Distance Learning Playbook

 Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher are two of my favorite educational authors. They prolifically write easy to read material that has a sound research base filled with practical examples and experiences from teachers in the field. They joined forces with John Hattie, Visible Learning's meta-analysis guru, to write The Distance Learning Playbook Grades K-12: Teaching for Engagement & Impact in any Setting. The first premise is that we are in unprecedented times- virtual and hybrid learning, not for a brief period like in our more traditional crises like a hurricane, but for extended periods of time. Research about how best to provide instruction in these times is not well researched, so we must draw from what we know about sound research.

This book contains 9 modules focused on self-care, the first day, relationship building, teacher credibility, teacher clarity, engaging tasks, planning instruction, feedback and assessment and learning. Each of these modules includes many video segments accessible through QR codes or the publisher's site. The book is also full of places for notetaking, thinking about personal practice and planning. These resources are also available at the publisher's site. By driving people to closely examine personal practice and plan for integrating elements described, they model some best practices for learning from reading.

 Effect size is a statistical measure of impact of an intervention. .4 is the effect size of a typical teacher over a typical year. Higher numbers represent increased learning and lower numbers, decreased learning. When it comes to digital technology, the overall effect size is .14- not very promising. That being said, there are activities that do increase achievement: interactive video at .54, intelligent tutoring systems at .51 and writing at .42. The most disastrous thing- the presence of cell phones at -.34  (7% of the book, the digital book uses this reference and only notes include page numbers p. 5).

One early thing the authors suggest is to establish norms like you would in any face to face teaching experience. Examples might include:

• Be open to spend the time it takes to learn.
• Embrace that learning is food for the mind.
• Understand that learning is a process that requires  patience with yourself and others. (17%; p. 27)

I especially like the middle one. All too often we are asked why are we learning this and the worst response is because I said so or it is on the test. I have previously used it is exercise in thinking and problem solving and we all need to do this every day.  This addresses the boredom factor ( -.47 effect size) by helping make things relevant (53%; p. 98). No, it is not adequate for relevancy, but it is a starting point. The authors note that "Students who have low levels of self-regulation need help finding relevance" (53%; p. 98). So many of the students I work with have disabilities that negatively impact their self-regulation. ADHD, ASD, FASD and many other diagnoses abound in our learning environment. These students need extra help seeing how the learning at hand is important to them.

I found their steps for think alongs (alouds) broke the process down well. 

• Name the strategy, skill or task (this provides your focus and all comments should center on this idea, even if there are other compelling or interesting ideas in the activity or passage.)
• State the purpose of the strategy, skill or task (Why are you doing it)
• Explain when it is used.
• Use analogies to link prior knowledge to new learnings (this is how we put things into our brain- linking to what we already know)
• Demonstrate how it is completed.
• Alert learning to errors to avoid (common mistakes and pitfalls).
• Assess the use of the strategy, skill or task. (68%; p. 127)

Think alongs can and should be interactive. It does not have to be all the teacher's script. Questions to students can help guide or inform the process. While a first person approach is used, other input helps to engage the students.

Frey and Fisher teach in a school that uses competency based grading- the report card lists two grades per class. One is solely the result of summative assessments. Students who score lower than a 70 must engage in a learning task and then retake the assessment. If report card time rolls around and the scores are not above a 70, an incomplete is given. Summer school is a process of resolving incompletes and consequently does not have a set timeline- just a set objective. The second score students receive is about the other things frequently included in the grade- organization, effort, and participation. This sort of approach emphasizes learning rather than compliance. The authors argue that using a competency based grading system makes especial sense with remote instruction because students are compelled to achieve not merely go through the process. It encourages personalization where  well understood, high leverage standards are the focus of instruction, students get extra instruction when their formative  assessments demonstrate they need it, and feedback helps students to know where they need to grow.

Lots of attention is given to feedback. A personal pet peeve of mine is generic, unuseful feedback. "Good job" does not tell me anything. "You did a great job showing the steps to solve the problem" or "Your identification of Lennie as slow is correct. Now you need to add an explanation of how your quote demonstrates it." Give great guidance as to what to do in the future. The authors highlight the ability to use vocal feedback through digital platforms as especially helpful. It can help build on connections (use the student's name), provide inflection cues and support weak readers to understand your input.

The authors wrap up with a statement about teaching in a time of crisis. Students can actually learn more in these times when teachers target what the students know (an do not) what students know as opposed to teaching what the curriculum says or what teachers think students need (88%; p. 169). When we really focus our instruction through small groups, individually assigned tasks  and highly directed feedback we grow our students. When I have done home instruction I have found that a days worth of school can be completed in 2 hours of instruction. We have come to see this idea played out on the large stage as teachers are given short minilessons and students are left to complete assignments independently  in a fraction of the typical school day or class. Crisis is an opportunity to grow. Lets do it.