Teaching and Learning

 

Teaching and Learning: Love In the Time of COVID-19

Colombian Nobel prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez’s novel Love in the Time of Cholera was first published in 1985. It was some years later at University that I read this tale of unrequited love. In the last few weeks, I have heard the novel mentioned again; its title being somehow apt for the rapidly changing events that we face with COVID 19. What does it mean to love and indeed live in a time of dramatic change, fear and anxiety? How do we do life well and work together when there are so many unknowns?

Some of the things that we value here at College is the importance of communication and connection, and what might this look like during a time of uncertainty? How do we maintain a connection with our parents and students? How do we communicate regularly and effectively with students who may not be in situ?  Many of these questions demand our attention at the moment. At College, we are thinking about how we deliver learning to our students if the school is closed. We believe that College is well placed to continue supporting our student body to engage in a remote learning program. We will work together to ensure that we have a sense of connection, community and collaboration even if we learn at a distance.

In simple terms, these are the expectations and objectives for remote learning:

1. We offer remote learning, not online learning.
2. We will use asynchronous learning; there may be some live, online instructions or content but the learning experiences will broadly be designed for students to work at their own pace.
3. Teachers have realistic expectations about what will be achieved in the period of remote learning.
4. Instructions need to be explicit. A learning objective would be set at the start of the lesson or unit.  Teachers will provide written instructions, and this may be via email, Class OneNote or Teams.  
5. Teachers will be available during office hours, 8.30 am - 4.00 pm to provide support and answer questions.
6. Teachers will check in with their class and be available when a class is timetabled, in some instances, by arrangement.

The approach we will take to deliver learning remotely is largely based around using tools that the students have had access to and experience with to date. This includes Outlook, OneNote and Teams. However, we acknowledge that a range of issues beyond our control might mean that some students require hard copies of learning materials to operate in the coming weeks. To that end, we will endeavour to be flexible and we invite you to partner with us. To learn remotely students will need patience, a willingness to work independently and perseverance. The tools they will need include:

• Students should have their laptop and charger with them at home
• Students can use their school credentials to download and log on to Microsoft Office 365 on a home desktop, iPad or laptop and this would give them access to a range of tools.
• A College Record Book will direct students to their Timetable and help them to structure and organise their day.

As we prepare for a future that is uncertain, but with a commitment to being connected and communicating with one another, let us be bold. The Year 11 Literature students have been studying Craig Silvey’s Jasper Jones. One of the central characters Charlie is an avid reader and shares a quote from Mark Twain, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear." Let us hold one another together as we move forward, one day at a time, with courage in this time of COVID 19.

Susan Bradbeer

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning