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Cult of Pedagogy

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Sponsored by PowerSchool and ISTE U

It's a pretty safe bet that most teachers will be doing some form of online teaching in the coming year. Maybe you'll do it full-time, maybe it will be some kind of hybrid model, but one thing is for sure: This time around you won't be dropped into it without warning.

So with this chance to take a breath and do more thoughtful, intentional planning, the next question is What do we do differently? What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning?

To find out, I sought the help of Melanie Kitchen, a Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Staff Development serving 19 school districts in Western New York state. Melanie has years of experience working with teachers on developing blended learning and has now shifted to helping teachers develop best practices for remote learning.

Melanie Kitchen

I asked Melanie to share some ways online teaching should be different from face-to-face teaching. She came up with nine: three that are specific to community building and communication, and six that focus on instructional design. Along with these differences, she also shared a few things that should stay exactly the same.

Community Building & Communication

1. The first weeks of school should be devoted to community building and digital competency.

Resist the temptation to dive right into curriculum at the start of the school year. Things will go more smoothly if you devote the early weeks to building community so students feel connected. Social emotional skills can be woven in during this time. On top of that, students need practice with whatever digital tools you'll be using. So focus your lessons on those things, intertwining the two when possible.

"If you are explicitly teaching persistence," Kitchen says, "maybe I'm going to give you a challenge that's not content-related, but something that you might have to kind of grapple with. But when I assign that, if I'm using Google Classroom, then I'm going to assign that through Google Classroom and teach you how you're going to open an assignment, how you're going to submit it, how you'll be receiving feedback. So you are teaching these skills all at once, and it's not something separate or extra. It's just all done together."

Other good resources that can guide and inform the conversations you have in these early weeks are:

2. Communication with parents needs to be more thorough, streamlined, and predictable.

Parents are also adjusting to this new way of doing school. Because they are sometimes expected to play an even more prominent role in supporting student learning, they need more support from you. "We really need parents to be our partners in this learning community," Kitchen says.

Here are some guidelines:

Establish a consistent location and predictable schedule for sharing information. When parents know where and when to look for information from you, they'll do a better job of keeping up with it and following through on their end. Weekly updates are a good way to keep everyone informed about what's going on in your class. And rather than toggling around between emails, text alerts, blog posts, website announcements, and newsletters, choose one platform for outgoing information and stick to it; if your whole school can do the same you'll see even better results.

Set clear expectations and boundaries for communication. When can students and parents expect to hear from you? How and when can they get in touch with you when needed? If you don't set boundaries you'll end up feeling like you have to be available 24/7, which will quickly lead to burnout. Establish regular office hours and advertise them in an easy-to-find place so parents know when you'll be most accessible.

Create a backup plan for off-hours and tech support. If parents or students need help outside of your regular office hours or they need help with technology, who can they contact? Make this information clearly available.

Make communication multimodal. Although it's important to consistently post through one platform, it's also helpful to provide the information in more than one mode. For example, you might offer written announcements and record the same announcements in a short video each week so students and parents can choose the format that works best for them.

Provide parent tech training. Parents will be better able to support students if they understand how to use the technology, so provide them with tutorials on the tech you use, including whatever platform you use to disseminate information.

3. Community and connection need to be a priority for teachers, too.

"Teachers need to connect with each other now more than ever," Kitchen says. Your school leadership should be building in regular opportunities for you to stay connected to your colleagues during this time. If they are not, create those opportunities for yourself.

Staff meetings should still be held regularly-even if it's through a videoconferencing platform-to keep staff connected.

During these meetings, some time and attention should be given to teacher well-being and emotional health.

Smaller groups like teaching teams or content-area PLCs can offer even more support.

If you're not getting the support you need, seek it out through platforms like Twitter.

This article offers a more in-depth look at teacher well-being: How to Support Teachers' Emotional Needs Right Now.

Instructional Design

4. Teacher collaboration is even more important.

Meeting the challenges of online learning gets easier when we work together. "As we're all trying to get to know these students better," Kitchen says, "we need to be working together to do that." That means working more closely with specialists to make sure our lessons and materials meet the needs of all students, partnering with others in our content area to plan instruction, working together on cross-curricular projects, and dividing up the things all students need (like technology instruction) among teachers on a team or grade level so students aren't doing the same lessons over and over and our work isn't duplicated.

