PhD Science in Sync - Teaching at a Distance

1. Keep online lessons short – under 20 minutes for elementary grades. Students of all grade levels can struggle to maintain attention for longer periods, and because students may be virtually attending multiple classes throughout a school day, breaks in screen time are important.
2. Build collaboration into online experiences. Core curriculum PhD Science®lessons are designed to be in person and interactive; translating this interactivity into the online space will require thought. Zoom breakout rooms can be useful for some instructional routines that call for small group work. Online tools such as Padlet, Vocaroo and Google Docs may also be useful. For example, teachers might use Padlet for driving question boards, anchor charts, chalk talks, word walls, or gallery walks. Vocaroo can support read alouds of texts and articles. Collaborative documents like Google Docs can be used to foster group conversations or provide students a space to ask questions and the teacher a place to post answers for the entire class.
3. Create a safe environment that encourages participation, sharing of ideas, and problem solving. Develop a system to ensure that all students participate, and share that system in advance with students.
4. Be creative. Share ideas with colleagues. Explore research on effective strategies. The switch between in-person instructional routines and effective online learning will not be a direct or a one-to-one translation. Seeking different ideas will help teachers think creatively about how to translate instruction from an in-person to a distance learning context.
5. Host virtual office hours 2-3 times per week or allow students to schedule time for a phone call. This ensures that students have access to individual support.
6. Create a document that communicates your continuous learning plan and expectations to students and parents.
7. Consider having students sign a Student Online Safety Contract to create and communicate virtual classroom meeting rules.

The challenges of changing learning settings will mean less focused instructional and learning time. Students will benefit from deep engagement and a thoughtful pace. As a result, teachers might not complete a full lesson each day or all four modules in the academic year. It’s important to remember that flexibility is provided within the curriculum itself. On average, there are 110 lessons in each grade-level compared to an average of 180 instructional days in a school year.

When navigating the inherent flexibility provided by the curriculum, teachers should evaluate the questions students ask as well as the individual models they create to explain the anchor phenomenon. Take note of any misconceptions or knowledge gaps as well as ideas that students already grasp to guide learning throughout the module. By allowing students to drive the learning, teachers can respond to student work, allowing extra time if needed and addressing misconceptions in small or whole-group meetings as appropriate.