Now What? Making the Transition to Learning (and Teaching) From Home

Just a week ago I was hitting golf balls enjoying a nice spring afternoon.  Now I am self-isolating and attempting to teach my college students from home.  It's been quite a scramble to get things figured out, and honestly, it's still a process.  I've read several articles floating around out there, and the biggest message I am hearing is, we don't need to feel like we have to do everything perfectly.  Some things are going to have to go.  What we need to do as educators is find ways to educate students as best we can, and not be so hard on ourselves.  I decided on a very simple format for my college students taking an introductory 1 credit education class.  It's one page of directions with  a "Read This" section with links to articles related to the topic of the week, a "Watch This" section with links to videos for them to watch, and a "Do This" section for them to complete a discussion board thread post or written reflection with prompts.  We need to remember that our students are also transitioning to this online learning from home challenge that they did not sign up for.  I think keeping things simple and demanding a little less of them during these times is the right thing to do.

After deciding on this simple format for my college students, I got to thinking about the K-12 students.  I create science curriculum mostly for elementary level students, and my philosophy is highly inquiry and hands on learning.  But with this wrench in the system, it might not be feasible to ask students to find the materials to conduct hands on lessons that are normally done in schools.  I decided to create some new resources that students could use at home to continue their learning of science topics.  Adopting a similar format to my college class, I have 4 sections:  Read This, Watch This, Do This, and Try This.  The "Try This" is an attempt to give the home-bound students an opportunity to do some sort of hands on learning using simple materials that can be found at home.  Each of the topics is sold separately, but I also have a Growing Bundle of all the topics that I will continue to add to over the next several weeks.  Check it out by clicking on the image below.

Here's to getting through this challenge with grit and determination.  Take care of yourself, don't try to be perfect, and help keep those kiddos learning!