Fortunately, collaborating online can be even easier than trying to do it when we all teach in the same physical building. "This virtual environment has provided us the opportunity to break down those walls, to break down those silos," Kitchen says. "Our schedules and time constraints that we may have had before will come down. We may have more opportunity to partner with people that we didn't have the time or the space to be able to do that before."

5. "Face-to-face" time should be used for active learning.

Online instruction is made up largely of asynchronous instruction, which students can access at any time. This is ideal, because requiring attendance for synchronous instruction puts some students at an immediate disadvantage if they don't have the same access to technology, reliable internet, or a flexible home schedule.

But you're likely to offer "face-to-face" or synchronous opportunities at some point, and one way to make them happen more easily is to have students meet in small groups. While it's nearly impossible to arrange for 30 students to attend a meeting at once, assigning four students to meet is much more manageable. Kitchen likes "campfire groups," which are permanent groups of about four that stay together for long periods of time. This arrangement allows students to get to know each other better and establish more trust. Students might be rearranged for other activities to provide some variety, but the campfire groups would provide a stable base throughout the school term.

So what kind of instructional activities should be used for these different formats?

What works best, Kitchen says, is to keep direct instruction-things like brief video lectures and readings-in asynchronous form, using checks for understanding like embedded questions or exit slips.

You can then use synchronous meetings for more interactive, engaging work. "If we want students showing up, if we want them to know that this is worth their time," Kitchen explains, "it really needs to be something active and engaging for them. Any time they can work with the material, categorize it, organize it, share further thoughts on it, have a discussion, all of those are great things to do in small groups."

Small group strategies she strongly recommends:

6. Content needs to be simplified and slowed down.

Online instruction is not conducive to covering large amounts of content, so you have to choose wisely, teaching the most important things at a slower pace. To make those choices, Kitchen recommends asking some key questions:

What really holds leverage for the students? What has endurance? What knowledge is essential?

What knowledge and skills do students need to have before they move to the next grade level or the next class?

What practices can be emphasized that transfer across many content areas? Skills like analyzing, constructing arguments, building a strong knowledge base through texts, and speaking can all be taught through many different subjects.

What tools can serve multiple purposes? Teaching students to use something like Padlet gives them opportunities to use audio, drawing, writing, and video. Non-digital tools can also work: Students can use things they find around the house, like toilet paper rolls, to fulfill other assignments, and then submit their work with a photo.

7. Instructions should be easy to find, explicit, and multimodal.

Because you are not in the same room with students, your instructions have to work a lot harder than they do in a brick-and-mortar setting.

Provide instructions in a consistent location and at a consistent time. This advice was already given for parents, but it's worth repeating here through the lens of instructional design: Set up lessons so that students know where to find instructions every time.

Make instructions explicit. Read and re-read to make sure these are as clear as possible. Make dogfooding your lessons a regular practice to root out problem areas.

Offer multimodal instructions. If possible, provide both written and video instructions for assignments, so students can choose the format that works best for them. You might also offer a synchronous weekly or daily meeting; what's great about doing these online is that even if you teach several sections of the same class per day, students are no longer restricted to class times and can attend whatever meeting works best for them.

8. Traditional grading practices should take a backseat to feedback.

"We saw a transition during emergency remote teaching where each of us had different requirements about grades or no grades, pass and fail," Kitchen says. "This whole environment really needs to be supported by communication and connection. If I'm to receive an A or a 95 or a 65, that doesn't necessarily tell me as much as verbal feedback or print feedback to what I'm doing right, what I can improve on."

So when teaching remotely, put the emphasis on formative feedback as students work through assignments and tasks, rather than simply grading them at the end.

Most learning management platforms, like Google Classroom, have built-in features for giving feedback. Use these as your primary method.

Tools like Floop offer other ways to provide on-the-spot feedback and can be especially good for math.

Feedback should be frequent and specific. Consider some of the methods shared by Matthew Johnson in Flash Feedback.

Provide a pathway for students and parents to give YOU feedback on assignments as well.

9. Summative assessment should focus on creation.

In online learning, Kitchen says, "There are so many ways that students can cheat, so if we're giving them just the traditional quiz or test, it's really easy for them to be able to just look up that information."

A great solution to this problem is to have students create things. These can be videos, podcasts, digital or physical art, writing pieces, comics, and so on. "It's a lot more difficult to cheat when you have to make something or do something. And it also integrates all of the areas and it builds up, all of that learning builds up into this creation that they will do."

