Preservice Music Educators’ Perceptions of In-Person and Asynchronous Online Fieldwork Experiences

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine preservice music educators’ (PMEs) perceptions of a semester-long fieldwork experience first delivered in person and then asynchronously online. Using the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, I analyzed the PMEs’ perceptions of their teaching presence in both fieldwork experiences. Participants cited benefits and challenges with lesson plan organization, in-person and asynchronous instruction, and building consensus about effective teaching. Notably, the asynchronous fieldwork provided a non-reactive environment where the script and delivery of content took precedent over a rehearsal mindset, which was more responsive and occurred during the in-person fieldwork. Based on these findings, music teacher educators might consider asynchronous fieldwork when in-person fieldwork is unavailable or as a stepping stone to prepare PMEs for in-person fieldwork experiences.

Learning from 2020: How the Challenges of Remote Teaching Reinforce the Need for Care-Informed Pedagogy

How did instructors design their sociology courses for remote teaching during the 2020–2021 academic year, and what challenges did they face in teaching those courses? To answer these questions, we surveyed lead instructors and graduate teaching assistants (n = 77) in the Sociology Department at the University of Michigan, supplemented by interviews with students and our experiences as remote course consultants. Through this case study, we found that instructors cited increased workload and lack of connection as challenges with remote teaching, in addition to pandemic-related struggles. Most instructors reported using either synchronous or a mix of synchronous and asynchronous instruction in course design, incorporating both formative and summative assessments, and implementing communication and community-building strategies to establish connections with and among students. We argue that these challenges and course designs highlight the importance of care-informed pedagogy to not only remote teaching in 2020–2021 but also sociology instruction in general.

UNCOVERING LEARNERS’ EXPERIENCES TO NEW NORMAL EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS OF ASYNCHRONOUS INSTRUCTION IN GE 5: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY COURSE TEACHING

<p>The new normal education policy in response to the pandemic crisis pushed institutions to shift from traditional face-to-face to asynchronous instruction that posed challenges particularly to science courses in higher education. The purpose of this study was to understand the learning experiences of the students and the implications of asynchronous teaching instruction in the Science, Technology, and Society course. This study utilized a convergent parallel mixed method of research employing descriptive-comparative and descriptive phenomenological research designs. There were 100 respondents for the quantitative part and 12 participants for the qualitative part. Based on the quantitative findings, the overall implementation of asynchronous instruction in the course was "excellent." Specifically, the level of implementation was "very satisfactory" in terms of Content and Course Evaluation, while "excellent" in terms of Instructional Design, Student Assessment, and Technology. There was no significant difference in the level of implementation of the course asynchronous instruction when analyzed by specialization. Moreover, based on the qualitative analysis, the learning experiences of students in asynchronous instruction were both positive and negative that implied two-way learning experiences. The general recommendation gleaned from the students was science, technology, and society asynchronous delivery improvement that covered teacher improvement, SIM improvement, and assessment tool improvement. The general recommendations of this study were improving asynchronous instruction delivery through teachers training proposals, modification of self-instructional materials, increasing the awareness and effective use of the varied assessment tools in sustaining the needs and interest of students in studying the course, creating a safe learning environment for the students, and conducting future researches to reveal significant factors which affect the learning experiences of students and the other points that the current researchers have not yet explored.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0893/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Students’ Responses to Multi-Modal Emergency Remote Learning During COVID-19 in a South African Higher Institution

COVID-19 pandemic forced several higher education institutions (HEI) to operate remotely. Emergency remote teaching, using synchronous and asynchronous instruction, was adopted by several HEIs. The experiences of students with remote teaching and learning in certain situations are not fully understood, thus need to be explored. This study explored the experiences of students with the emergency remote teaching and learning practices adopted at a selected HEI in South Africa. A cross-sectional and self-administered survey was used to gather data from 243 conveniently sampled returning students within the Department of Accounting and Finance. Descriptive statistics were used to make sense of the collected data. The study found that students preferred a face-to-face approach to learning to remote learning. The respondents underscored insufficient data, unstable network connection, unconducive home environments and loneliness as deterrents to effective remote learning. Despite these negative experiences, students appreciated the flexibility and convenience of recorded video lectures and acknowledged the compassion and support of lecturers during remote learning. An understanding of the experiences of students during remote learning provides a basis for future teaching plans, which would improve students' learning experiences. In its current format and students living in their home environments, remote learning greatly diminishes the chances of success for most students. Lecturers need to be compassionate and considerate of student’s struggles in their plans for remote teaching and learning as well as online learning.

Parent Voices: Suggestions for Remote Learning during COVID Pandemic and Beyond

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ways in which teachers educated students drastically changed beginning in early 2020. Educators were challenged to provide synchronous classes, asynchronous instruction, and also teach students without the use of the internet. Limited research investigating parents’ experiences and suggestions for remote learning has been conducted, yet they are a significant partner in providing remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to gain insight from parents by asking the question: How would you like educators to support you with teaching your kids at home during COVID-19 school closures? Results from 122 online survey showed that educators could adapt how they provide assignments/tasks regarding differentiation, instructions, and modality; make additional considerations for how families, students, and teachers communicate and access materials; and indicated a variety of reactions to remote learning such as satisfaction, teacher mindsets of understanding and flexibility, and the format of school during COVID-19. Recommendations stemming from the data have the ability to impact future remote learning related to COVID-19 or additional school closures as a result of weather and professional development.

