Reflections on Concurrent Teaching and Learning

As I mentioned in the previous post on Concurrent Teaching and Learning, I had the privilege and challenge of teaching in a “mirrored” environment for the last nine weeks. I didn’t expect to do it, but I was approached by my sister, an elementary library media specialist, who asked me to sub for her while she had a planned surgery. She’s doing great and is back to work.

My background is secondary English, and her job includes teaching classes, running the library and tech support. While I believe in the teacher’s power to adapt, and I felt I had the skills to at least keep the ship afloat, I was definitely out of my element.

In December, we were completely virtual. I sort of enjoyed it. I read books to students, sent home STEAM projects, worked on research skills and got to know students through the screen. When I didn’t shave, one student asked, “Why do you look so old today?” Gray beard, buddy. Later that month, the board allowed some special ed. students to attend live, and I helped with the technology set-up.

The school used support staff, or para-educators, to work with the small number of students that were in school while the classroom teacher continued to teach virtually. It was both a safety issue and a convenience issue. I spent a lot of time with the first graders. I had one buddy who wouldn’t go anywhere without me. “C’mon,” he would order. That was a trip. I also supported the para-educators with technology issues, and there were a lot of them. We started using an omni-directional speaker, and we had students live in the classroom who were supposed to follow along on Zoom. I learned quickly that the students didn’t attend well to the screen, especially when there was a live teacher in the room. It was at times frustrating, but it was also enlightening.

In January, students came back. Well, some of them. Most of the students were in the room while there were still a handful of Zoomers. The technology was challenging, especially when I was helping to set up subs for the day. Trying to get a slide deck, lesson plan, Zoom platform and audio and visual elements all together for a technologically-challenged substitute was a lot, but we prevailed.

I also taught my classes. I have to admit that I didn’t understand the need for preparation and anticipation. While we did still have pick-up for virtual students, I couldn’t really make any changes between pick-up and class or the Zoomers would be left out. I tried to rely on electronic resources, but students online would have to navigate between tabs and apps. It was all a bit much.

My attention was naturally with the students in the room. The less assertive Zoomers did not get a good experience in my class. I lost track of them often. I remember during one of my classes that I set them up, told them I would be back so I could check-in with live students, and then I completely forgot about my online students. I felt terrible.

Throughout the time, I observed the good habits of teachers who regularly set aside time for Zoomers and were very clear on the agenda and expectations. It was still not idea, with sound and video issues prevalent, but the resiliency and dedication of the teachers was heartening.

For the last couple of weeks, my role was to solely attend to the Zoomers while my sister taught the classes, and I saw the difference. They came to life when they had my attention. They told me all sorts of stories. They would dance around after they finished their work. They just yearned to be a part of things and have the attention that they deserve. It really changed the way that I saw the whole process. Without undivided attention, those at home became second-class students. I was definitely guilty of perpetuating that, and I know that it is an easy trap to fall into.

The challenges were plentiful, but I saw teachers figuring it out and doing what they had to do to serve their students’ needs. I saw the myriad of technology problems, but we solved them when we could, and students were able to fight through them. I believe there are better ways than teaching concurrently, but I also strongly believe in the spirit of education, and the will of teachers to persevere to do what’s right and best for ALL students.