My Favorite Lesson Pre-COVID:
When asked by my students what my favorite lesson to teach is each year, I always say my Black Plague simulation that I do at the end of the year. With this lesson, I give the students two playing cards to hold onto during the simulation. Two students in the room have the Joker card, which represents the Black Plague pandemic. During each round, the students with the Black Plague Joker card try to pawn the card off onto one of their other classmates. When the round ends, whoever has a Black Plague Joker card "dies" from the Plague and a new round begins. By the end of class, approximately 1/3 of the class has died from the Plague, which is a good representation of history. We end the lesson with a great class discussion and a reflection exit ticket.
This is a very low-tech lesson, and I do not believe any ISTE Standards for Educators can be linked to this lesson. Although this is one of my favorite lessons, I wish I could find a way to make it more "tech-savvy" for the students, especially since ISTE Standard 5c says that educators should explore different avenues of design to further engage and support learning in students. Additionally, this particular topic would be a great way to hit ISTE Standard 6c (model creativity to nurture connections). If I were to model a creative, technology-based lesson on the Black Plague, students could expand upon this and create their own connections, especially in light of all the COVID-19 history they have lived through. Overall, I think the lesson format itself is not a good fit for the ISTE Standards, but the topic is.
My Favorite Lesson During COVID Emergency Remotely Learning:
Coincidentally, the best lesson/content I created during remote learning came about because of my disappointment with not being able to do my Black Plague simulation with my students. I was feeling pretty down about not getting to do our simulation at the end of the year, and I was sick of the format that our district had mandated for remote learning (think paper packets uploaded to Google Classroom). I decided to come up with a culminating lesson for our Black Plague content that was fun and project-driven. I decided that students were going to watch the video "Fleas on Rats" to get their minds thinking about the Black Plague. Students then explored two really great infographics that chronicled plagues through history (comparing and contrasting death tolls). Finally, after students had a chance to look at some great online tools, I asked them to create a "Wickedpedia Page" where they would write and create a profile for the Black Plague using personification of the Plague to show the knowledge they had learned. I provided them with a template, made in Google Docs, but they were also allowed to create their own page using any tools they wanted. It was so interesting to see the different personalities they came up with to represent the Black Plague, and this lesson had my biggest turn-out of the entire remote learning.
Since this lesson was taught online, I do believe that several of the ISTE Standards for Educators can be linked to it. When looking specifically at the Designer strand, ISTE Standards 5a (fostering independent learning using technology) and 5b (designing authentic lessons for deeper understanding) stand out as two standards that are met with the implementation of this lesson in my online community. I think the different ways students could take the lesson and produce an end result really speaks to the ideas of independent learning and deeper understanding. Another ISTE strand that seems to align with this lesson is the Facilitator strand, specifically Standards 6a and 6d (which both discuss ownership and creativity). Overall, this lesson could be better (and I would love to make it better for the upcoming school year), but in a pinch, it worked well to support some of the ISTE Standards for Educators.
Reflection on Philosophies:
My philosophy prior to COVID-19 has always been centered around project-based learning and face-to-face relationships. I pride myself on making connections to my students, and I see these connections as a driving force behind everything that I do in my classroom. Likewise, part of my pre-COVID philosophy is also rooted in students having the opportunity to learn through projects and collaboration. Any "normal" day in Room 105 is loud, messy, and full of student-centered activities that get kids up and moving. My class is intentionally structured to increase engagement through simulations and projects, all while getting students to ask deeper, meaningful questions.
When COVID-19 hit, my philosophy shifted a lot. Part of that was because I felt like I was in survival mode, both professionally and personally. No longer was I worried about collaboration and "engaging" activities. I was more worried about getting "content" out in paper packets (that could be uploaded online) so that the students would always have some sort of Social Studies work to work on. My output became lesson polished, and my content became less, for lack of better words, fun. I found myself carrying a lot of guilt because I felt like I was failing my students (because I felt stuck with time and district constraints). My philosophy shifted from "what is going to engage the kids and create meaningful connections" to "what is going to engage the kids for 90 minutes a week so that administration doesn't pile more on my plate?" I really disliked the teacher I became because it felt inauthentic to my true beliefs about teaching.
This is how my online learning philosophy came to be- by reflecting on my true beliefs in education and how this shift needs to look to accommodate the "new normal." When writing my philosophy for online learning, I wanted to make sure that project-based learning and meaningful engagement were still two components of my philosophy, but I also wanted to be realistic about what this would look like online. I know that what I do in the face-to-face classroom is great. I also know that some face-to-face lessons, some of my favorites, cannot be converted to online instruction. Instead, I choose to look at this as an opportunity to grow as an educator and expand my horizons, as well as my students. I do not want to see this as a limitation or failure on my part (like I did in the spring). I want to see it as a way to grow and be better. I want to research and actually try out all the cool tech tools that I keep saying I'll try out every school year. Finally, I want to challenge myself to really use technology to support our new Social Studies C3 Framework.
Overall, this whole crazy journey has been an eye-opening experience for me. It made me realize how underprepared I was (mentally and technologically) to move online, as well as challenging me to be better. When I read my philosophy on educator (pre-COVID), I admire the beliefs and goals set by that teacher. But that teacher is gone, having left the room the moment schools shut down and content switched online. Now, when I read my online teaching philosophy, I am determined to be that person to my students, my parents, my district, and maybe even a little bit to the teacher from that first philosophy from so long ago.
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