237 Sleep disturbances, online instruction, and learning during COVID-19: evidence from 4148 adolescents in the NESTED study

Introduction COVID-19 fundamentally altered education in the United States. A variety of in-person, hybrid, and online instruction formats took hold in Fall 2020 as schools reopened. The Nationwide Education and School in TEens During COVID (NESTED) study assessed how these changes impacted sleep. Here we examined how instruction format was associated with sleep disruption and learning outcomes. Methods Data from 4148 grade 6-12 students were included in the current analyses (61% non-male; 34% non-white; 13% middle-school). Each student’s instructional format was categorized as: (i) in-person; (ii) hybrid [≥1 day/week in-person]; (iii) online/synchronous (scheduled classes); (iv) online/asynchronous (unscheduled classes); (v) online-mixed; or (vi) no-school. Sleep disturbances (i.e., difficulty falling/staying asleep) were measured with validated PROMIS t-scores. A bootstrapped structural equation model examined how instructional format and sleep disturbances predict school/learning success (SLS), a latent variable loading onto 3 outcomes: (i) school engagement (ii) likert-rated school stress; and (iii) cognitive function (PROMIS t-scores). The model covaried for gender, race-ethnicity, and school-level Results Our model fit well (RMSEA=.041). Examining total effects (direct + indirect), online and hybrid instruction were associated with lower SLS (b’s:-.06 to -.26; p’s&lt;.01). The three online groups had the strongest effects (synchronous: b=-.15; 95%CI: [-.20, -.11]; asynchronous: b=-.17; [-.23, -.11]; mixed: b=-.14; [-.19, -.098]; p’s&lt;.001). Sleep disturbance was also negatively associated with SLS (b=-.02; [-.02, -.02], p&lt;.001). Monte-carlo simulations confirmed sleep disturbance mediated online instruction’s influence on SLS. The strongest effect was found for asynchronous instruction, with sleep disturbance mediating 24% of its effect (b = -.042; [-0.065, -.019]; p&lt;.001). This sleep-mediated influence of asynchronous instruction propagated down to each SLS measure (p’s&lt;.001), including a near 3-point difference on PROMIS cognitive scores (b = -2.86; [-3.73, -2.00]). Conclusion These analyses from the NESTED study indicate that sleep disruption may be one mechanism through which online instruction impacted learning during the pandemic. Sleep disturbances were unexpectedly influential for unscheduled instruction (i.e., asynchronous). Future analyses will examine specific sleep parameters (e.g., timing) and whether sleep’s influence differs in teens who self-report learning/behavior problems (e.g., ADHD). These nationwide data further underscore the importance of considering sleep as educators and policy makers determine school schedules. Support (if any):

Explicit Instruction in Mathematics: Considerations for Virtual Learning

A large number of students with and without disabilities—including students at-risk—are currently learning online through synchronous and/or asynchronous instruction. As such, it is important for educators to be equipped with evidence-based practices—or at the minimum research-based practices—that can be adapted or modified to teach students online, including the area of mathematics. This article discusses how educators can adapt and implement explicit instruction—an evidence-based practice for teaching students with disabilities in mathematics—to educate students with disabilities and those struggling or at-risk in mathematics within an online environment. In addition, this article presents resources for free and paid technology as well as additional considerations when implementing explicit instruction in an online environment.

Teaching Music Remotely: Strategies for Students With Disabilities

As schools closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, students and teachers began engaging in remote learning. Remote instruction continued through the end of the 2020 school year and many have continued to teach remotely for at least part of, if not all of the 2020–2021 school year. While teaching music remotely is not ideal, music teachers have successfully shifted to different combinations of synchronous and asynchronous instruction with their students. The shift to remote learning is challenging for students and teachers alike, and there are additional challenges for students with disabilities engaging in remote instruction or drastically different in-person classrooms. This article includes an overview of concerns facing students with disabilities during COVID-19 as well as strategies specific to students with disabilities to successfully engage in remote instruction.

Designing Engaging Online Environments

Engagement in learning is critical to students' achievement of meaningful learning outcomes. Educators often describe engagement as a multi component concept that involves emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains. In an online environment, student engagement is challenging to achieve. Both synchronous and asynchronous instruction needs to be thoughtfully designed to engage students at a meaningful level. Moreover, within an online environment, some of the differences between the students from diverse backgrounds may be more challenging for the instructors to address and thus require an intentional and systematic approach. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an instructional design framework that is based on a notion that all students are varied in their learning needs and therefore instruction needs to be flexible to ensure learning of all. This chapter will examine the construct of engagement, focus on learner variability, and offer practical instructional design solutions based in the framework of UDL.