The Blurred Boundary of Expert and Novice by Abby Kindelsperger

The Sunday Post on Ethical ELA is a year-long series featuring weekly contributions written by English language arts educator-scholars from across the country. Explore past posts here. Welcome, Abby!

Reflections from Remote Teaching: The Blurred Boundary of Expert and Novice by Abby Kindelsperger

In March 2020 my first online lesson focused on workshopping “Philosophy Statements” with student teachers. On a whim, I decided to share my own and quickly found a 6-year old document written for a job search. I still remember the disorienting feeling of reading it to faces on the screen, but of course at the time I had no idea this practice would become the norm. Most of all, I did not know how much the subsequent year would challenge me and force me to embrace my stated philosophy.

My philosophy statement centers on the reciprocal nature of teaching and learning. The final paragraph begins:

My teaching experiences also remind me that it is important to acknowledge and embrace the complexities of education. Humans are complicated, often full of contradictions, and always in the process of becoming. I do not believe anyone has all of the “best practices” of teaching figured out for all contexts; while research supports traits of successful teaching, even the best instructors need to constantly assess their practice. 

Since March 2020, our collective experience in education certainly revealed its complexities. Most of all, a year of remote teaching showed me the importance of reciprocal learning as I learned best practices of remote teaching alongside and from my students. As the parent of a second grader learning at home, I also benefited from observing her remote classroom.

(The first day of second grade looked a little different this year)

Lessons from the Field

I taught remotely for the entire 2020-2021 academic year. Like many teacher educators around the globe, I was tasked with preparing prospective educators and supporting student teachers in a new landscape of online teaching with no remote high school teaching experience myself. While my university and department offered professional development workshops and resources, I found that K-12 teachers (and student teachers) were quicker to adapt their instructional methods and to utilize digital tools to support students in innovative ways. As my department prepares for “hyflex” teaching next year, I hope we look beyond the usual university-focused trainers and instead consult with local K-12 teachers who managed to teach multiplication, engage students in text-based discussions, and build loving classroom communities with a combination of students in-person and online.

While I think most teacher educators have always been open to new ideas from the classrooms they visit, the distinction between experts and novices was truly blurred this year. Mentor teachers I worked with also reflected on how exciting it was to see their student teachers bring in new strategies and tools. As schools adjusted their curricula, many student teachers had more opportunities to teach new units or texts — making the planning process more collaborative. In our debrief sessions after observations, there was more mutual sharing of ideas as we all (mentor teacher, student teacher, and me) considered affordances and limitations of methods.

Tech Tools

One way that observing student teachers and my daughter’s online classes impacted my instruction was through the incorporation of websites, add-ons, and technological applications. The free Google tool Jamboard quickly became a staple in my remote teaching. Inspired by the way my daughter’s teacher created a virtual “sticky note” for each student to record their responses, I often prepared boards with a sticky for each of my students and asked them to replace their name with a response. For example, after reading Sims Bishop’s “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors,” I asked my Teaching of Reading and Literature students, “What is an identity position or personal trait you would like to have seen ‘mirrored’ in the literature curriculum when you were in high school?” 

Later in the semester, I was inspired by how student teacher Ari Guerra utilized Jamboard for textual analysis through collaborative annotation. Here’s an example from their classroom:

(See more of Ari Guerra’s work here) 

I “borrowed” this model, asking my students to practice modeling how to annotate a poem.

Just as I incorporated JamBoard into my Teaching of Reading and Literature class, my students included it in their teaching demonstration lesson plans. In true reciprocal fashion, I learned some new tricks for JamBoard from these examples, such as adding aesthetic backgrounds, as seen in this word association activity:

(Source: Zujey Barrera)

From student teachers, I also learned about making SlideShows interactive through PearDeck and NearPod. I observed student teachers utilize these tools, which post questions attached to individual slides, for opening questions/ bell ringers, as well as to check for understanding or function as an exit slip. Unlike the chat box, answers could be shared anonymously with the class.

I particularly liked utilizing PearDeck for asynchronous engagements. For example, during a module on lesson planning, my opening slide asked students to rate their level of confidence:

A later slide asked students to apply the gradual release of responsibility model to our class, asking “What is an example of a ‘We Do’ activity we have engaged in during this class?” Sample responses included:

Other popular tools among student teachers and my daughter’s teacher were Kahoot and Padlet. Although I did not model them, I included links and examples for my students to explore, and Kahoot was a popular choice in their unit plans. It is worth noting that K-12 districts seemed more likely to subscribe to fee-based sites than my institution. Because I would not be reimbursed, I did not opt for any memberships this year. 

 General Teaching Practices

As I observed virtual K-12 classes early in the academic year, I quickly noticed the frequent use slideshows via screen-sharing. I realized from my daughter’s remote learning experience that having prompts written out helps tremendously when there are connectivity issues, so I also adopted this practice. Like my daughter’s teacher, I also established the routine of an opening question whip-around. This strategy is something I sometimes included during pre-Covid instruction, but I found it particularly powerful during remote learning to begin class by hearing every student’s voice through a quick response to a low-stakes question. Once students have unmuted themselves at the beginning of class, I believe it is easier for them to feel comfortable participating again. After watching Ari Guerra greet every student by name at the start of every virtual lesson, I also embraced this procedure.

I found it particularly powerful during remote learning to begin class by hearing every student’s voice through a quick response to a low-stakes question. Once students have unmuted themselves at the beginning of class, I believe it is easier for them to feel comfortable participating again.

One of my methods students in the fall, Rebeca Egedus, student taught in the spring semester. She brought the opening question routine to her online classes, helping build rapport and boost participation of second-semester seniors (no easy feat). She also inspired me to find images from pop culture or memes to add to slides. Her portfolio showcases examples of her slides, such as this opener:

(See more of Rebeca’s work here)

Another general teaching strategy I learned through observation was intentional use of the chat box. I picked up strategies for quick check-ins from student teachers, such as, “Pop in the chat a rating for your week so far, 1-5” or “Type a 3 in the chat if you understand the directions, 2 if you’re mostly sure, or 1 if you are lost.” Rather than just moving on, I noticed how thoughtfully student teachers like Rebeca and Ari responded to those numbers and made the students feel seen and valued. Saying, for example, “I hope those of you rated your week 1 or 2 know I’m here for you if you need anything. I hope your week gets better.” Similar to the whip-around, once students have been invited to share via writing, they tend to become more active in that medium. The liveliness and multifunctional use of the chat — as a site of affirmation, follow-up questions, resource sharing, and occasional tangents — is something I am going to miss from remote classes.

Final Reflections

As I watched recorded lessons of student teachers working to create community with first-semester ninth graders who had never met each other or to encourage twelfth graders who did not feel confident sharing their writing, I was reminded of the privilege I had teaching upper-level university students. Most of my student teachers taught rows of black boxes; yet, day after day they found ways to get students analyzing texts, practicing writing skills, and collaborating with one another. Similarly, I have been in awe of my daughter’s experience in a second grade class where students have built friendships while writing nonfiction animal expert books and learned to spell and type at the same time. Most importantly, the teachers I observed this year supported their students’ wellbeing and built relationships with them through screens. While I still may not have all the ‘best practices’ figured out for this new landscape, I am grateful to the teachers and students who taught me so much this past year. My beliefs in the reciprocity of teaching and learning, as well as the importance of embracing the complexities and contradictions of education, are stronger than ever.