During the period of online teaching, some students had opportunities to learn at their own pace, which educators say improved their learning outcomes-especially in older students. In a 2020 survey of more than 600 parents, researchers found the second-most-valued benefit of distance learning was flexibility-not only in schedule but in method of learning.

In a recent study, researchers found that 18% of parents pointed to greater flexibility in a child's schedule or way of learning as the biggest benefit or positive outcome related to remote learning ( School Psychology, Roy, A., et al., in press).

This individualized learning helps students find more free time for interests and also allows them to conduct their learning at a time they're most likely to succeed. During the pandemic, Mark Gardner, an English teacher at Hayes Freedom High School in Camas, Washington, said he realized how important student-centered learning is and that whether learning happens should take precedence over how and when it occurs.

For example, one of his students thrived when he had the choice to do work later at night because he took care of his siblings during the day. Now, Gardner posts homework online on Sundays so students can work at their own pace during the week. "Going forward, we want to create as many access points as we can for kids to engage with learning," he said.

Rosanna Breaux, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and assistant director of the Child Study Center at Virginia Tech, agrees. "I'd like to see this flexibility continue in some way, where-similar to college-students can guide their own learning based on their interests or when they're most productive," she said.

During the pandemic, many educators were forced to rethink how to keep students engaged. Rossen said because many school districts shared virtual curricula during the period of remote learning, older students could take more challenging or interesting courses than they could in person. The same is true for younger students: Megan Hibbard, a teacher in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, said many of her fifth graders enjoyed distance learning more than in-person because they could work on projects that aligned with their interests.

"So much of motivation is discovering the unique things the student finds interesting," said Hunter Gehlbach, PhD, a professor and vice dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Education. "The more you can facilitate students spending more time on the things they're really interested in, the better."

Going forward, Rossen hopes virtual curricula will allow students greater opportunities to pursue their interests, such as by taking AP classes, foreign languages, or vocational electives not available at their own schools.

Conversely, Hibbard's goal is to increase opportunities for students to pursue their interests in the in-person setting. For example, she plans to increase what she calls "Genius Hours," a time at the end of the school day when students can focus on high-interest projects they'll eventually share with the class.

Better understanding of children's needs

One of the most important predictors of a child's success in school is parental involvement in their education. For example, in a meta-analysis of studies, researchers linked parental engagement in their middle schoolers' education with greater measures of success (Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F., Developmental Psychology, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2009).

During the pandemic, parents had new opportunities to learn about their kids and, as a result, help them learn. According to a study by Breaux and colleagues, many parents reported that the pandemic allowed them a better understanding of their child's learning style, needs, or curriculum.

James C. Kaufman, PhD, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut and the father of an elementary schooler and a high schooler, said he's had a front-row seat for his sons' learning for the first time. "Watching my kids learn and engage with classmates has given me some insight in how to parent them," he said.

Stephen Becker, PhD, a pediatric psychologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said some parents have observed their children's behavior or learning needs for the first time, which could prompt them to consider assessment and Individualized Education Program (IEP) services. Across the board, Gehlbach said parents are realizing how they can better partner with schools to ensure their kids' well-being and academic success.

For example, Samantha Marks, PsyD, a Florida-based clinical psychologist, said she realized how much help her middle school daughter, a gifted and talented student with a 504 plan (a plan for how the school will offer support for a student's disability) for anxiety, needed with independence. "Bringing the learning home made it crystal clear what we needed to teach our daughter to be independent and improve executive functioning" she said. "My takeaway from this is that more parents need to be involved in their children's education in a healthy, helpful way."

Marks also gained a deeper understanding of her daughter's mental health needs. Through her 504 plan, she received help managing her anxiety at school-at home, though, Marks wasn't always available to help, which taught her the importance of helping her daughter manage her anxiety independently.

Along with parents gaining a deeper understanding of their kids' needs, the pandemic also prompted greater parent participation in school. For example, Rossen said his kids' school had virtual school board meetings; he hopes virtual options continue for events like back-to-school information sessions and parenting workshops. "These meetings are often in the evening, and if you're a single parent or sole caregiver, you may not want to pay a babysitter in order to attend," he said.

Brittany Greiert, PhD, a school psychologist in Aurora, Colorado, says culturally and linguistically diverse families at her schools benefited from streamlined opportunities to communicate with administrators and teachers. Her district used an app that translates parent communication into 150 languages. Parents can also remotely participate in meetings with school psychologists or teachers, which Greiert says she plans to continue post-pandemic.

Decreased bullying

During stay-at-home orders, kids with neurodevelopmental disorders experienced less bullying than pre-pandemic (McFayden, T. C., et al., Journal of Rural Mental Health, No. 45, Vol. 2, 2021). According to 2019 research, children with emotional, behavioral, and physical health needs experience increased rates of bullying victimization ( Lebrun-Harris, L. A., et al., ), and from the U.S. Department of Education suggests the majority of bullying takes place in person and in unsupervised areas.