For assessment, use a detailed rubric that highlights the learning goals the end product will demonstrate. A single-point rubric works well for this.

To help students discover tools to work with, this list of tools is organized by the type of product each one creates. Another great source of ideas is the Teacher's Guide to Tech.

When developing the assignment, rather than focusing on the end product, start by getting clear on what you want students to DO with that product. This list from Bill Ferriter explores the difference:

Image Credit: Bill Ferriter (CC BY-NC-ND)

What Stays the Same

Not everything in online teaching is different. Some aspects of good teaching should definitely stay the same.

Clear and consistent communication

Creating explicit and consistent rituals and routines

Using research-based instructional strategies

Determining whether to use digital or non-digital tools for an assignment

A focus on authentic learning, where authentic products are created and students have voice and choice in assignments

The teaching environment may not be the same as we're used to, but it's important to remember that good teaching is still good teaching. "All of those things that we know are really good practices can still be done virtually," Kitchen says. "It just might look a little bit different."

You can find Melanie on her website, creativecuriosity.org, or on Twitter at @MelKitchenEDU.

Come back for more.
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9 Ways Online Teaching Should be Different from Face-to-Face

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What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning? What can stay exactly the same?

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https://www.sasaki.com/voices/how-to-transform-your-learning-environments-for-covid-19/

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How to Transform Your Learning Environments for COVID-19

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COVID-19 has turned the world of higher education upside down. After years of wondering if online learning would ever upend place-based learning, it suddenly did...literally overnight! Yet, for all the creativity and engagement we've managed to squeeze out of Zoom and other online platforms, many students and faculty long for a return to the physical classroom.

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With plans and news of states returning to school, many art teachers are left with more questions than answers. I think most of us can agree we want answers, but also recognize there aren't definite answers. Some areas around the country go back to school as early as August, while others go back in September. Each state and school district is going to have different requirements, guidance, and plans as you return to school. Keeping this in mind, you'll need to adapt and run your art room in a way that works for you.

Unfortunately, I don't have the answers for you either, and there is not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach. But, I will provide you with some ideas and food for thought as you return to school.

Here are 5 different areas to consider as you head back to school with your students.

1. Masks and PPE

The requirements of masks and personal protective equipment being worn within the school setting will vary. Some schools have already decided to order masks for all staff and students. However, decisions on whether they will be required to be worn might still be open for debate. It may be likely that teachers are required to wear them, while it's only highly recommended for students. Whatever your guidelines might be, the question that comes to mind is, "How are we actually going to get students to wear them?" Well, we might not be able to, but we can try. My first lesson when I head back to school will be for students to create their own tie-dye masks. Maybe, just maybe, if we give them a little ownership, they'll be as excited as one can get about wearing their mask.
Connect and learn with other teachers. Register for the NOW Conference.
2. Cleaning Art Supplies

Cleaning is part of being an art teacher. Even before COVID-19, some days in your classroom probably felt like you were washing and cleaning all day. Now that we'll be back in school, you'll need to take this even more seriously. Unless your school districts can triple your art budgets, it will be nearly impossible for students not to share at least some items in the art room. This means both you and your students are going to have to take extra care with cleaning and sanitizing. You will need to put new procedures and routines in place.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself as you begin thinking through new procedures:

How will students sanitize their hands upon entering the art room?

Will they wash them with soap and water at the beginning of class?

Will each student get a wipe or hand sanitizer as they enter the room?

How will I limit the sharing of art materials?

What will my students be responsible for cleaning at the end of class?

What cleaning solutions will students be able to use safely in my classroom?

The CDC has released guidelines for cleaning schools. Within these guidelines, you will find an approved list of disinfectants provided by the EPA. Additionally, you will want to look at local guidelines provided by your state.

3. Organizing Your Art Supplies Differently

Because there are now more considerations on how we clean art materials, this might mean we have to reevaluate how we organize our supplies. Ideally, to cut down the sharing of materials, you would be able to assign materials to your students. This practice will be far easier in the secondary setting in comparison to elementary. Some materials you might assign are paintbrushes and drawing materials. Depending on the different classes you teach, you may also want to try and not use the same materials to help limit use. For instance, if one class section is using oil pastels, try using a different material for the other classes.

Long gone are the days of having a communal bin of art materials, it's time to find a different way to organize. One method I already use is to organize materials by table using small plastic totes with lids. Inside, materials are stored and assigned per table. In my art room, I have ten tables, meaning that I would typically have ten supply boxes for students to use and share. I'm looking to increase the number of supply boxes to cut down on sharing.

