Part A
Interview a teacher in the United States that taught school-age children pre-COVID-19, during the pandemic, and post-COVID-19.
Ask them:
- What are the biggest differences that you noticed in your interactions with your students?
- What are the biggest differences that you noticed in interactions between students?
- What do you think have been the biggest challenges?
- What are the lasting effects that you have noticed?
Create a short presentation (5–10 slides) to describe what you learned. You do NOT have to record any audio.
If you are unable to find a teacher to interview, you may use the following three links to find information (you will have to cite them):
- https://www.buzzfeed.com/caseyrackham/teachers-sharing-how-the-pandemic-changed-their-jobsLinks to an external site.
- https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/10lwba8/teachers_of_reddit_what_are_the_biggest/Links to an external site.
- https://www.reddit.com/r/AskTeachers/comments/1ebl8vk/is_teaching_harder_now_than_what_it_is_before/Links to an external site.
Part B
After watching the two videos this week, pick one to discuss and answer the following questions:
Video #1: Theory of Mind – Why is theory of mind an important development in young children? How does understanding that other people have their own perspectives and their own ideas that may be different than their own, help children development not only cognitively, but socially and emotionally as well? How is this important in the classroom?
OR
Video #2: Autism – What did you think about the presenter’s ideas about autism? Can you take her perspective and make it relevant to your work with young children? What about her example of the shopping mall? Can you think about that example and apply it to a child in a classroom? Is it possible that we sometimes view children who are not typically developing as having deficits as well, especially when they are not thriving in the classroom? How can we shift our thinking to better understand the children in our classrooms and find ways to better meet their needs?
Resources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGSj2zY2OEM&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1AUdaH-EPM