TNP's Approach to Remote Learning

The very first post on this blog was about The Nora Project’s response to Covid-19. Back in April, schools had been closed for about six weeks, and TNP’s Program Team had been hard at work creating materials to support students and teachers. Our goal at the time was to help teachers provide continuity for their students, to finish the work they’d started that year and support their students’ social and emotional learning. We also wanted to provide resources for families to help them cope with the big changes in their lives. 

At the time, we weren’t sure what the fall would bring, but as the beginning of school rapidly approaches, TNP’s Program Team is once again working to provide materials for our participating schools that will support the ever-changing learning environment.

Remote learning is relatively uncharted territory for many teachers, even if they provided e-learning materials in the spring when schools closed. The work that teachers and students were doing at the end of the last school year is more aptly named “crisis learning” than remote learning. As our Program Team considered how to best serve our participating teachers and students for a year that is certain to be full of more challenges, we started by thinking about the people we serve.

First, we know that individual families are making choices about how and where their students attend school. Be it in person, a hybrid, or fully remote, The Nora Project is creating materials that can be shared with students wherever they are, and in a format that is accessible. We are creating versions of our lessons that can be completed independently at home, if needed, collaboratively with family members, or live in school. Our staff is taking into consideration the ideas laid out in Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning, shared here by our friends @TeachingisIntellectual. So, we are providing versions of lessons that trim down the learning to the essential outcomes, pay mind to students’ attention spans, are visually stimulating, and that engage students in interactive learning opportunities. Video and audio clips are built into these materials so that they are supportive of emergent readers and writers.

Next, we thought about teachers. Many teachers are facing the prospect of teaching remotely and live at the same time this year. Our remote learning materials are low-prep so that teachers can make quick decisions about how and what they share with students. Specific guidance and suggestions is provided with every lesson about what and how to prepare, how students can respond using multiple modalities, and how to personalize the materials so that they best meet the needs of students and their families. 

As the year progresses, our staff will be in close contact with our partner schools so that we can continue to respond to their needs as they change. We know the year will be unlike any other and will pose new frustrations and challenges, but we hope to be a reliable support system and resource for teachers, students, and families this year. To support the work The Nora Project does to serve teachers and students during this unprecedented time, visit the donate page on our website. Your donation will allow TNP to continue to offer on-demand support that helps teachers provide high-quality social/emotional learning experiences for their students in any environment.