Additionally, coming up with a plan to alternate the use of materials might be beneficial. For instance, if your first-hour students are using one set of materials, have a different set of materials, your 2nd-hour students can use. This will give you more time to clean or the disinfectant more time to work.

4. Adapting to Your New Schedule

There will probably be changes to your school schedule you will need to adapt to. One of the biggest schedule changes might be if students are only coming to school every other day. If you are an elementary teacher who only sees their students once a school week, it could be quite some time before you see your students again. In the secondary setting, with teachers usually seeing their students daily, this means you will probably only see your students twice a week instead of five. This will cause some changes to the timing and pacing of your lessons. Depending on what the expectation for online learning is, you might not get to as many projects as you typically would in a "normal" school year. As you plan for these changes, evaluate your curriculum, and pare down your lessons to essential concepts.

For most 2-D art forms, there won't be many changes other than needing more time to complete an activity. However, you'll want to consider some logistical measures when teaching with media like clay. If you teach a ceramics class, you might be thinking, "How will students create without their clay pieces drying out before the next class?" This will be a problem, and you will have to adapt to best fit your time constraints. This will include changing project requirements. Although not ideal, you might have to encourage students to work smaller so they can finish projects quicker.

You might also have to prepare more materials ahead of time for your students. For instance, if your students are using an extruder to create coils, instead of having your students do this entire process by themself, you could extrude coils ahead of time. You could store them in a damp box to keep them fresh. The use of a damp box will also be a great solution for keeping clay projects wet. Here are some additional ideas to keep the moisture in works in progress.

5. How to Maintain Physical Distance

Unfortunately, there is only so much we can control when it comes to keeping our students physically distant in our classrooms. We are bound by the size of our classroom and the number of tables available. However, we can control and limit the proximity of students by changing our instructional methods. Gathering students around a central area to sit or watch a demonstration is probably not going to work. Instead, you will want to keep your students in their assigned area, and either project your live demonstration with a document camera or create a flipped instructional video. If you've ever considered creating flipped video content, now is the time! This way, you can use your video over and over, and if students are choosing to stay at home, you will still have instruction for them.

It's safe to say that none of us know what this next school year will hold. It will probably be far from normal, and most of us won't have a clue what we're doing until we actually get started with our students. If you find yourself having more questions than answers, know that you are not alone. At the end of the day, we have to use our best judgment, along with the requirements and guidelines from our school districts. It won't be easy, but art teachers can do anything.

What are your biggest concerns as you head back to school during a pandemic?
What plans are you putting in place to better manage your art room?

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How to Return to School During a Pandemic - The Art of Education University

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With plans and news of states returning to school, many art teachers are left with more questions than answers. I think most of us can agree we want answers, but also recognize there aren't definite answers. Some areas around the country go back to school as early as August, while others go back in September.

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Maryland Resource/Guidelines for Reopening Arts 

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Maryland Resource/Guidelines for Reopening Arts 

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UV light has long been known to kill viruses, but it’s also dangerous to humans. There is, however, a less “primitive” option.

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NAEA Suggestions for Teaching Art in 20-21

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NAEA Suggestions for Teaching Art in 20-21

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LA CO Schools 2020 21 Planning Framework

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Bringing Trauma-Informed Strategies into the (Online) Classroom

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As educators, every day of teaching is an invitation to learn more about ourselves and our practice. And then summers hit, offering us a chance to step back and go even deeper – renew our energies, reflect on our goals and dig into compelling and necessary new learning.

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Teaching from a Distance Copyright Considerations

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Teaching from a Distance Copyright Considerations

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As the spread of COVID-19 causes schools-particularly colleges and universities-to switch to distance education, it is a good time to review an important part of the educational landscape: copyright. Don't let the word copyright alarm you; copyright law actually has tools specifically intended for distance learning, along with other tools such as fair use. As a former teacher of copyright law for many years, I feel obliged to at least mention the basics of how copyright affects distance learning. I'm focusing on colleges and universities, but this discussion is applicable to any level of educational institution.

As most teachers probably know, copyright law covers many of the things teachers use to educate students, from textbooks to music to artwork, plays, and movies. That doesn't mean you always need permission to use these works-there are limits. Fair use is a big one. But fair use, while flexible, is not always easy to determine in advance. So how can you teach your students without running afoul of copyright?

