Bridging the gap between distance and in person learning
Date: 02/18/2021
Author: Jamie Hansen, Sonoma County Office of Education
“When the children return to school, they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify and make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned. Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have been focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to have to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. Our job is to welcome them back and help them write that history.”
—Teresa Thayer Snyder, Retired Superintendent of the Voorheesville district in upstate New York in a Facebook post highlighted on a blog by Diane Ravitch
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With the prospect of bringing children back to the classroom in the weeks and months ahead, educators are turning their focus to how they will bridge the divide between distance and in-person learning.
Teachers might feel pressured to make up for lost time and close any learning gaps as soon as possible. We encourage educators to rethink what has typically been referred to as “learning loss.” While there will surely be learning gaps in core content that must be addressed, students have also learned and grown in countless other ways during the pandemic. They have gained technology skills, resiliency, adaptability, to name a few. It is important for educators to find ways to measure, honor and build on this.
By reframing the issue as “unfinished learning,” educators can turn their focus to what other learning has occurred: What new assets do students bring to the classroom? It also removes the blame from the student or family and acknowledges that learning is not always linear.
Focus on Engagement and Connection Before Content
The return to the classroom will present an opportunity to re-set the tone. It will be a chance to deepen connections with students, build positivity, strengthen student engagement, and rekindle a love of learning.
School and district curriculum leaders should keep the focus on grade-level content and rigor, addressing learning gaps as needed within the context of grade-level work.
Daily re-engagement of prior knowledge in the context of grade-level assignments will add up over time, resulting in more functional learning than if we resort to watered down instruction or try to reteach topics out of context.
“[A]void the temptation to rush to cover all of the ‘gaps’ in learning from the last school year. The pace required to cover all of this content will mean rushing ahead of many students, leaving them abandoned and discouraged,” wrote the Council of the Great City Schools in “Addressing Unfinished Learning After COVID-19 School Closures” last year. “Moreover, at a time when social-emotional wellbeing, agency, and engagement are more important than ever, instructional haste may eclipse the patient work of building academic character and motivation.”
Three Pillars to Re-Engagement and Addressing Unfinished Learning
Provide grade-level instruction
In mathematics, the focus should be on the “Big Ideas” of the grade level rather than individual standards. This allows for a deeper understanding and building of connection across the standards. A document outlining these Big Ideas will be put out from the state later this spring.
In ELA/literacy instruction, the focus should be on:
- Learning to Read
- Close Reading of Complex Text
- Volume of Reading to Build Knowledge
Teachers should focus on standards that represent these pillars. Student Achievement Partners at achievethecore.org have identified 14 instructional priority standards that represent this. These standards, and guidance on how to address them, can be found at this link
Monitor for evidence of unfinished learning
When monitoring for unfinished learning, it isn’t necessary or recommended to spend too much time testing students with systematic, high-level assessments that don’t always give the most actionable data and may cause students additional stress. The best way to monitor student progress is through authentic classroom tasks. Educators are encouraged to use formative assessment strategies to help gauge student progress.
"Achieve the Core" recommends using assessment in the following ways in order to monitor unfinished learning and identify where extra help is needed.
- Use assessment to determine how to bring students into grade-level instruction, not whether to bring them into it.
- Use assessment to center formative practices (FAST SCASS, 2018). Leverage such sources of information as exit tickets, student work, and student discussions. Use these sources of information to inform instructional choices in connection with high-quality instructional materials.
- Use assessment to employ targeted checks for very specific subject and grade-level instructional purposes.
Provide scaffolding and connection when needed
Educators are encouraged not to make assumptions about what students “didn’t get” this year or last year. When there is evidence that a student is unsure, hesitant, or struggling, that is the time to use scaffolding and support at a level that is in proportion to their needs. That is to say, avoid going straight to a massive remediation plan. Students may need just a bit of encouragement, explanation, or to see the material presented in a different way. In the event that a student does need more intensive support, be sure that any intervention or remediation is in addition to grade level content, and does not replace it.
The goal is to provide “just in time” support as teachers and students work on grade-level content instead of “just in case” remediation. The latter approach has been shown not to work in disaster contexts such as schools in Louisiana coming back after Hurricane Katrina. (Here is a resource that addresses this).
Additional Information and Resources
- This EdSource article highlights strategies for addressing learning gaps.
- Read about how the attributes identified in the Sonoma County Portrait of a Graduate are more important than ever during this time of disruption in this blog post by SCOE Director of Innovation and Partnerships, Dan Blake.
- Education Week: Students Respond to Adult Fixation on Learning Loss: In this article, educator Larry Ferlazzo writes, "If we are going to address the academic loss that may have occurred during the pandemic, then we also need to fully understand the other kinds of loss our young people have experienced and have plans in place to support them through those losses." He asks his students directly how the pandemic has affected them and what they feel they have learned and lost. He shares their insights here.
