A time of danger, a time of opportunity. Lessons from lockdown.

A time of danger, a time of opportunity. Lessons from lockdown.

Nothing ever remains the same in life but a crisis such as the one we are globally experiencing brings out the best and worst in people. Around the world when you look at what is happening, you can see that one of the most apparent casualties has been the truth as politicians in various countries try to hide from their people that some of their decisions have cost lives. In comparison, New Zealand has been very fortunate to be well-governed, and through the worst parts of the lockdown, there appeared to be cooperation between our two main political parties. This cooperation in a time of crisis was a welcome relief from the ongoing arguments we regularly see.

The school picture

At the school level, we have also seen shifts in the way things will be done going into the future. Yes, as a school, we have experienced pressure and demands, but we have also been rewarded with gratefulness (whakawhetai) and kindness (manaakitanga).

To understand what has occurred, we undertook an analysis of what has happened. Here is what we found in our review of school operations through lockdown:

What we noticed

Things that have gone well

1. Curriculum and programming
1. A task-oriented programme enabled students to work at their own pace.
2. Flexibility in teaching programmes.
3. Decluttering of the curriculum. Less can be more. Trying to do too much can be overwhelming for all the participants.
2. Student behaviour
1. Behaviour management was minor. There were minimal distractions in learning. Student, focus was enabled. Students who are less engaged in school had less opportunity to interrupt the learning of others. 
2. Students are more engaged with working on devices.
3. Student participation reflected learner agency.
4. Many students showed remarkable resilience, and their digital skillset improved dramatically.
3. Services
1. As a school, we were responsive to whānau needs, offering flexibility in how their child engaged in learning. We provided our families with packs and an online teaching programme. We also responded immediately to queries when families needed assistance.
2. Our delivery of books to homes was well accepted.
4. Communication
1. There was excellent communication between the staff so that the delivery of programmes was cohesive and effective.
2. There were ongoing interactions with the families.
3. Our communication systems have become much more streamlined and refined.
5. New Learning
1. For some, there was a new appreciation of the patience and demands of a teacher from our school community. For others, there was a further insight into the learning needs of their children.
2. Google apps, slides etc. were used more. The majority of staff attended webinars to upskill.
3. Teachers learned more about the students and their strengths and interests.
4. For some students, this time was exciting. They learned new techniques, experienced new apps and new ways of doing things, and they found this engaging.
5. Students were open to new learning and had whānau support.
6. Some of the learning for students and teachers was unanticipated.
7. We had an effective Te Reo Maori programme across the school. 
8. It became clear that some of our students have a genuine aptitude for digital learning and are exceptional in the area.
9. The lockdown provided time to look for new resources, to get to the know the parents and to realise the importance of relationships.
6. Parental and community engagement
1. There were interactive sessions with children and family.
2. Parents had the opportunity to take part when they otherwise couldn't. Schoolwork became a part of the family.
3. Parents appreciated what the staff and teachers were doing.
4. Many parents have done a great job supporting their children in placing a value on education.
5. Parents were more engaged in their children's learning than we have ever witnessed, and many parents made significant strides in accessing tools and experiences themselves.
6. This event strengthened relationships between school and whānau.
7. As a school community, this was genuine "Learning and growing together". Learning and growing together actually happened.
7. Personnel
1. Teacher aides and ancillary staff contributed significantly.
2. Staff were resilient, caring for children, regularly touching base. There was positive feedback from parents and children.
8. Family
1. The period of lockdown was a good time for some families in that it provided a time to strengthen their relationships.

Things that have been more difficult or challenging

1. You can't replace kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face)
1. It is difficult when you do not have the on-site collegial connection when stuck or you want to talk about a student etc. Water cooler conversations were missed.
2. Without informal communication, formal communication routines were more difficult. Adaptations were useful but nearly as good. 
3. There were at times feelings of being alone, isolated and frustrated. Staff needed a return to normality along with many of our families.
4. Physical warmth and contact were missing.
2. Working with younger students
1. Juniors - need more 1:1 support from whānau. Teachers are unable to 'control' the child's behaviour through the screen.
2. The age group of five to seven-year-olds were very reliant on parents for support. This reliance by younger students on adults reflects the realities of the school environment.
3. The expectations of parents were challenging at times for juniors. Online learning was difficult for younger students in a formal setting.
4. Junior school children need to be hands-on.
3. Disengagement of some learners
1. A small number of families during lockdown became utterly inaccessible. Not being able to contact this group worried us. 
2. Attendance in class or participation in learning by some students did not occur. Students who don't want to engage have been conspicuous by their absence.
3. Learner agency has been highlighted. Some students have been more able to cope than others.
4. Online learning worked well for some children and not for others. School is a routine that many find reassuring.
5. We noticed incompletion of tasks by the same students. Some of this may have been due to uncertainty of the process, but some were merely habitual.
4. Workload
1. The amount of effort put into preparing tasks and presentations did not balance out with the responses from students. Planning takes longer for digital lessons (This idea that planning takes longer for digital learning is supported by research).
2. Inboxes for all were clogged. Parents were overwhelmed with emails. Prioritising emails and workload was tricky for students, families and, the staff.
3. Teaching staff were working 10-12 hour days during lockdown to get programmes up and running. Most have had no 'holiday' break since the beginning of the year.
4. Differentiation was tricky and not always possible, particularly with larger groups.
5. Responding to the Ministry of Educations, ongoing directives has been necessary but challenging.
5. Equity issues and infrastructural issues
1. Teachers and staff (along with many others in the community) were largely left to work through the logistics, i.e. Use family homes, use family internet connection, data…
2. Sharing devices within the home complicated the teaching and learning process. Some students had to wait their turn before they could gain access.
3. In some homes, there was not a proper space for students to work.
4. The lockdown highlighted inequity in our school community - not all had access to technology or support for their learning. In many instances, there was a lack of digital equipment and poor internet connectivity. Working from home with a limited amount of broadband and poor phone and internet connections was at times tricky.
6. Parental issues
On occasions, we had some extremely stressed parents, including anxious parents with high expectations and parents where it all became too much. Some parents had to step back from schoolwork. It was too much for them. There was stress and frustration as parents tried to juggle the different class activities and their workload. The extra workload was problematic, especially with more than one child at home. Schoolwork at home was correspondingly more complicated, depending on how many children you have and the age of the children. Having younger children who needed assistance was more time-consuming. It was not an easy time for students who struggle at school with their learning.

