Abstract
With the sudden shift to emergency remote teaching at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some educators were more prepared than others having previously utilized digital tools and practices in their classroom. These educators may be considered early adopters, who research has shown tend to be more prevalent among science educators due to the fact that the science and engineering practices often incorporate digital tools as part of the sense-making process. Understanding the crossover between the science and engineering practices, sense-making, and use of digital tools, the author puts forth key lessons learned that should not be abandoned with the return to the classroom but rather transferred to and utilized within a blended learning environment which should become standard for science education.
TopScience Instruction
It needs to be acknowledged that the manner in which the move to remote or online learning occurred was not ideal, welcomed, or purposefully done from an educational perspective. It happened during a crisis. It created challenges and difficulties. However, there is no doubt that the shift demonstrated the resilience of educators who became resourceful as they transitioned their instruction and student learning. For example, one of the most challenging areas within science education during this shift was having students engage in actual laboratory investigations that had been recognized many years ago (Kassner, 2013). More current research indicates K-8 science teachers struggled to incorporate a phenomenon into remote lessons (Sarna et al., 2020).
Additionally, there has been a growing consensus since the start of fully remote teaching that it wasn’t necessarily consistent with any of the prior approaches, whether instruction was blended, online, or hybrid. Rather, the move has been dubbed “emergency remote teaching” (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020; Carrillo & Flores, 2020; Quezada et al., 2020), which created some obstacles that would not usually be present when an informed decision and planned move to blended or online learning was decided upon (Carrillo & Flores, 2020). Emergency remote teaching is defined by Hodges et al. (2020, para 14) as a “temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternative delivery model due to crisis circumstances.” As with any approach to instruction, it is necessary to recognize and acknowledge the limitations that are paired with the benefits.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digital Tools and Practices: Instructional strategies or technologies which are meant to engage students through interactive, technology-based environments.
Science Instruction: Teacher designed or facilitated instruction in the area of science which focuses on the three dimensions identified in the NGSS, which are Science and Engineering Practices, Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts.
Emergency Remote Teaching: Term given to the sudden switch to online teaching created by the COVID-19 crisis.
Best Practices: Approaches utilized by teachers that promote student learning and success.
Science and Engineering Practices: Behaviors that scientists and engineers engage in while trying to answer a question or solve a problem.
Next Generation Science Standards: Standards for the teaching of science published in 2013 by Achieve that utilize learning progressions in a three-dimensional framework.
Technology Integration: The infusion of technology hardware, software, and web-based applications into instruction.
Blended Learning: A method of instruction that combines components of both face-to-face instruction and online learning.
Sense-Making: An instructional approach utilized within the science classroom whereby students construct their own understanding of a phenomenon.