FOCUS
Crisis creates opportunity. Will we seize it?
By Suzanne Bouffard and Elizabeth Foster
Categories: Change management, Implementation, Learning designs, Learning systems/planning, Online learning, Personalization, TechnologyFebruary 2021
The Learning Professional recently interviewed Mehta about how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing teaching and learning and how to seize opportunities for improving schools moving forward. Our conversation has been condensed and edited. Q: Since last spring, you have been studying schools’ reactions to the crisis and the implications for teaching and learning. What have you observed? A: There have been two primary reactions to this year. For some people who were dissatisfied with schools before — who felt that things were too rushed and that there was not enough opportunity to get to know students — it has provided a new opportunity to rethink practices and redevelop routines in schools. The more dominant reaction has been what social psychologists call threat rigidity. In periods
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What will you keep and change after the pandemic?
To help you reflect on what you’re learning during the pandemic and how to apply those lessons moving forward, Mehta suggests considering the following questions with your team.
- What have you learned about your students and their families this year?
- How could that shape the way you connect with families and students next year?
- What has worked well this year, and how could you amplify those things as you transition out of emergency education mode?
- What are you not looking forward to about going back to “regular” school?
- What would need to be “hospice” to make space for what you want to amplify?
Suzanne Bouffard is senior vice president of communications and publications at Learning Forward. She is the editor of The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s flagship publication. She also contributes to the Learning Forward blog and webinars. With a background in child development, she has a passion for making research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, and families. She has written for many national publications including The New York Times and the Atlantic, and previously worked as a writer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She loves working with authors to help them develop their ideas and voices for publication.
Elizabeth Foster is the senior vice president of research and strategy at Learning Forward. She leads the organization’s research efforts for partnerships, programs, and fundraising. Elizabeth co-wrote the Standards for Professional Learning (2022) with Tracy Crow and now facilitates learning sessions about the standards and develops resources that support their use and implementation.
Categories: Change management, Implementation, Learning designs, Learning systems/planning, Online learning, Personalization, Technology
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