Remote and Hybrid Learning: Pro Tips for Superintendents, Principals and School Administrators

Have you taken these nine essential steps yet?

In my conversations with K–12 teachers, principals, superintendents and parents in towns throughout New Jersey, it's clear that many are very concerned with how virtual and hybrid learning are going.

Superintendents are getting inundated with calls from anxious parents. Principals are apprehensive about the sustainability of hybrid learning. Students and teachers are frustrated, and feeling disconnected from one another. Parents are worried their kids aren't learning all they should and are falling behind. Many teachers have been thrust into a hybrid model that requires them to employ two teaching methodologies simultaneously, and literally struggle to be heard by students who are on-site and remote at the same time.

How to make remote learning better? Here are nine things you should do if you haven't already:

1. Set new expectations for your teachers by giving them the 20% rule for balancing digital and hybrid instruction — recognizing it's impossible to do their job the same as before:

Grade 20% less.

Give 20% less work.

Grant 20% more time.

Go 20% more asynchronous.*

*Source: NJEA Professional Development and Instructional Issues consultant and Middletown, NJ 8th-grade science teacher Michael Mason

2. Facilitate conversations between teachers and parents. Conflict has never been higher, as parents and teachers struggle to solve student issues under extremely stressful and emotionally-charged circumstances. Never has there been more parental dissatisfaction, more confusion, and more difficulty getting students to show up and turn assignments in on time. You as an administrator have solutions that teachers don't have access to, or may not have thought of because they're focused on their core mission of teaching. Let your teachers know you are available to help them navigate these challenging conversations.

3. Use focus groups and online surveys to find out from parents and teachers what's working and not working. They're great methods for discovering what you don't know, and validate what you believe you know. Parents and teachers want to tell you what's going on. These are excellent tools for capturing input in a way that's both transparent and structured, and helping everyone feel heard and respected. A few tips:

• Keep surveys short and focused — ideally taking less than five minutes to complete. If the questions are on multiple pages, make sure there's a status bar showing how much remains to be answered.

• Aim to provide a balanced range of four multiple-choice answer options on a spectrum of “strongly” to “strongly.” Make sure the most negative response is first and the most positive response is last. This will help in analysis later. For example:

1. Strongly Disagree

2. Disagree

3. Agree

4. Strongly Agree

• Avoid including neutral options such as “Neither,” but include "Not Applicable” as appropriate.

• Aim to gather data that’s a combination of qualitative (impressions, opinions and views) and quantitative [numbers, measurable quantities). Use focus groups to gather qualitative data, or to dig deeper into qualitative information provided by your survey results to help inform interpretation. Google Forms and SurveyMonkey are two easy-to-use survey tools.

4. Make sure teachers have the essential equipment they need to manage a virtual or hybrid classroom:

• First and foremost, a laptop and/or desktop computer with a built-in webcam.

• A headset with a built-in microphone for teaching from home. A wireless one will give them freedom of movement.

• For in-classroom — since the teacher is wearing a mask — a lavalier microphone (a.k.a. lapel mike) kit to amplify their voice is really helpful. That includes a microphone, transmitter, receiver, console and speakers. For the hybrid environment, add an "audio interface adapter" so sound from the microphone can be input to the computer, allowing at-home students to hear as well.

• An appropriate virtual background, which will minimize distractions when teaching from home.

• Multiple displays allowing them to see all students on one screen while having classroom material on the other. Remember, the in-class computer and Smartboard can be used as two separate screens in-class.

• For hybrid learning, consider supplying the teacher with a tablet that has a built-in webcam — enabling her to simultaneously display the “virtual gallery” and be seen by virtual students while also being able to move freely among the in-person students and interact with them. Without this mobility, the teacher is locked into a two-foot by two-foot square, losing the engagement of the classroom students because she can no longer walk around the room without disappearing from the remote students’ view. When you cater to one teaching methodology over another, you will lose the students who are not being catered to. This approach helps provide balance.

5. Enhance accessibility and comprehension by using automatic captioning (a.k.a. subtitles) for virtual meetings and presentations. With Google Meet, you can enable live video captions in English. (Note, captions are not recorded and won’t appear when you play a Google Meet recording.) PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 can automatically transcribe your words as you present and display them on-screen. Including captions is not only helpful for attendees with hearing impairment, it’s also a great way to encourage reading and support English comprehension for ESL students.

6. Institute process harmonization and document procedures. Standardizing websites, technologies, platforms and best practices across your school or district will create consistency, ensure everyone's on the same page, and put the focus back on classroom material — not how to access it.

7. Consider running “Teaching by Proxy” and “Train the Parent” workshops or classes. Elementary school teachers, especially those dealing with the youngest students, now find themselves in the unique position of having to “Teach by Proxy” — that is, teach parents or at-home helpers how to teach the child. Both the teacher, never trained in Adult Learning Methodology, needs support on how adults learn/what they need; and the adult helpers need education on how to teach the child so they can support the teacher.

8. Identify your pain points, and know when to ask for help. Use M3E Change Associates' free Virtual Learning Readiness Checklist to help assess where your school or district's biggest challenges are, so you can take the next steps to put effective solutions in place. Be sure to have all your teachers complete it, too, to get their vital, first-hand input.

9. Accept that change is messy, but necessary. Recognize you are in the middle of a large change initiative. But you are not alone! Organizational Psychology and Change Management principles need to be utilized to help navigate this environment and enable you to lead your school or district. Not strong in change management methodology? Get some help!

Once you've identified where the remote and/or hybrid learning difficulties are, let's talk about how we can help you make this school year easier, more effective and more enriching for all. Whether it's converting lesson plans, updating processes and procedures, fostering good communication, implementing "Teach by Proxy" classes, or coaching teachers on virtual learning tools and techniques — M3E Change Associates can provide the support you and your teachers need to ensure that every child receives an engaging and fulfilling virtual education.

To learn more, please call 862-362-2M3E (2633) or schedule a free consultation today.