Research for Recovery: Pushing for a New Normal

• In Event: Teacher Research Into Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Science Teaching: Not Going Back to How Things Were Before

Abstract

Objectives

I am in a unique position as a leader of school-based teacher collaboration. I am studying our meetings, imagining how culturally responsive-sustaining education (CRSE) can inform what we have learned during the pandemic to improve our practice. Teachers experienced compromised motivation while planning for remote instruction, and felt the extreme effort was in vain as it would be irrelevant once remote teaching ends. I have been working to find a way to salvage this curriculum, motivate my peers, and take advantage of this chaotic disruption to rebuild. I investigate the research questions, How do we keep from going back to the way things were (in the before times)? What shifts to instructional approaches from the pandemic should we keep going forward?

Theoretical Framework

For this investigation, CRSE is explored through the principle that in order to honor the unique perspectives of students and their cultures, we must amplify student voice and choice to demonstrate how they are "being acknowledged and valued in the curriculum" (Anderson & Coward, 2012). The study is also informed by the observation that “students in flipped classrooms [can] achieve higher learning outcomes” (Alten et al., 2019) than they do in traditional classrooms. In a flipped classroom, students engage with online content outside of class, and work with each other and the teacher, at their own pace, during class time to explore and learn the content.

Methods

I facilitated weekly team meetings to support teachers during the pandemic, and journaled the experience as we collaborated and reflected on our work with a focus on vertical alignment of skills for asynchronous assignments. Two questions arose during this time: (1) What are we doing better as a result of the crisis? and (2) What permanent changes to instruction should happen as a result? Teacher responses to these questions informed how we might increase student ownership of learning and amplify students’ academic voices by changing the way we teach.

Data

Data include team protocol notes, teacher survey responses to the aforementioned questions, and my biweekly journal reflections. Additionally, our school’s professional learning group meetings were recorded and transcribed for analysis.

Results

Teachers’ survey responses indicate that they feel that many students benefit from greater autonomy and control over their learning. We observed a transition away from direct instruction during synchronous classes towards guided discussions based on student needs. Teachers employed new methods for students to explore concepts at their own pace, through a supportive environment, with authentic differentiation keeping students engaged. While the crisis gave some the opportunity to experience learning as an independent process, the unstructured schedule allowed other learners to procrastinate, making it harder to engage with the content.

Significance

The best way to amplify student voice and student choice is to change the way we teach. By implementing the in-class flip model, we can continue to employ the digital content created during the pandemic while affording more opportunities to provide small group/individualized support for building academic skills and confidence.

Author

• Arthur W. Funk, American Museum of Natural History