Colorado Springs School District 11 developed a teacher-led planning process for quarterly, cross-subject “big idea” arcs where students worked through six phases of learning with built-in reflection, culminating in a performance assessment.
To boost student engagement during remote learning, D11 provided teachers with targeted grade level relevant guidance to support students in the creation of cross-content inquiry projects that spanned three to six weeks.
Students can show mastery of mathematical concepts by using virtual manipulatives to visually solve a problem.
Students can demonstrate their learning by sharing work products remotely, like videos, documents, and pictures, where they illustrate or apply what they have learned easily – regardless of their physical location.
When students are watching a video, adding activities like interactive handouts, reflection questions, and checks for understanding makes the learning more active.
Collecting real-time data about students’ understanding of the content allows teachers to adjust instruction as they progress through a lesson. Teachers can gauge whether students are ready to move ahead or if they need to offer additional support to select students.
Teachers can collect quick data about student understanding creatively through individual and collaborative games. These online and offline tools boost engagement as students “play” the game and interact with content in an innovative way.
Three concrete tools, contextualized in case studies that leaders can use as they finish the 2020-21 school year and begin financial planning for the 2021-22 school year for school systems and CMOs.
Implementing a virtual rotation allows in-person and remote students to work together and move through different activities and learning experiences throughout the day.
How to plan using a variety of modalities (synchronous, asynchronous, analog, and digital) throughout the day and even during a single lesson to ensure engagement and access for all students