Within the classroom, there is a pretty broad exception for using copyrighted materials (not quite everything goes, but broad). It applies to "face-to-face teaching activities"-those that happen in the actual classroom. Can we use this same exception for online classes? In a word, no. But, there is another exception, called the TEACH Act (sections 110(2) and 112(f)], designed specifically to deal with online distance learning. Because the digital environment poses unique challenges for copyright, particularly the ease with which digital material can be copied and distributed, the law imposes a number of requirements on distance learning that do not apply to face-to-face teaching. I'll discuss a few here.

First, and very important, to qualify for this special exception under the TEACH Act, the work you are performing or displaying (for example, a video clip, a song, or a photograph) must be one that was "lawfully made and acquired." So make sure you have a legitimate copy-don't just copy works off the internet, because although some things may be in the public domain or available under certain kinds of licenses, others require permission before you use them.

Second, there is a limitation on how much of the material you can use. The online exception is more limited than the one for face-to-face teaching. You can perform as much as you want of a "nondramatic literary or musical work" (poems and songs are OK, but not plays or operas!), "or reasonable and limited portions of any other work" with the amount being what would be "typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session." So, although you might show a whole movie over several days in a classroom, the law assumes only a fairly short portion of a movie (or play). The same would be true of a sound recording-use only what you need to teach the particular class.

The "limited portion" language does not apply to the display of works, only to the performance. So you can show a slide of a building or a painting as long as it is the kind of thing you would normally show in class. You can even display a short poem if it is something you would display in class. But displaying large portions of the textbook online is not what was intended since you would not normally do that in class.

The use must be at the direction of, or under the supervision of, the instructor "as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part" of the institution's "mediated instructional activities." (It doesn't prevent student performances as part of the class, as long as they are at the direction and supervision of the instructor.) The general intent of the law here is to make sure that the use is for a particular class, not as, for instance, background or supplementary material. And it must be part of the regular instructional activities of the school, not a side hustle. To emphasize this, the statute goes on to say that the use must be "directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content " of the online class. So it must be related to the particular class, and it must be important to the content of the class. Playing music just to entertain the class would not qualify.

Third, there are several requirements to make sure that the exception is not misused to distribute unauthorized copies of copyrighted material. The school must, to the extent "technologically feasible," limit the reception of the online information to students enrolled in the course (using things like passwords or other identification procedures). The school must have copyright policies; distribute those policies to faculty, staff, and students; and notify students that material used in the course "may be subject to copyright protection." The school must use reasonable technological measures to prevent students from keeping the material beyond the class session (no downloading to the students' hard drives) or from disseminating the material to other people. So not all massive open online courses (MOOCs) fit the exception very well. And the school must not do anything that would likely circumvent any anti-piracy protection surrounding the works in question (so no breaking copy protection in order to show the work to the class).

There are some other requirements that are fairly technical, but you get the idea-the school must try and make sure what you use in an online course isn't kept by the students or distributed outside of the students in the course.

It is also important to understand that, although the law puts the allowable activities in the context of a digital version of a regular class, it does not require that the instruction take place in real time; "asynchronous" classes (where the instructor uploads material that is accessed at different times by different students) are also permitted.

One more thing-you cannot use this exception for distributing things like textbooks, course packs, or sound recordings that the students would ordinarily purchase on their own (or that the school would normally purchase for students, which is particularly relevant to K-12 schools).

That's a mouthful, but, fortunately, many universities have websites where these issues are discussed. There are checklists for instructors so that they can ensure that they are following the law. You should check your institution's website for that information or ask your school's librarian. Finally, remember that you can still rely on fair use. If you are making fair use of the copyrighted work, then the restrictions I've discussed do not apply. For instance, in a drama class, it may be fair use to perform more than "a limited portion" of a play. In that case, the limit of the special exception would not prevent the fair use of a larger amount in the online class. But it must be fair use under the law, not just what you think is fair. The law is, after all, the law.

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TEACHing from a Distance and Copyright Considerations | Copyright

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The following is a guest post by David Welkowitz, attorney-advisor in the Office of the General Counsel. As the spread of COVID-19 causes schools-particularly colleges and universities-to switch to distance education, it is a good time to review an important part of the educational landscape: copyright.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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See ongoing mitigation guidance and prevention and support for administrators, teachers, staff, and parents in schools and child care programs.

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See the Roadmap

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The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of isolation, stress, loss, and more among young people, adults, families, and communities. Social and emotional learning (SEL) offers a powerful means to support one another during these challenging times as our communities work to address the impact of the pandemic on students' learning and development.

Now, more than ever, we understand how important it is to demonstrate empathy and resilience, build relationships across distance, and call upon our collective resolve to strengthen our schools and our communities.

So, how can SEL support you and your work during this time? Find resources and guidance in Reunite, Renew, Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School (July 2020).

Our recommendations follow the four core focus areas for schoolwide SEL and districtwide SEL:

First, create a foundation for SEL.

Work with students, families, and communities to envision how education can more holistically support all learners.

Prioritize strong, two-way communication between families and schools.

Second, attend to well-being and mutual support among adults.

Pay close attention to our own social-emotional needs in order to be the community of adults who best serve our young people.

Foster supportive adult relationships to process emotions, share challenges, and offer support to one another.

Third, promote SEL for young people.

Provide consistency in daily routines to foster a sense of safety and predictability.

Listen to young people and support them in building or maintaining a sense of community and connection.

Incorporate social and emotional skill-building into learning (such as CASEL's SEL 3 Signature Practices).

Fourth, reflect on how things are going and adjust as you learn.

Listen to students, families, and your wider community of stakeholders as valuable sources of information about what is or isn't working.

Analyze results with a lens of equity to meet needs using our SEL Data Reflection Protocol

How is CASEL advancing this work?
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Guidance on School Transitions and Reopening

To aid in this time of continued transitions, CASEL collaborated with more than 40 partners to illuminate a way forward through Reunite, Renew, Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School (July 2020), centered on relationships and built on the existing strengths of a school community. As we prepared for Spring 2021, we offered three strategies adapted from the SEL Roadmap to re-examine efforts for a successful second semester: Refocus on the SEL Roadmap: Actions for a Successful Second Semester (January 2021).

CASEL CARES Webinar Series

In response to the pandemic, CASEL mobilized to provide social and emotional support to our communities and share best practices through an initiative called CASEL CARES. We offered weekly practical guidance and information on topics that were sourced from the field and relevant to the needs of today. Our CASEL CARES Webinars covered a wide range of SEL topics and attracted more than 100,000 people. View the on-demand series

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The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of isolation, stress, loss, and more among young people, adults, families, and communities. Social and

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Maryland Fine Arts Guidance for Reopening 

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Maryland Fine Arts Guidance for Reopening 

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M:BRACE; Planning for the 20-21 Visual Art School Year - Crowdcast

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Register now for Maryland Arts Education Collaborative Partners's event on Crowdcast, scheduled to go live on Friday June 12, 2020 at 1:00 pm EDT.

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Tips to Create a Warmer, More Engaging Online Classroom

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Tips to Create a Warmer, More Engaging Online Classroom

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Covid-19 has brought with it a greater need for this restorative and trauma-informed approach. Even a short pause for a check-in goes a long way to settle the elevated stress levels and experiences of isolation, and this leads to more learning. Here are some simple tips that create a more relational, stress-reducing, and engaging online learning environment for both you and your students.

Prepare a Warm Space

Specialists in the fields of social neuroscience and trauma-informed practices confirm what we know to be true: Students are more open to learning when they are emotionally and physically regulated, feel connected to others, and have opportunities for meaningful engagement.

Your physical presence, warmly represented, provides key support to your students, so maintain eye contact and talk in a relaxed, friendly tone. Set up your physical space so that your face is easily visible and warmly lit. Remember-online learning inherently feels less personal than your physical classroom, so intentionally share something from your life, like photos of your family or pets, a favorite painting, or items that represent your interests or hobbies.

When giving a lesson online, avoid relying too much on slides and videos-they help focus student attention on the material, but too much time away from human faces will drain energy and engagement and undermine the sense of connectedness you are trying to build.

Check In With Your Students Regularly

A restorative approach is much more than a non-punitive way to respond to harm; it is a process for building a positive classroom culture that starts at the beginning of the year. One class activity central to this approach is collaboratively developing a class ethos or set of guidelines. It helps establish some relational trust and expectations for how you and your class want to be together as a learning community.

When you start a lesson online, don't jump right in-take a few moments to slow down with a few mindful breaths and set the right tone for the class by sharing a positive message, such as an inspiring quote, song, or video. Survey your students often on what they need to feel engaged and connected. Provide ways for them to give anonymous feedback and to be heard. Perhaps they'd like to share an item from home that means something to them, or they need more thinking time before jumping into a discussion.

Build in frequent opportunities for engagement during your lesson by asking for thumbs up, thumbs down, or one-word answers in your meeting's chat window, for example. Pause and ask students to check in with how they are feeling, and let them provide a silent gesture or signal that reflects how they are doing. Check-ins do not need to be long to be effective.

At the end of your lesson, close with a reflection activity-students can talk about a few goals they want to accomplish or share a few words of appreciation in the chat for something or someone in their lives.

Remember: Anxiety Is Contagious

Your calm, grounded state has a lot more influence on your students than you know. Offer co-regulation through your online presence by slowing down, pausing between sentences, smiling, and being mindful of your anxiety level. Before a lesson, take a few minutes to relax and center yourself. If you're distracted during your lesson, students will pick up on that, so have everything you need ready. Struggling to find files, links, or browser tabs can cause your stress level to rise, which students will feel and mirror. Close any programs that you won't be using, and print out your agenda so that you don't need to frantically search for it on your screen.

Your students may be feeling higher anxiety levels, so be transparent about your process, acknowledge how challenging these times are, and remind them that their feelings are shared by many others. If you are feeling stressed, share that as objectively as possible. Just name it and tell your students what you are doing to support yourself. They need to know you are human and hear what strategies you are using, but they also need you to be a positive model and co-regulator.

Focus on the Positive

Finally, take some to reflect on and leverage the positive aspects of our new "normal." Many teachers report an increased degree of connection with parents, students, and each other. Support meetings for students can be easier to schedule online. Parent-teacher conferences are seeing greater participation. School leaders are prioritizing social and emotional wellness. As Margaret Wheatley wrote, "It is possible to prepare for the future without knowing what it will be. The primary way to prepare for the unknown is to attend to the quality of our relationships, to how well we know and trust one another."

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Tips to Create a Warmer, More Engaging Online Classroom

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Covid-19 has brought with it a greater need for this restorative and trauma-informed approach. Even a short pause for a check-in goes a long way to settle the elevated stress levels and experiences of isolation, and this leads to more learning.

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Professor CL  5 Tips for Teaching Art Online

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Professor CL  5 Tips for Teaching Art Online

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NAEA Town Call Conversation | Art Education and School Year 2020-21: Navigating Remote, Hybrid, and In-Person Instruction in the COVID-19 Landscape
Sharing solutions and support for success in this unique school year is our goal for this conversation. Join expert guides as they communicate how they are navigating the current landscape as supervisors, administrators, and classroom practitioners. Gain perspective from various vantage points and walk away with practical ideas for immediate use whether you're faced with the challenges and opportunities of remote, in-person, or hybrid learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Access the recording
Download accompanying handout

Davis Publications Free Resources
Teaching Art Online, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, SchoolArts online, lessons, and more...
https://www.davisart.com/free-resources/

Game Design Challenge
Learning from home creates obstacles. These obstacles can help motivate us to redesign something as fun as a game. Within this 4-week unit students are challenged to ask, learn, imagine, design, build, then share, reflect and redesign a game. This unit was designed for middle school students in grade 6-8 but can be adapted for other ages.
Resource download

#togetherweARTbetter...Art Lessons Kids Can Do From Home!
#togetherweARTbetter is more relevant than ever before so enjoy this video and this packet of 15 art lessons that can be geared for all levels of learners!
** Resource download https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hLoVIqw0hLk

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Hosting Virtual Tours
A dozen of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic designs are available to explore as part of the #WrightVirtualVisits initiative. Some links available on this page, others require Instagram.
https://thespaces.com/12-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-are-now-hosting-virtual-tours/

Getty Artworks Recreated with Household Items by Creative Geniuses the World Over
Recreate your favorite art using just three objects lying around home using digitized and downloadable artworks from Getty's online collection. https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/getty-artworks-recreated-with-household-items-by-creative-geniuses-the-world-over/

K-12 Art Materials Brainstorming Worksheet
This worksheet walks through reflection and planning for building their own artist tool kit for remote learning
Resource download
https://bcpscloud.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/RemoteLearning/EQ41q7C7cP5EhVm-1bQ9-tgBcvXC1OiJyPx_WAPEkwk_EA?e=cjNSgZ

Picassohead
Create picasso like artwork online. Flash Player Required.
http://www.picassohead.com/

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NAEA Town Call Conversation | Art Education and School Year 2020-21: Navigating Remote, Hybrid, and In-Person Instruction in the COVID-19 Landscape Sharing solutions and support for success in this unique school year is our goal for this conversation. Join expert guides as they communicate how they are navigating the current landscape as supervisors, administrators, and classroom practitioners.

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USING Art Supplies Hygienically

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As we navigate the current coronavirus pandemic, it is a good time to be mindful about art supplies and ways to prevent the spread of illness. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) describes COVID-19 as an airborne illness. Droplets in the air can be breathed in and also land on surfaces including work spaces and art supplies. Protecting clients from harm includes having clean art supplies.

In order to maintain the cleanliness of the art studio or art-making space, it can be helpful to get into good habits for pre-session prep and post-session cleanup. While your facility may have more specific protocols‒and it is recommended that you check what those are‒there are some basic guidelines that can be adapted from medical spaces. This includes performing proper hand washing techniques upon entering and exiting the room, wearing gloves if there is potential for contact, and wiping down any surfaces in a consistent manner.

Keeping art supplies free from contamination is just as important as hand washing. Like hand washing, art supplies must be cleaned in between use from one client to the next. For best practices, the CDC details proper cleaning methods here. Using consumable, or single use, art materials is a great way to lower risk of transmission of germs.

Examples of art materials that can be used one time and kept by the client, or thrown away:
Textiles Canvas Single-use packaged clay Paper Cotton swabs Paint Craft sticks Chenille stems Yarn
Example of supplies that can be used repeatedly but must be disinfected:
Markers Scissors Colored pencils Paintbrushes Needles Knitting/ crochet tools
It may be difficult to find time to disinfect supplies between sessions. One way to utilize supplies during a busy work day, without having to immediately disinfect between art therapy sessions, is to organize supplies. For example, have a "clean supplies" section in your work space, and a "dirty supplies" section. After using some supplies during a session, place them in the "dirty supplies" section so they will not be used again until they can be disinfected. This is a simple and practical way to save time while also maintaining client safety.

One infection prevention protocol used in the hospital setting is to stock Ziploc bags with art supplies for each patient on the rounds for the day. This way everyone knows that the bags contain clean materials. Once they are used, they go into the used bin to be sanitized for the next day. This also offers patients a visual indication that their materials are sanitized and have not been used by anyone else. For in-patient populations, some art therapists give patients single-use kits, which they can keep them in their room and take them home when they leave the hospital.

Art therapists should also be conscientious of any art supplies or art pieces that are traveling in and out of the art studio or space. For example, art pieces can be kept in the room but if the client takes it with them, it should not be returned to the room. If working from an art cart, consider only taking in what you need for the session and leaving the rest outside.

Limiting art supplies, for the next few weeks, to those that are easy to clean and/or single-use is an easy way to protect clients and ourselves. Having a cleaning protocol in your work space, year round, is recommended and now is a good time to implement a strategy if you have not done so before. With these steps, we can all do our part to create safe, healing spaces for our clients.

Andrea Davis, ATR-BC, LPC-AT-S

Andrea Davis is founder of Dallas Art Therapy, a non- profit offering affordable and free art therapy services for the community. She works in private practice and as supervisor for art therapy/licensed professional counseling interns and has 14 years of clinical experience treating trauma. Davis is a past two-term president of the North Texas Art Therapy Association. Davis currently serves as Honors chairperson for the American Art Therapy Association and also for the Exam Development and Standard Setting Committee with the Art Therapy Credentials Board.

Davis recently completed two murals, one for the Cidma Museum in Corleone, Sicily and the other a community mural at Goldmark Community Center in Dallas, sponsored by the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Her chapter, "Professional and Ethical use of Expressive Arts", is included in the book, Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling Children and Adolescents (2017 Routledge). Davis recently completed a chapter on art supplies and infection control for a forthcoming book on Medical Art Therapy, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2021).
A special thanks goes to Paige Asawa, PhD, MA, LMFT, ATR-BC, who also contributed content to this article. BACK TO THE MAIN BLOG

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Best Practices for Using Art Supplies Hygienically during the COVID-19 Outbreak - American Art Therapy Association

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March 16, 2020 | Andrea Davis As we navigate the current coronavirus pandemic, it is a good time to be mindful about art supplies and ways to prevent the spread of illness. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) describes COVID-19 as an airborne illness.