Scott Graves, PhD, an associate professor of educational studies at The Ohio State University and a member of APA's Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE), said the supervision by parents and teachers in remote learning likely played a part in reducing bullying. As a result, he's less worried his Black sons will be victims of microaggressions and racist behavior during online learning.

Some Asian American families also report that remote learning offered protection against racism students may have experienced in person. Shereen Naser, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Cleveland State University and a member of CPSE, and colleagues found that students are more comfortable saying discriminatory things in school when their teachers are also doing so; Naser suspects this trickle-down effect is less likely to happen when students learn from home (School Psychology International, 2019).

Reductions in bullying and microaggressions aren't just beneficial for students' long-term mental health. Breaux said less bullying at school results in less stress, which can improve students' self-esteem and mood-both of which impact their ability to learn.

Patricia Perez, PhD, an associate professor of international psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a member of CPSE, said it's important for schools to be proactive in providing spaces for support and cultural expression for students from vulnerable backgrounds, whether in culture-specific clubs, all-school assemblies that address racism and other diversity-related topics, or safe spaces to process feelings with teachers.

According to Rossen, many schools are already considering how to continue supporting students at risk for bullying, including by restructuring the school environment.

One principal, Rossen said, recently switched to single-use bathrooms to avoid congregating in those spaces once in-person learning commences to maintain social distancing requirements. "The principal received feedback from students about how going to the bathroom is much less stressful for these students in part due to less bullying," he said.

More opportunities for special needs students

In Becker and Breaux's research, parents of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly those with a 504 plan and IEP, reported greater difficulties with remote learning. But some students with special learning needs-including those with IEPs and 504 plans-thrived in an at-home learning environment. Recent reporting in The New York Times suggests this is one reason many students want to continue online learning.

According to Cara Laitusis, PhD, a principal research scientist at Educational Testing Service ( ETS) and a member of CPSE, reduced distractions may improve learning outcomes for some students with disabilities that impact attention in a group setting. "In assessments, small group or individual settings are frequently requested accommodations for some students with ADHD, anxiety, or autism. Being in a quiet place alone without peers for part of the instructional day may also allow for more focus," she said. However, she also pointed out the benefits of inclusion in the classroom for developing social skills with peers.

Remote learning has improved academic outcomes for students with different learning needs, too. Marks said her seventh-grade daughter, a visual learner, appreciated the increase in video presentations and graphics. Similarly, Hibbard said many of her students who struggle to grasp lessons on the first try have benefited from the ability to watch videos over again until they understand. Post-pandemic, she plans to record bite-size lessons-for example, a 1-minute video of a long division problem-so her students can rewatch and process at their own rate.

Learners with anxiety also appreciate the option not to be in the classroom, because the social pressures of being surrounded by peers can make it hard to focus on academics. "Several of my students have learned more in the last year simply due to the absence of anxiety," said Rosie Reid, an English teacher at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, California, and a 2019 California Teacher of the Year. "It's just one less thing to negotiate in a learning environment."

On online learning platforms, it's easier for kids with social anxiety or shyness to participate. One of Gardner's students with social anxiety participated far more in virtual settings and chats. Now, Gardner is brainstorming ways to encourage students to chat in person, such as by projecting a chat screen on the blackboard.

Technology has helped school psychologists better engage students, too. For example, Greiert said the virtual setting gave her a new understanding of her students' personalities and needs. "Typing out their thoughts, they were able to demonstrate humor or complex thoughts they never demonstrated in person," she said. "I really want to keep incorporating technology into sessions so kids can keep building on their strengths."

Reid says that along with the high school students she teaches, she's seen her 6-year-old daughter benefit from learning at her own pace in the familiarity of her home. Before the pandemic, she was behind academically, but by guiding her own learning-writing poems, reading books, playing outside with her siblings-she's blossomed. "For me, as both a mother and as a teacher, this whole phenomenon has opened the door to what education can be," Reid said.

Eleanor Di Marino-Linnen, PhD, a psychologist and superintendent of the Rose Tree Media School District in Media, Pennsylvania, says the pandemic afforded her district a chance to rethink old routines and implement new ones. "As challenging as it is, it's definitely an exciting time to be in education when we have a chance to reenvision what schools have looked like for many years," she said. "We want to capitalize on what we've learned."

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Capturing the benefits of remote learning

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How education experts are applying lessons learned in the pandemic to promote positive outcomes for all students.

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So, crazy title but amazing podcast! This podcast was around before the Covid-19 Pandemic and discusses public health issues around the globe. They have also delved into topics related to Covid-19, including how it has impacted education. This particular episode highlights the voices of teachers, students, and parents at the beginning of the pandemic. It's interesting to listen to and think about what has changed since then (and what has not).

