Skip to main content
  • Work at WestEd
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Don't Miss Out!

Subscribe to the E-Bulletin for regular updates on research, free resources, solutions, and job postings from WestEd.

Subscribe Now

WestEd E-Bulletin

close

WestEd

WestEd
Improving learning, healthy development, and equity in schools and communities
  • Areas of Work
    • Areas of Work

      Building leadership, skills, and knowledge across critical topics.

      • College & Career
      • Early Childhood Development & Learning
      • English Language Learners
      • Health, Safety, & Well-Being
      • Literacy
      • Schools, Districts, & State Education Systems
      • Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics
      • Special Education
      • Standards, Assessment, & Accountability
      • Teachers & Leaders
      • Featured Initiative
      • Charters & Choice
      • COVID-19 Resources for Educators
      • Online Professional Development
      • Strategic Resource Planning & Implementation
      • Trauma-Informed Practice & Resiliency
  • Professional Development
  • Research & Evaluation
    • Research & Evaluation

      Conducting research and evaluation studies to help improve education and other important outcomes for children, youth, and adults.

      • What We Do
      • How We Can Help
      • WestEd Insights
      • Reports & Publications
      • Other Pages of Interest
      • National TA Centers
      • Consulting & Policy Support
  • Technical Assistance
    • Technical Assistance

      Build systemwide capacity to plan and implement research-informed solutions that ensure positive outcomes.

      • Technical Assistance Services
      • National Support Networks
      • Policy Analysis & Other Support
  • Resources
    • Resources

      A rich portfolio of resources that promote educator effectiveness, inform policy, and support positive outcomes for all learners.

      • Resources Home
      • New Releases
      • Best Sellers
      • Top Downloads
      • Research
      • Free Resources
      • Webinars
      • Catalogs
      • R&D Alert Articles
      • Reprint Permissions
      • Customer Support
      • Contact Publications Center
      • Login/Create Account
  • Events
  • About Us
    • About Us

      Trust unparalleled expertise from WestEd to help all learners succeed.

      • Overview
      • Board of Directors
      • Leadership
      • Staff
      • Offices

      • Work at WestEd
      • Work with WestEd
      • News
      • Events
      • Subscribe
      • Contact Us
  • Work at WestEd
Menu

WestEd Insights / research and innovations

Read about significant research findings and impact from WestEd experts related to teaching, learning, and human development.

Student isolated on computer

COVID Resources

Distance Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Written by Jennifer Folsom, Lead Learning Architect for the Making Sense of SCIENCE project at WestEd.

A flood of people from preschool teachers to college professors to workforce trainers are researching best practices for learning at distance in response to the COVID-19 school closings. There is a lot of research in this area and good evidence that high-quality learning can happen in distance learning environments. However, all of that research took place in different context than today’s.

Distance learning during a global pandemic has no precedent. It is a context with no perfectly aligned research to guide our way. To support the world’s educators and students learning at distance during COVID-19 isolation, here are five principles for educators to consider.

1. Change the learning goals and the learning process. It is unreasonable to expect educators and students today to maintain their old normal, even if they were distance learners before. Students’ lives are completely different from how they were just a month ago, and what they can accomplish is different as well. Determine reasonable learning goals for your students to achieve (and for you to facilitate) in the current situation and then design a process in which students can meet those goals and you can assess their progress.

2. Design learning activities for the distance learning environment. Avoid the all-too-common and time-consuming pitfall of trying to recreate every in-person learning activity in the distance learning environment. The distance learning environment has its own unique benefits that can’t be leveraged if we see in-person learning as the best choice and distance learning as a poor second. Focus on providing distance learning experiences that maximize learner engagement and minimize roadblocks.

3. Prepare for students’ upcoming challenges. Learners are likely to experience stress, if not trauma, in the upcoming months — from food insecurity to housing loss to family deaths. It is essential that educators connect with students, respond with empathy, and have a list of community resources for students at the ready.

4. Investigate institutional policies. Learners and their families are also likely to be confused about what their educational institutions are expecting of them. They are asking, “Do my courses count toward graduation?” and “Does my child have to join the group conference calls?” and “Where can I pick up assignments?” If you’re passionate about any of these organizational policies, get involved in helping those decisions get made (and revised, as the case may be).

5. Model a growth mindset. When your distance learning plans don’t work out (and, in all likelihood, at least some of them won’t), it is an opportunity to show students how a successful adult responds to failure. The example of how one can productively respond to challenge and disappointment is a valuable gift you can give your students. And most importantly, when you or your students fail to live up to expectations, generously dole out all the extra grace you can find, because right now, everyone needs it.

Posted on April 11, 2020

COVID-19

View More

 

Contact Us

Ask a question, request information, make a suggestion, or sign up for our newsletter.

Areas of Work

  • Areas of Work
  • College & Career
  • Early Childhood Development & Learning
  • English Learners
  • Health, Safety, & Well-Being
  • Literacy
  • Schools, Districts, & State Education Systems
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics
  • Special Education
  • Standards, Assessment, & Accountability
  • Teachers & Leaders
  • Featured Initiatives

Professional Development

  • Professional Development

Research & Evaluation

  • Research & Evaluation
  • What We Do
  • How We Can Help
  • Reports & Publications
  • WestEd Insights

Technical Assistance

  • Technical Assistance
  • Technical Assistance Services
  • National Support Networks
  • Policy Analysis and Other Support

Resources

  • Resources
  • Resources Home
  • New Releases
  • Best Sellers
  • Top Downloads
  • Free Resources
  • Research
  • Catalogs
  • Webinars
  • R&D Alert Articles

About Us

  • About Us
  • Overview
  • Board of Directors
  • Leadership
  • Staff
  • WestEd Offices
  • Our Clients and Funders
  • Work with WestEd
  • WestEd Insights
  • News
  • Events
  • Making a Difference
  • Work at WestEd
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Also of Interest:
  • Supporting Self-Care for Educators During the...
  • Engaging Parents and Students from Diverse Populations
  • Engaging Families In At-Home Learning During COVID-19

Copyright ©1995 - 2021 WestEd | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer

Return to top of page