It Doesn't Matter Where They Learn- Give them voice & choice!

Middle level students always have plenty to say. They have strong opinions! The middle grade years is where they really begin to form thoughts, opinions and take a stance. It's important for us facilitators to guide them on how to develop these ideas, and defend them with research. We need to help them use their voice and learn how to appropriately communicate with their communities. We shouldn't be in the business of telling them what to think, we need to help them develop their thoughts into actionable change.

Remote learning shouldn't change that. At least that was the goal my Humanities co-teacher Joy Peterson and I set for our students as we began an argument writing unit a few weeks after we all were sent home to learn. We needed to plan a unit from start to finish to be done remotely and we really wanted to create something that promoted engagement and didn't introduce a lot of new "content" but allow students to strengthen skills we had worked on already. So we created an argument writing unit around the idea of... Remote Learning! We wanted students to really find their voice and tell their story.

We worked through a series of proficiency targets for this unit. Students used: Claim, Evidence, Analysis & Reasoning, and Big Ideas to work through their story. We started with this graphic organizer to help them organizer their work. We have been using this ClEAR graphic organizer during the year (Cl=Claim, E=Evidence, AR=Analysis&Reasoning).  To help students decide on which side of remote learning they fell on (it's good vs. not good) we used another graphic organizer tool we worked with students on during the course of the year called a "snow globe". We created two snow globes for this unit where we asked students to do their "greats vs. gripes" of remote learning. Students used a universal list of "Big Ideas" to help them draw on themes and we use the same list all year to help the see connections among themes across different units. The phrases around the outside come from the "Big Ideas" list. Here are a couple of examples:

Once students developed their opinion we had them develop a full 5 paragraph essay around their thoughts and use a hierarchy of needs to help add depth to their argument. They used the other snow globe they did to develop a counter-argument in their piece. We also worked through some advanced writing skills by having students write hooks and we did a lesson on using transition words as well.

Once the writing piece was put together, it was time for the final 2 steps- pick an audience and put the final touches on it! Students were so excited to be able to use their writing piece to connect with some of the major stakeholders in Vermont education. We did an "editing camp" where students met with 1 of the 4 teachers in groups of 5 or 6 and we looked over their writing to add any tweaks. We helped them format their writing as a business letter email as well. We had numerous students send their letter to Dan French, Vermont Secretary of Education. Here's one example:

May 20, 2020

Dan French
Agency of Education
1 National Life Drive, Davis 5
Montpelier, VT 05602

Dear Secretary French:

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."  -Malcolm X.

I believe that remote learning is unjust because it requires the use of technology and not everyone has access to it. It also makes people feel isolated and lonely because they can’t see their friends.

Because of remote learning, I can’t see my friends. Even though we text regularly and I see them on google meets, it would be nice to see them face to face. I work better when I am around other kids and talking things through with them because they motivate and encourage me to do my best work.

I am relying heavily on technology for google meets, docs, and school assignments. Sometimes, technology doesn’t work, or it’s really glitchy. That makes it hard to get the information I need.

Another reason I dislike remote learning is there’s not a lot of stability. Sometimes I finish school at 2, other times at 3. This can make days feel longer and disorganized. This makes it hard to do my best work because I need structure in my school days.

I think the most important aspect of remote learning is responsibility. I think this because remote learning includes a lot of calls with teachers, so you need to be responsible and remember to attend those meetings and pay attention during them. You also have to know how to take responsibility for your actions. If you miss a call or forget to do work, you have to take responsibility and talk to your teacher. Being responsible also means doing what you’re supposed to do with devices. Remote learning includes using a lot of devices so you need to make sure you’re doing school work when you’re supposed to, not watching YouTube.

I understand that there are some things about remote learning that are good. Like getting to wear comfy clothes and set your own schedule. In addition, remote learning makes you a better, stronger, and more tech-savvy person! On the whole, remote learning isn’t too bad, but although there are some great aspects, I can’t wait to go back to school!

In conclusion, remote learning has been challenging in many ways. Technology has tried our patience, and we all miss interacting with people face to face. I hope you will consider these issues before making a final decision about 2020/2021’s school year.