Actions we undertook

Relationships

1. Andrea was able to do a lot of pastoral care follow up for whānau.
2. We distributed school milk and targeted Pak n Save vouchers for families we understood were in need. 
3. We provided advice and support for families who were struggling in their learning situations.
4. We responded as best we could to the issues raised.
5. We made specific phone calls to see if whānau are okay.
6. We had ongoing communication to our community using emails, the school blog, zoom, school sign, the school app, Facebook and phone calls.
7. We had some children not responding appropriately in online classrooms and discovered mute. Some other settings also needed adjusting to stop children from getting into the digital classroom before the teacher.

Assessment

1. Worked with Ann Hoover, we managed to continue assessment for dyslexia using the Burt test.

Curriculum

1. We distributed library books to families.
2. We devised a digital curriculum.
3. We revised the school's local curriculum for the kitchen, thanks to Claire Nankivell.
4. We provided an online Te Reo programme.
5. We set up learning packs for students unable to get online before the MOE packs.
6. Rechelle taught her maths group successfully online, setting up a Youtube channel for direct instruction.

Pedagogy

1. We used Zoom and Google Meet
2. We used a host of tools we had never used before.

Professional development

1. Many staff had to learn many skills to operate.
2. Staff carried out professional development on several products. They read and also undertook webinars to learn about products such as Zoom, Meet and Google Classroom.
3. Most staff had never used Google Classroom eight weeks ago.
4. Coping with this situation was a steep learning curve.

Safety

1. Responded to ever-changing environments to meet the needs of the different Alert levels.
2. Hygiene practices have been refined.
3. Adaptations have been made to the school's physical environment, i.e. perspex in the office, a window into sickbay, hand sanitiser holders have been installed around the school.
4. Staff were all immunised for the flu.
5. Through correspondence with the NZEI, principal support office, we provided information to government which contributed to the one-off policy change for payment of flu injections.
6. We realised that our systems for online student safety were not equal to the task at hand.

Learning environment

1. We restructured our G-Suite administration set up identifying several issues and altering practices to operate more safely in an online environment.
2. We made tools available through G-suite such as Grammarly and Jamboard.
3. We learned how to turn off notifications.

What is not worth continuing

1. It is too difficult to run two simultaneous programmes for students.
2. Some aspects that we trialled in lockdown worked as well as we wanted, e.g. the teaching of handwriting.
3. Some aspects of Educational TV

What is worth continuing or exploring

1. A resource of lessons has been videoed to support the teaching of mathematics. (This will also help students who may take longer to understand concepts, have slower processing or struggle to focus. These students can rewatch as much as they need to gain mastery).
2. We need to access digital devices throughout the school, including IPADs for juniors. We expect this to occur through the delivery of devices from the Ministry of Education. Using such devices will supplement, not replace the hands-on experiences that are needed developmentally for younger students.
3. Continued use of free products:
1. Google Classroom/ Google Meet
2. Google Extensions that support learning. Eg. Castify, Jamboard, Read and Write.
3. Nano girl
4. Studyladder
4. We will continue with aspects of hygiene and health management that have been identified as being successful.
5. We will encourage staff to complete Google certification. 
6. We will ensure that students know what is required of them before they have to do something off-site.
7. We will provide administrative staff with Grammarly to trial to see if we can produce clearer written communication and reduce editing times. Grammarly may also be provided to assist teachers during report writing.
8. Examining:
1. Collaborative practice, e.g. planning
2. Flipping classrooms
3. more closely the place of direct teaching
4. whether lesson formats could be more effective
9. The potential for online learning when kids sick for long periods or away in another country.
10. Re-visit the use of specific technologies, e.g. Document visualiser and Swvl, I-Pads
11. Subscriptions for digital products that have demonstrated worth and would add value in a face to face context:
1. A product that will assist children with spelling
2. Continued access to EGGS and Mathletics
3. Education Perfect - professional learning
4. Twinkl, Teach starter, Vooks, Epic, Sunshine, Lalilo (phonics), Numberwise - a brilliant website for learning tables (not able to get it on the Chrome book), Seesaw.
5. Zoom is the new norm.
12. Trialling learning spaces, e.g. cubicles, may be used to cater for students who wish to work by themselves.
13. We will attempt to hold a parent meeting before any further lockdowns occur if the situation requires it.

The last eight weeks have seen an outstanding team effort!