Rapid Response to Meet Teacher Needs
“Hello! I am a TK teacher in Oakland and I just want to thank you for the AMAZING work that you do! Thank you for all the awesome resources! I read your newsletters and everything I get from you from cover to cover. Your organization is such an important and appreciated resource for teachers. During this COVID crisis, I have been referring to so much in your newsletters. Thank you for all you do! “
Since school doors closed mid-March, the days have “Zoomed” by for the CRS team pivoting to meet the needs of teachers whose professional lives changed overnight. They’ve had to ponder questions such as: What does science learning at a distance even look like for wiggly kindergarteners? How can 5th graders do a science fair project or student action project from home?
Even before the schools closed, CRS jumped into action to create send-home resources and curate best-in-class distance learning resources, featuring trusted local partners, for teachers and for families.
Says CRS teacher services manager Corinn Brown, “CRS is here throughout the public health crisis, helping teachers, schools and family adapt to distance and at-home learning. It’s been a big learning curve for everyone — so many technologies and resources to choose from. We try to narrow down the fire hose of information so teachers can feel a little less overwhelmed, and find the resources that most closely align with the lessons they already had planned for Spring. We’re fortunate so many great science centers and partner organizations have made tremendous online videos, lessons, tours, webcams, and information available online.”
One teacher described the new teaching reality this way:
“I think, metaphorically, that we have landed on Mars without a plan. Now we have to try to live on the planet. Everyday is a new discovery of how to survive-one-step-at-time. I am finding what works and what doesn’t, and what needs to be flipped to make it work for everyone.”
Here are some of the ways CRS has been helping teachers navigate this challenging transition:
- Even before the governor issued the Bay Area shelter in place order, we launched our Distance Learning for Teachers. We keep this updated and feature trusted local science centers so that teachers can quickly find familiar and user-friendly lessons, activities, videos and reading material.
- For teachers to share with families, we also created a family-friendly Science at Home page, and curated Science Resources in Spanish.
- Each week we send a brief email bulletin, highlighting a couple of great resources and partners to help with weekly distance-learning lesson planning.
- Each Friday in May we’re hosting an informal virtual Teachers’ Lounge, a half-hour drop in Zoom session. Teachers are the experts on what’s working right now, and we invite them to share: is there a great online tool, lesson idea, engineering challenge, or teaching strategy you’ve discovered! Although they can’t gather in the actual teacher’s lounge between lunch bells, we hope this can help teachers find colleagues who can relate, share, and support their efforts.