Sincerely,
We had letters sent to our district Superintendent, Elaine Pinckney and Jeff Evans, our district Director of Learning and Innovation. Other letters went to our building principals, community members, family members and even one to our local newspaper as a letter to the editor.

What made this unit really come full circle was that every adult that received an email from a student responded. Dan French wrote each student back, as did our central office staff and principals. Students were so pleased that their voices were heard and really showed them that they can make an impact. During remote learning we had every single student complete this writing piece. Every. Single. Student. They want to engage, they want to be heard. When we give them the structure and tools it's time to get out of the way and watch them shine.

The 3 Rs of Remote Learning- Relationships, Routine, Reflection

Crack. Splash. Gasp. That’s the response to ice giving way and being plunged into the frigid water. The body’s natural reaction is to panic, flail and draw in air as fast as possible. One has little time to plan a way out and must rely on instincts and training. That was about how my body responded when the Governor announced face to face schooling would be canceled for the remainder of the school year. What do I do now? How can I still be a teacher? How do I care for, and support these students that I won’t see again?
Much like making it out of the ice-cold water, the next step is to avoid system failure. When a person has made it to shore the first step is stopping the body from going into shock from hypothermia. When the body begins to go into shock it shuts down extremities and only focuses on running the essential organs. Once again that was the metaphor I faced, my team faced and school systems in general had to grapple with in rapid time. What are the “essential organs” of what we do? What must we focus on to keep the system going?

Relationships

My first answer is relationships. In the middle level, relationships are essential to the success of the student. Relationships have been at the heart of middle level best practice for years. My team and I have been doing daily advisory this year with a variety of activities for each day. Monday is relationship day, Tuesday is trivia, Wednesday is a check in survey, Thursday is a restorative circle and Friday is games. When the face to face schooling stopped, we started meeting with our homerooms on the very first Monday. We let kids know how much we missed them and also told them we would stick to our normal advisory routines as much as possible. My team has been running remote daily advisory now for 5 weeks and we have kept attendance records, we average around 95% engagement every day. Our school sent out a survey to families as well and the overwhelming response was how much the families and students liked advisory keeping going. We have done so many other things to interact with students (office hours, live classes, etc.) and nothing has seen the engagement that our daily advisories provide. By taking attendance we are able to follow up via email to students who we do not see and report back to the school on any student we don’t see for a few days. Luckily that has been a very small percentage to date. Students thrive when they feel connected. They are eager to see their peers every morning and many join early or stay late just to have informal conversations with each other. We have noticed many students connecting that had not previously been in peer groups while at face to face school.

Routine

Maintaining routine has been equally important. In times of trauma the response we hear as professionals is to keep routine. Keep things predictable. There is no question that the cancelling of face to face school has been a traumatic event. Traumatic for us all, teachers, families and students alike. So keeping a routine became something that was a necessity and our best response for our students. We kept advisory days the same, adapting of course, for what was needed to be done remotely. We kept other things the same as well. In ELA, students blog on Mondays, and they still do. We converted our schedule this year to a double block format and since we have been on remote learning, we have kept our daily tasks as double blocks- math and science on one day, humanities on the other. Every Thursday we have students send emails home about what they have been doing at school that week and since we have been remote, students have still been sending their emails, except now they send them to their parents and to their homeroom teacher. Not a lot of students are reaching out for tech support or specifics of what is expected because they are doing tasks and using platforms that they are familiar with and have been using all along. This has also helped with the stress levels of the families for the very same reasons.

A look at our weekly grid

Reflection

Having students reflect daily has become our link between our commitment to relationships and routine. I was having a meeting with Scott Thompson from the Tarrant Institute as our Governor announced the change in how school would happen. We had an idea the announcement was coming, but I remember looking at Scott right after the announcement and saying, “Now what? How can I keep connecting with them and asking them to learn new things?” And in his normal way, he said “I think I may have something.” What he produced was a reflection document that he had worked on with another school in Vermont as they too were preparing for remote learning. The document was grounded in a list of activities and experiences that students could choose from and then at the end of their learning day would reflect on all they had done. I absolutely loved it. And in the true Vermont education (#vted) way I was told to adapt and use in any way I saw fit. I brought the document back to my team and we all agreed this was a very manageable way to document learning. Each of us took responsibility for our homeroom group of students. We build our learning for the week on the top of the document, with links to videos, and resources where appropriate. Students can link to office hours, morning meetings and other classes from the document grid as well. Students go in at the end of their learning day and check off the boxes of tasks they completed and include a written and/or photographic reflection of evidence. 

