Distance learning has brought many changes to how teachers handle their classes, from teaching methods to class curriculum. Teachers last semester have developed a range of opinions on distance teaching based on their personal experiences and understanding of what is happening within the Mills community. In a teacher questionnaire conducted by The Thunderbolt, teachers answered a series of questions about their distance teaching experience, and their opinions on the successes and failures of distance learning last semester. A series of teacher polls were also held where they voted on the difficulty and success of distance teaching, as well as if they prefer to continue distance learning next semester or transition into a hybrid model.
When asked about their experience with transitioning from in-person to distance learning classes, teachers had a mixed response on the difficulty of transitioning and the effects of changes made to their classes. Some teachers described the changes as “difficult,” “rough,” and “better than nothing” while others said that it was “great,” “smooth,” and “not too bad.” Steven Wang, a Biology teacher, described the teacher reeducation process, stating “Teachers had to redesign their curriculum, learn new tech skills, and completely rethink how they engaged students in an online learning environment. Even for veteran teachers, this felt like our first year teaching again.” Wayne Phillips, a history teacher, touched on the social aspect of the distance learning transition, stating “The fact is that human beings are social mammals and the lack of social contact has been hard for all. The transition to distance learning has affected people in different ways. It is especially hard on small children and teens, devastating for some, as we have witnessed with student attendance and assignments not completed.”
Teachers were also asked about changes they made to their classes to accommodate the distance learning environment, as well as their experiences with teaching at home or in an empty classroom on campus. The single largest change described by the teachers was the removal of certain parts of their class curriculum to account for class time reductions. Distance learning reduced instructional time from around 240 minutes per week to around 180 minutes, which forced teachers to focus on major concepts and eliminate certain units. Advanced Placement (AP) class teachers in particular had to remove portions of their curriculum to focus on concepts tested on the AP Exam. Another major change described is the “reversal” of the class environment from loud to quiet. Teachers who had to endure disruptive behavior during in-person classes reported not having that in their distance learning classes; however, teachers have reported significant problems with student engagement in their classes, from limited communication to increased absences. Kiana Reyes, a chemistry teacher, describes her troubles with student engagement, stating, “I feel that I have to put more effort into scaffolding their group interactions and helping them talk to each other in a casual, get-to-know-you way because they’re not making the connections with each other the way they would if they could actually see each other and interact in-person.” A majority of teachers have decided to teach their classes from home last semester, but a significant portion taught classes on campus. Jane Spencer-Mills, a geometry teacher, describes teaching at home as “Not ideal because I don’t really have a teaching space. Physically hard because I need to stand but without walking around to interact with students, I find it really uncomfortable.” However, she also adds that “the time I would normally commute can now be used to call students and work with them one on one over the phone. I can talk with students for more than an hour a day because I am not in the car driving up and down the peninsula.” Wayne Phillips, who taught classes mainly on campus, stated that “It provided me with the sense that I was doing a job and actually seeing people in the front office who I thoroughly enjoy to be around.”
A poll was conducted on whether teachers believed that distance learning was successful last semester, which was supported by a one through ten rating poll, with ten being highest and one being the lowest score. Around 45% of teachers polled believed that distance learning was fully successful, 50% believed that distance learning was partially successful, and 5% believed that distance learning was not successful. This correlates with the ratings poll which produced an average rating of 6.9, well above the neutral average of 5.5. Around 60% of teachers rated distance learning either a six, seven, or eight, indicating that the majority of teachers viewed distance learning as a moderate success. When asked why they believed that distance learning was a success or failure, teachers have often cited being able to adjust their classes well for distance learning, while facing problems with technology and student engagement. Angela Reinhrdt-Mullins explains some of the benefits related to distance learning, stating, “There is a little more flexibility and independence. You don’t have to be at a specific location, as long as you are attending the class. For some socially it is better and will thrive.” Jane Spencer-Mills describes instability with distance problems, stating: “Too many of us are dealing with things that were not part of the deal… IF you have even one hiccup in this, then that seventh class becomes a horror show.”
