Decorah School District teachers share their insights into the trials and triumphs of distance learning

It has been over six weeks since the students and teachers in the Decorah School District last interacted face to face in a traditional classroom setting.  It's been almost two weeks since the District began its continuous learning endeavor, a combination of voluntary educational enrichment opportunities for students in early childhood through grade 8 and required educational services for students in grades 9 through 12.

Although the circumstances are not ideal for anyone, teachers and students alike are working hard to adapt and make the best of a difficult situation. decorahnews.com reached out to a variety of teachers across the district to get their insight into this "new normal" of distance learning. For the next four days this week, we will hear from two Decorah educators about the trials and triumphs of this new and unprecedented endeavor.

What has been the most difficult/positive part of this process for you as an educator?

"I am learning a lot! We're fortunate to have some really great technology in the district and every day I learn something new. I try to be open with my students about the new things I am trying and I encourage them to reach out with feedback and constructive criticism so that I can provide the best education in these circumstances.

To stay consistent within the district I have been using Canvas, our Learning Management System, to connect with my students. Weekly Zoom meetings and phone conversations with colleagues have been essential as well to keep the education continuing.

The most difficult part is not having that daily, in person check-in with my students. Whether it's asking about their day or asking how their learning is going, it's just not the same over the computer.

Two positive things I've seen: 1) How my colleagues and I have learned from one another.  I might learn something during a morning Zoom meeting and then I am able to share that with my colleagues in my next two meetings.  We're all going to come out of this with some really great technology skills. 2) Via feedback from some of my students, it has been really uplifting to read about how they appreciate being able to continue their learning from home."

"The shift has been somewhat challenging, especially for the performing classes I teach. There is no way to replicate what happens in the orchestra classroom online, so I have made the change to offering a wider range of tasks that address other parts of music learning - creating music, responding to music, music theory and music history, while giving students the option of working on their instrumental skills. It's been nice to provide more choices than I am typically able to, hopefully allowing students to dig into what interests them. It's been fun seeing what they choose to pursue and getting to know them more through their responses.
I have been staying connected to my students via email and some video options as well.  This is the part of teaching in the building that I miss the most.

I have struggled most with the loss of the classroom community.  I think the performing arts provide an opportunity for deep community building and I sorely miss building those daily connections and working towards improving our collective good. Knowing that the seniors will be missing their capstone performance has also been really difficult for me. It is a performance that I look forward to for years with each class - trying to pick the exact right music for each group of personalities to give us a final moment to shine together."