We as teachers go in through Google Classroom and leave comments and ask questions to keep the dialogue going. Students that do not do the reflection for a particular day get an email from their homeroom teacher. The email is not punitive in tone, but rather a welfare check-in. We ask how they are doing, did they forget to do the reflection, is there anything we can do to help? If a student misses a second day of reflecting within a given 5 day week we email again and “cc” the family as well. We ask similar questions but include a reminder that we are hoping to see the reflection done regularly. This second step seems to have a pretty immediate response. Families appreciate the reminder and it keeps the loop closed in terms of accountability.
In terms of work flow the reflection document keeps things simple for everyone. Students are able to record their learning on one document, and teachers are able to provide meaningful feedback to a smaller set of students. For example, I’m responding daily to 20 student reflections as opposed to 80 student responses for an assigned Humanities task. This also helps reinforce our relationships with our homeroom students. We know them best, we know when they could provide a more detailed writeup, or when it writeup with a small level of detail is their best independent work. It allows us to get more meaningful feedback when sending those reminder emails. If a student has had a rough day, they will tell us as their homeroom teacher. They know we care and we are not trying to punish them, but we want to see them succeed in this challenging time of learning. Students and families know we are not “grading” any of these reflections, yet we see close to 80-85% of these completed on a daily basis.

I cannot imagine operating with traditional grades at a time like this. I am not sure how it would be possible to collect enough authentic work to give a letter or number grade. Thankfully, I work in a school district that has shifted to a proficiency-based approach to looking at student work. What a difference that has made in terms of making remote learning work. As part of the daily reflection, on Friday’s, students complete a self-assessment on one of our “Habits of Learning” targets. My team created this so that students could understand what we expect for work quality. We have been using this target for 2 years now, so when we introduced it as part of our reflection and remote learning plan it was easy to adapt and something students have had no problem working through. They simply look back on their reflections and work from the week, click the appropriate boxes below each level of the target and see where they land. From there they write a few sentences about something they did that they are most proud of and another few sentences setting a goal for next week.

Weekly goal setting is something they have done in their Thursday email home and with their Personal Learning Plans as well. Again, adapting successful routines to make meaningful reflection happen in a different setting. We are using similar models as well in our curricular courses. We are seeing students be able to advance their thinking in content areas without the external motivator of grades. They want meaningful tasks and meaningful feedback during the learning process more than a letter or number at the end.
The convergence of these 3 Rs- Relationships, Routine and Reflection- has allowed our students to adjust successfully to remote learning. The level of detail in their daily learning reflections and the survey responses from families has given us the feedback that we made the correct choices. I am especially proud how quickly we pivoted, but I understand that it was because we only needed to adapt our systems rather than creating something brand new. One thing that has been reinforced to me during all of this is that my students crave relationships, they want more to connect with me and their peers than anything else we do. The content is in the back seat until their need for relationship is met. Once that is established, the content can be achieved through routine and reflection. It is a great reminder and opportunity to reset as a whole system as we have conversations about what face to face school will look like when the time comes. It is an opportunity to finally fix the plane while it is grounded, as opposed to what is commonplace- fixing the plane while we are still flying it. Remote learning is an opportunity to focus on the “essential organs” of what the middle level does best so that when we come out of the icy water and begin to warm up we are healthier and stronger. We know middle school is not a building, it is a set of beliefs and universal strategies that meet the needs of the middle level learner. When we employ these beliefs, we can teach middle school when it really is not in a building.
So be safe, and be well. Know that feeling will return to those extremities. We have made our way out of the initial cold plunge and are starting to warm up to this remote learning thing. I begin each workday by listening to my favorite Coldplay song, “Everyday Life”, and the lyrics ring true now more than ever. “What in the world are we going to do? Look at what everybody’s going through. What kind of world do you want it to be? Am I the future or the history?... Got to keep dancing when the lights go out. Hold tight for everyday life.”