Developing

Culture
as a critical scaffold to effective
learning for students & staff
during covid19 remote
instruction
 “a toxic school culture is an
environment where school
staff fails to figure out what’s
needed to cultivate the
characteristics necessary for
student growth and learning.”

Anthony Muhammad (Raudys, 2018)

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CASE STUDIES
WITHIN OUR
SCHOOLS

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 CASE STUDY A

Our school serves 31 component districts.

Currently parents and students are given the

choice between attending school in person or
virtually.

Currently 20% of our students are

completely remote.

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Case Study A
Challenges for Students/Parents

STUDENT MOTIVATION- Many remote instruction students lack the parental support and
structure at home to complete assignments and stay connected on the classroom.

PARENTS AT HOME- As distance learning shifts childcare responsibilities during work

hours from the school to the home, it places an additional burden on adults who may also
be working remotely while lessons are expected to be going on.

Many K-12 students, especially those in lower grades, still need constant supervision by
adults during the day. Even if the supervision required is minimal, parents may still need to
assist their children with schoolwork.

For many parents and students, this period is also their first exposure to distance learning,
which they may find difficult to manage because of technical difficulties, working with
multiple children, or feeling unprepared to provide instructional support.

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Case Study A
Challenges for Teachers

ONLINE VS. TRADITIONAL LEARNING

● While distance learning has been carried out for well over a century (a recent
example is online and distance education programs offered by universities),
the widespread use of distance learning in K-12 schools is relatively new.
● As our school began to incorporate technology into our practices, for instance
by creating/digitizing online curriculum, we've discovered that increased
technology usage offers benefits related to savings on print materials and the
ability to create personalized learning experiences for students as well as
drawbacks that include unresolved questions about learning comprehension
and differentiation, among others.
● The bottom line is that online instruction is very different from traditional
instruction and comes with its own set of challenges. For this reason, it
makes sense to have more realistic expectations about what students can
accomplish during this period.
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Case Study A

Remote Learning Solutions

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 Case Study A

Our school culture directly impacts student motivation.

★ Our curriculum, instruction, and high expectations

● Provide opportunities for students to engage

intrinsically.
● Allow students to practice that builds on prior
knowledge
● Foster mastery goals.
● Communicate high expectations to students.
● Set short-term goals that are specific and
moderately difficult for students.

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Case Study A

Managing the classroom to develop a

positive school culture
★ Structure and support are necessary components
● Recognize there are only so ● Base classroom
many hours in a school management on
day. Capitalize on them by setting and
effectively managing the communicating high
classroom. expectations
● Focus on learning and the ● Nurture positive
learning process. relationships
● Know expectations are ● Give students a high level
9 learned and can be taught. of support
Case Study A

UNCERTAIN DURATION
● It’s not clear when the COVID-19 outbreak will be contained, and many
parents and educators are having a difficult time planning around so much
uncertainty. Some states have gone ahead to close schools for the entire
academic year, while others are still taking a ‘wait and see’ approach.
● Whatever the strategy school districts are adopting, it’s no question that the
inability to predict how the COVID-19 outbreak will unfold for both students
and parents introduces another layer of complication to distance learning at
this time.

Solution: Plan for the long term. With any project or activity, it’s always easier to scale back than it is to
build out—and the same goes for distance learning. If schools (and parents) keep in mind that distance
learning is probably going to last a long time, they can make necessary adjustments to help bring about
the likelihood of their children’s success, which may include creating a dedicated workspace for distance
learning at home, creating a routine to help students manage their days, finding more permanent ways
to create balance and structure at home, or just thinking and acting positively about staying at home.
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 Case Study School: High School B

Our high school is in a rural area of Northern New York with 60-80
students per graduating class.

Currently parents and students are given the choice of a hybrid model
(attend in-person with social distancing for two days a week with
three days of remote instruction) or to learn completely remotely.

Currently 143/289 (49%) of our high school students are completely

remote.

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 Case Study School: High School B

Most common challenges we’ve encountered during hybrid/remote

learning:

★ Concerns with student and staff mental/emotional health

★ Students are not consistently attempting assignments when

not in the building, leading to widespread failure of courses

★ Students are not consistently attending mandatory class

meetings via Google Meet. When they do attend, engagement
is very low with cameras turned off.

★ Students/parents are not consistently responding to

communication from the school

★ Staff are feeling overwhelmed with the huge shift from

traditional in-person learning to hybrid/remote learning
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 Case Study School: High School B
Some of the solutions we are trying to address the challenges of hybrid/remote learning:

★ Students are assigned to an advisory group that meets virtually on Wednesdays to

check-in and engage in short lessons on social-emotional skills, remote learning
strategies, “adulting” skills, etc.

★ The staff is using a shared spreadsheet to document all communication with

students and parents

★ School counselors are attempting additional communication with at-risk students

and their parents including 1:1 counseling sessions with students who are struggling

★ All students are remote on Wednesdays, and most of the day is reserved for teacher
planning time and collaboration. Students can “catch-up” on this day.

