The Critical Role of Facilitators in COVID Times: Design Support for Technology Integration

• In Event: Critical Perspective on Technology Integration in Secondary and Higher Education

Abstract

The pandemic forced teachers to rethink their use of technology as teaching went online in Spring 2020. Many were left on their own to make this transition, and existing equity concerns around teacher preparation, support and access to resources intensified. This research reports on the activities of Facilitators who were part of a National Science Foundation project, which had already shown significant changes to teachers’ STEM understanding and instruction, when the pandemic took hold. The Facilitators’ ongoing work in supporting the design of STEM projects took a new turn when the walls of the classroom expanded and technology became not only a goal for transdisciplinary STEM teaching, but a means for designing and implementing remote student learning environments more generally.

Authors

• Ellen B. Meier, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Caron M. Mineo, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Jessica Yusaitis-Pike, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Karen Kirsch Page, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Xiaoxue Du, Teachers College, Columbia University