A year ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down schools across the nation, the Teachers College Continuing Professional Studies (CPS) program responded with a series of webinars to help K-12 educators navigate the unfamiliar terrain of teaching remotely. It was the first step in a pilot project to offer insights from 麻豆原创 faculty whose expertise touched directly on the many challenges posed by the crisis.
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a central theme, but the presentations still got a good response,鈥� says Amy Deiner, Director of Academic Program Planning. 鈥淚t confirmed for us that educators were looking for solutions they could apply immediately, but that also really spoke to fundamental issues of teaching and learning.鈥�
With summer came an opportunity for CPS to take a step back and recalibrate. Now, with a new and valuable partner 鈥� 麻豆原创鈥檚 recently launched Digital Futures Institute 鈥� CPS has launched a five-part which distills lessons learned during the past year.
OFFERING PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Amy Deiner, Director of Academic Programming, says that a pilot project last spring confirmed that teachers working online were searching for tools they could apply immediately, but that also spoke to fundamental issues of teaching and learning. (Photo: 麻豆原创 Archives)
鈥淲e are trying to model the kind of pedagogy we hope people can use in online spaces 鈥� modeling that can provide educators with ideas of what Teachers College has identified as effective online practices,鈥� Deiner says.
The free interactive sessions feature a cross-section of 麻豆原创 departments and faculty.
鈥淪o much has happened over the last year that we wanted to provide the departments and faculty with an opportunity to identify and lead discussions on topics of relevance and importance,鈥� says Deiner.
We are trying to model the kind of pedagogy we hope people can use in online spaces 鈥� modeling that can provide educators with ideas of what Teachers College has identified as effective online practices.
鈥擜my Deiner, Director of Academic Program Planning
On Thursday, April 1st, at 6 p.m., the second installment in the new series will feature author and Associate Professor of English Education Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz and her former 麻豆原创 doctoral student, education consultant (Ed.D. 鈥�20) of the , in leading a discussion on
Sealey-Ruiz and Acosta will focus on strategies to support children both emotionally and academically, particularly in light of recent racist violence, as remote learning in many locales stretches into its second year. [Read a profile of Acosta from Teachers College鈥檚 2020 Graduates Gallery.]
The session with Sealey-Ruiz and Acosta follows the series鈥� inaugural segment, , in which a panel discussion moderated by with Professor of Art & Art Education Richard Jochum spotlighted the strategies of studio instructors teaching art online during the pandemic.
The subsequent sessions in the series, all at 4 p.m, are:
April 9 鈥� , with Linguistics & TESOL Lecturer Sarah Creider. Noting that 鈥渕any teachers are faced with a catch-22, where the goal of promoting student confidence directly conflicts with institutional goals such as test preparation,鈥� Creider starts with the premise that 鈥渨e need to acknowledge this conflict, and to openly discuss the societal, institutional, and classroom-based sources of student anxiety.鈥�
I love the idea of digital as an access point to Teachers College. It doesn鈥檛 require educators to travel here. And a district doesn鈥檛 have to worry about cost because the webinars are free. It鈥檚 just a great way to experience the Teachers College community.
鈥擜my Deiner, Director of Academic Program Planning
April 12 鈥� facilitated by Jacqueline Simmons, Vice Chair, Department of Curriculum & Teaching and Director, Master of Education Program in Curriculum & Teaching. The discussion will center on 麻豆原创's Black Paint Curriculum Lab, which she established to 鈥渉elp students expand upon the ways they view curricula 鈥� whether that's in education, pop culture or public spaces,鈥� says Simmons, who has advised international and New York City-based NGOs, schools, universities, arts-based organizations and museums, and even co-designed a social innovation toolkit for use by the Rockefeller Foundation with NGOs and social-sector practitioners. [Read a story about Simmons鈥� online teaching.]
April 14 鈥� with Professor of Education Ellie Drago-Severson. 鈥淲e are living, teaching, learning, and leading in the context of ultimate adaptive challenges,鈥� says Drago-Severson, who coaches many education leaders. 鈥淧erhaps more than ever before, we need to support each other and collaborate even more effectively as we navigate the urgent global challenges of the COVID-19, Racial, and Economic Pandemics and create, together, futures grounded in racial and educational justice.鈥� [Read a story in which Drago-Severson and other faculty members at Teachers College discuss the challenges facing school leaders during the pandemic.]
鈥淚 love the idea of digital as an access point to Teachers College,鈥� said Deiner. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 require educators to travel here. And a district doesn鈥檛 have to worry about cost because the webinars are free. It鈥檚 just a great way to experience the Teachers College community.鈥