★ Teachers are using a common lesson format, and a weekly overview along with all
daily lessons are posted on Google Classroom

★ Tips and trainings on all technology resources have been offered to staff, students,
and parents
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 Case Study School: High School B

A research-based strategy I would recommend to address the challenges we are facing

during hybrid/remote learning is APA Principle #17:

Effective classroom management based on:

★ Setting and communicating high expectations
★ Consistently nurturing positive relationships
★ Providing a high level of student support

One way this strategy is already being used in my school:

★ Students are assigned to an advisory group that meets virtually on Wednesdays to
check-in and engage in short lessons on social-emotional skills, remote learning
strategies, “adulting” skills, etc.

How we could improve upon our use of this strategy, based on the research:
★ Get student feedback after advisory lessons to see if the lessons were helpful to
them and what continued support they need on that topic
★ Have 1:1 and small group meetings with advisory students to nurture closer
relationships, especially since students are reluctant to participate in large groups

Source: American Psychological Association, Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education. (2015). Top 20
14 principles from psychology for preK–12 teaching and learning. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/ed/schools/cpse/top-twenty-principles.pdf
 Case Study School: High School

Our high school is in a suburban area of the Capital Region with roughly
250-290 students per graduating class

Currently parents and students are given the choice of a hybrid model attend
in-person with social distancing every other day or to learn completely
remotely.

Currently 20% of our high school students are completely remote.

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 Case Study School: High School C

Most common challenges we’ve encountered during hybrid/remote

learning:

★ Concerns with student and staff mental/emotional health

○ Students have less in-person interactions with teachers and classmates
★ Hardware issues
○ Connectivity issues due to internet availability, effectiveness, and reliability
○ Device wear and tear
★ Students with less access to multiple devices or higher quality devices, leaves students
behind or in the dust
○ Most of the time students/ districts with lower SES suffer more
★ Students engagement
○ Student‘s get distract or bored more easily
○ Harder to implement activities that require group work and high order
thinking activities
○ Attendance
★ Teachers who are less tech savvy get left behind if they do not have help
○ Many teachers who are veteran teachers, but are not up on all of the new EdTech
can become frustrated and discouraged
★ Teachers are working way more than before in different capacities
○ Stress builds
16 ○ Need for curriculum resources to help with presentation
Case Study School: High School C

Some of the solutions we are trying to address the challenges of hybrid/remote learning:

★ District has implemented various committees to help with Social Emotional aspect
○ Health (Shared Decision Making), Wellness, and Crisis Management
■ “Coffee Talk” for teachers to meet and chat virtually

★ Two week long spirit week to improve morale among students during the uncertain
times
○ Two days per spirit theme for both groups
★ Greater emphasis on Social Emotional Learning
○ Book study for teachers to help them help students
○ Superintendent Conference Day dedicated to SEL
★ Tips and trainings on all technology resources have been offered to staff, students,
and parents
○ Many PD opportunities over the summer: Technology Summit
○ New Google Sites for resources for teachers and parents/students
○ “Work smarter not harder”

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Case Study School: High School C
Research Based Strategies to help improve outcomes and embrace higher order thinking during Remote
Learning: Blended Learning (Tucker, Wycoff, Green, 2020)

What is Blended Learning?

● a model of teaching that “blends” various styles of teaching in various forms

● Station Rotation Model is one of the more common forms of Blended Learning

How we use this for Remote Learning:

2020 Remote Learning

● Tucker, C. Combatting the Challenges of the Concurrent Classroom with the Station Rotation Model. (2020, October 25). Retrieved from https://catlintucker.com/2020/10/concurrent-classroom-with-station-rotation-model/

● Tucker, C. R., Wycoff, T., & Green, J. T. (2017). Blended learning in action: A practical guide toward sustainable change. Corwin, a SAGE company.

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 “If we create a culture where every
teacher believes they need to improve,
not because they are not good enough,
but because they can be even better,
there is no limit to what we can achieve.”
(William, 2019)

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 References

APA. (2015). Top 20 principles from psychology for preK-12 teaching and
learning. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/teaching-
learning/top-twenty-principles.pdf
Hendrick, C. (2019, March 11). Schools love the idea of a growth mindset, but
does it work? – Carl Hendrick: Aeon Essays. Retrieved from https://aeon.
co/essays/schools-love-the-idea-of-a-growth-mindset-but-does-it-work
Raudys, J. (2018, November 9). Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/
blog/school-culture/
Tucker, C. Combatting the Challenges of the Concurrent Classroom with the Station Rotation Model. (2020,
October 25). Retrieved from
https://catlintucker.com/2020/10/concurrent-classroom-with-station-rotation-model/
Tucker, C. R., Wycoff, T., & Green, J. T. (2017). Blended learning in action: A practical guide toward sustainable
change. Corwin, a SAGE company.
William, D. (2019, May 30). Teaching not a research-based profession. Retrieved
from https://www.tes.com/news/dylan-wiliam-teaching-not-research
-based-profession

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