Teacher Opinions on Virtual Teaching

We have all heard student’s opinions on remote learning, but I think it is important to hear from teachers as well on this matter! To better understand how teachers are adapting to virtual learning, I had interviews with two CPHS faculty members, Mrs. Rowan who teaches history and government and Mrs. Woodley who teaches English, via Gmail about their thoughts and opinions on virtual teaching.

There have been many thoughts on the hybrid and all virtual schedules. Many of which have to do with whether the schedules are keeping students and faculty safe and helping all students get the education they need. In terms of keeping students and faculty safe, both Mrs. Rowan and Mrs. Woodley answered that the school and Board of Education is doing its best to keep everyone safe by limiting contact between people. Mrs. Rowan added that only time will tell if the schedule seems to be working both in terms of health and education. To both Mrs. Woodley and Mrs. Rowan, the greatest struggle is communication. They said that they find it difficult to communicate with their students especially those that are reluctant to talk or are naturally introverted. They are doing their best on their part to communicate with their students, but it is very difficult to get to know their students when some are not willing to reach out. Mrs. Rowan has found it especially difficult to get to know her students as she misses not seeing her students every day and the days that she does see them she is usually behind a shield, mask, and curtain.

On the issue of the new time allotted to each period, both teachers share differing views on the time they have. Mrs. Rowan has said that she enjoys the longer periods as she feels she can accomplish more in the allotted 70 minutes. She also noted that meeting a few times a week and for longer periods of time prepares students for college. On the contrary, Mrs. Woodley stated that gauging the amount of time in a class period can be a bit tough due to being accustomed to the normal 45 minute periods for so many years and the half-day schedule during the spring when we all went into quarantine. Both are acclimating to the new approaches needed for the timing and schedule.

Virtual teaching can be difficult without proper planning and experience, but both Mrs. Rowan and Mrs. Woodley seemed to be able to figure it all out prior to the start of the school year. Mrs. Rowan stated that the transition for her was a lot easier because she herself attended a graduate school that was completely remote. She further mentioned that she was able to transfer the lessons she learned from being a virtual student to a virtual teacher. In a similar note, Mrs. Woodley said that all the teachers did a lot of learning in preparation for the school year so that they are all familiar with the tools and techniques to teach remotely.

With the new schedule being so unique, Mrs. Rowan and Mrs. Woodley agree that teaching was ultimately affected. Mrs. Rowan who teaches history and government says a lot of planning goes into teaching her classes. Mrs. Rowan stated that she had to start her lesson plans from scratch because she had to figure out how to work them in a virtual and hybrid setting. She says that she breaks the class up into smaller segments, some with direct instruction and some with individuals. She says that she also tries to give the students who are all virtual as much attention as possible so they do not feel left out. Mrs. Woodley also shifts between tasks, letting her students do some solo work and then come together as a class to discuss. She says that her classes then move on to working again through various checkpoints. Mrs. Woodley also tries to bring the all virtual students into the mix by having them projected on the board during the class. One of the additions to the new schedule is longer periods Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Mrs. Woodley has voiced that the new schedule works well for her as she is able to go from instruction to discussion and then finally to application all in one period, rather than spreading it all out throughout the entire week. Mrs. Rowan also believes that the longer periods are better as she states that she can generate more conversations and does not have to cut them short.

With remote teaching being so new, there are still so many changes that need to be made. In the case of remote teaching, the changes need to occur from the students as agreed upon by both Mrs. Rowan and Mrs. Woodley. Some of the changes they request from their students is to turn on their cameras, turn off their phones, and actively participate in class discussions. Some advice that both teachers have stated multiple times in their answers to the questions is for students to voice their concerns and speak up if they need anything. They have stated that it is difficult to see if a student is struggling or confused behind a mask or on a screen. Upon finishing the interview, Mrs. Rowan left students and faculty off on a great note by stating that we will all go through this together, and together we shall be when everything passes.