COVID-19 Chapter 10: Schools . (April, 23 2020). Retrieved from This Podcast Will Kill You: https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com/2020/04/23/covid-19-chapter-10-schools/

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In the tenth episode of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series on COVID-19, we continue our exploration of the diverse impacts of this pandemic by taking a look at how education and schooling has been affected, with a particular focus on the United States. Massive school closures and transition to distance learning has revealed vast inequities in access to basic educational needs and has highlighted the importance of public schools as more than just a place to learn. We are joined by journalist Jennifer Berkshire (Twitter: @BisforBerkshire ) and education historian Dr. Jack Schneider (Twitter: @Edu_Historian ), producers of Have You Heard , a podcast on educational policy and politics, to examine the current challenges in delivering educational content during this pandemic and some implications for the future of public schools (interview recorded April 17, 2020). As always, we wrap up the episode by discussing the top five things we learned from our expert. To help you get a better idea of the topics covered in this episode, we've listed the questions below:

1. Have we seen anything like this before, like with the 1918 influenza pandemic and school closures due to polio epidemics?

2. What are some of the services that public schools in the US provide? And how is this pandemic revealing that schools are more than just a place to learn?

3. Can you talk briefly about the inequalities in education and access and their historical roots?

4. Are these inequalities unique to the United States or are there other countries where similar inequalities are seen or being revealed by this pandemic?

5. Who is being left out in this switch to distance learning?

6. Can you discuss how well distance learning works across different age groups?

7. Do you think that this epidemic will make policymakers and politicians see the economic value of schools? Or is it going to further decrease funding to schools and result in the dismantling of the public school system? How do you think our definition of school will change after this pandemic?

8. What was the trajectory of funding for public schools before this pandemic?

9. How well does distance learning seem to work?

10. When schools re-open, what kind of effects are we going to see on current students? Specifically, how do we recover when some kids will have continued to learn during this pandemic and others will likely have fallen further behind?

11. What positive changes do you hope to see come out of this?

Resources for Educators:

References

Markel, Howard, et al. " Nonpharmaceutical interventions implemented by US cities during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. " 298.6 (2007): 644-654.

Earn, David JD, et al. " Effects of School Closure on Incidence of Pandemic Influenza in Alberta, Canada. " Annals of Internal Medicine 156.3 (2012): 173-181.

Hatchett, Richard J., Carter E. Mecher, and Marc Lipsitch. " Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic. " Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104.18 (2007): 7582-7587.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/14/how-covid-19-has-laid-bare-vast-inequities-us-public-education/

Partanen, Anu. The Nordic theory of everything: In search of a better life . Prelude Books, 2017.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, you won't pay a penny more, but we'll get a small commission which helps us keep things running. Thanks!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the tenth episode of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series on COVID-19, we continue our exploration of the diverse impacts of this pandemic by taking a look at how education and schooling has been affected, with a particular focus on the United States.

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“It Feels Like Maybe I Won’t Ever Go to School Again”

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“It Feels Like Maybe I Won’t Ever Go to School Again”

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This is an amazing interactive experience from Human Rights Watch on how children from various countries were impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic. It includes quotes and photos that address children's education, mental health, hobbies, and work.

Not only is this interactive article filled with beautiful photos from around the world, it is also one of the few articles that discusses how children with disabilities were impacted by their loss of education during the pandemic.

I definitely encourage you to check it out!

HRW. (2021, May 17). “It Feels Like Maybe I Won’t Ever Go to School Again” Children, Parents, and Teachers Describe the Impact of Covid School Closures. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2021/05/17/it-feels-maybe-i-wont-ever-go-school-again

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The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted education for around 90 percent of the world's school children. Students, parents, and teachers in 60 countries talked to Human Rights Watch about how school shutdowns affected children's right to education. How does your pandemic experience compare with that of people around the world? What if you had to live like this forever?

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"It Feels Like Maybe I Won't Ever Go to School Again"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted education for around 90 percent of the world's school children. Students, parents, and teachers in 60 countries talked to Human Rights Watch about how school shutdowns affected children's right to education. How does your pandemic experience compare with that of people around the world?

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Virtual Roundtable: School Closures and COVID-19

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Virtual Roundtable: School Closures and COVID-19

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Fascinating discussion about the impact of Covid-19 on K-12 education in the United States. Emily F. Oster, an academic from Brown University, discusses the data she gathered on what happened to education during this time. She also takes time to answer questions from educators about the data and the future of education in the U.S.

Nuzzo, J. (11, March 2022). Virtual Roundtable: School Closures and COVID-19. Retrieved from Council on Foreign Relations: https://www.cfr.org/event/virtual-roundtable-school-closures-and-covid-19

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Pandemic-related school closures have affected more than 50 million K-12 students in the United States. These disruptions created substantial challenges for parents and impacted children's learning and social wellbeing. It has been said that pandemic-related closures may have resulted in significant learning loss that could deepen existing educational and income inequalities. The COVID-19 School Data Hub, the brainchild of Brown Professor of Economics Emily Oster, attempts to assess these impacts. Speakers discuss the data and how the United States can address the tremendous learning loss and education inequality exacerbated by COVID-19.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Virtual Roundtable: School Closures and COVID-19

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pandemic-related school closures have affected more than 50 million K-12 students in the United States. These disruptions created substantial challenges for parents and impacted children's learning and social wellbeing. It has been said that pandemic-related closures may have resulted in significant learning loss that could deepen existing educational and income inequalities.