Teachers had the opportunity to share their issues with distance learning last semester, whether it was personal, school related, or both. Generally teachers have described various technological problems within their household and during classes, usually bandwidth problems or having to adjust to new software to use to operate distance learning classes. Justin Cottrell, a health teacher, describes his problems with household bandwidth, stating, “My wife is online as an instructional aide at Hillsdale, my daughter is online for her school, so we have our spaces in the house people map out and use during the school day.” Teachers have also had problems with creating a new work-life balance as a significant portion of their teaching and non-teaching time goes into computer related activities. Mary Rustia, a biotechnology teacher, describes her problems with the increased screen time during distance learning, with her saying that “I went from using my laptop for attendance and email adding up to maybe 2 hours a day. Now I stare at the screen for 8 hours or more. My old eyes have had it and I had to get glasses with blue light and a new prescription.” Certain teachers have also had problems with the amount of time they stay indoors, and have often made an effort to spend more time outdoors away from the virtual classroom.
Teachers were asked if they believed that distance learning has made their jobs easier or harder, and the overall response was mixed, with many teachers finding some aspects easier and others harder. Teachers have generally enjoyed the convenience of working from home and having an increased amount of time to work on course material for their classes. Many teachers stated that the technological issues mentioned earlier have made their jobs harder. A lack of student engagement in their distance learning classes has also been attributed to increased work difficulty. According to Janice Tuttle, a culinary arts teacher, “It [distance learning] has made it [teaching] harder without the interaction of the students learning from each other; it is much more difficult to teach a hands-on course of learning by doing.” For many interactive classes (laboratory sciences, many electives, etc.), replacing or adjusting curriculum that involved student interaction has also been described as a significant issue. Mary Rustia states that teaching this semester was “harder by a mile. I had to reinvent everything! I’m a hands on laboratory teacher. I had to find all these virtual lab websites from No Carolina Biotech valley.” Some teachers have also faced difficulty with catching cheaters last semester, which became easier due to a lack of student monitoring.
Although not directly asked for in the questionnaire, some teachers have pointed out how distance learning has exaggerated the underlying social inequalities that affect some students’ performance in the virtual classroom. The most common and “visible” inequality between students is the access to higher quality computers and better internet by more affluent students. Many teachers have faced tech related problems during their classes, a significant portion of which comes from students having a poor internet connection. Serena Arge, an art of video teacher, has faced issues with software needed for her classes, stating that “Students that can’t personally afford nice computers have access to Adobe software, which we use in the classroom. Students that chromebooks or older computers with less storage need to use sub par tools that don’t work well. I teach 4 different software at a time, so that means I need to create 4 times the amount of screen casts to get through our class content.” Another major inequality can be seen in the home learning environment. In the student questionnaire, some students have described having to work in the same areas as their families, and sometimes do household activities while in class. This reduces the capacity for some students to engage in their classes, which can lead to negative academic effects. Students who come from a lower-income background more often have to do more for their families than their upper-income counterparts, which contributes to the differential success of students last semester. Justin Cotrell describes this problem as a “huge task of self-efficacy (making sure other family members are cared for, finding a quiet place for studying, finding general stability in their home lives, working part or full-time to cover the income gaps from their folks losing their jobs).” The effects of these inequalities have been very problematic for Mills and the greater SMUHSD. DF failure and student disengagement rates have all increased last semester, with underprivileged students disproportionately failing their classes. Around 20% of Hispanics, 17% of African Americans, and 16% of Pacific Islanders are reported to have a D or F grade in their classes compared to around 9% of Whites and 6% of Asians. Teachers have made significant efforts and accommodations to limit these inequalities in their distance learning classes, but some students are still at a disadvantage.
The concluding poll in the teacher questionnaire asked teachers whether they preferred to continue distance learning next semester or if they wanted to return to the classroom under a hybrid model. Out of those surveyed, an overwhelming majority of 94% of teachers want to continue distance learning. When asked why they held this stance, many cited increased cases, a lack of safety for both students and teachers, and hassles in having to transition once again. Serena Arge touched upon safety concerns with increasing cases: “As much as I don’t like online learning, we need to make sure that we are staying safe. Infections are on the rise and we need more data, testing, and access to vaccines, etc.” Currently, San Mateo County has over 33,000 COVID cases and 340 deaths. Although the teachers may want to return to school because of the difficulties of distance learning, there is no guarantee of safety for anyone on campus. Steven Wang added to the lack of safety concerns, citing a difficulty in transitioning back to school for students: “Also, many students struggle with adapting to change, and I feel that we’ve established good rhythms that are working for most students.” Our school district has been in distance learning for more than half of the school year now and changing the routine for both students and teachers can be detrimental to learning success, in the majority opinion of teachers.
