Difficult Times Nurture Innovations
When we can’t do the same things the same way, we learn to do things differently. The coronavirus pandemic has brought about a difficult time in our community and in our nation but difficult times spur innovation.
An article in Biography, published last month (available online at https://www.biography.com/news/isaac-newton-quarantine-plague-discoveries), provides a list of innovations developed by Isaac Newton while on quarantine during the Great Plague of London in the 1660’s. In addition to developing calculus and studying gravity and inertia, Newton investigated optics through experiments with prisms, showing that white light is made up of light of varying colors.
Our current pandemic is also spurring innovations in a variety of areas – in medicine, service delivery, entertainment, and education.
The Academy of Country Music Awards were delayed until September but, as the saying goes, “the show must go on.” Over 20 country music stars performed from the comfort of their homes for a television production, ACM Presents: Our Country. It was brilliant. The two-hour television special traded stage lights and choreographed routines for a glimpse into the homes and hearts of the biggest stars of the genre.
The program was hosted by Gayle King and included Lady Antebullum, Shania Twain, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and others, along with children, dogs, and, most notably, an affectionate horse. Through the use of technology, band members performed together — separately. As country music does best, stories were told, messages of hope shared, and emotion was interlaced with melody. Keith Urban’s song, “Wasted Time,” was fitting for the situation while Eric Church reminded us to “Never Break Heart and Thomas Rhett told the audience to “Be a Light.” It was, by far, the best televised music production I’ve watched and a source of inspiration during this period of despair.
Between sets, I mused on the innovative design of the show. The actual technology used isn’t what was impressive; people have been Face-timing for quite a while, though probably with less sophisticated equipment. It was the creativity of the show’s design that was out-of-the-box and never attempted before this time – before we had no choice but to ask musicians to perform together — separately.
Likewise, educators have innovated more in the last month than they have in months prior. In some cases, teachers are figuring out how to perform a traditional function – deliver a lecture, give a test, or have a discussion – in a new way, using technology. In other cases, entirely new instructional practices have emerged.
The new instructional delivery approach has enabled SHS music teachers Kelly Chartier and Katherine Young to invite guest musicians, a Broadway performer, and a singer/songwriter to talk with their students in Google Hangouts. Students enjoyed learning about the experiences of these professional musicians.
The virtual format also allows for student choice. For example, last week Mrs. Young created an “Ode to Bill Withers” assignment for Chorus to celebrate his life and work. Students had 5 options within that 1 project, such as creating a Google slide presentation about his career, writing a new verse for “Lean and Me” and creating their own cover video of one of his songs.
For the past 3 weeks, Alicia Marques-Jorden, McCabe’s PE/health teacher, provided a “choice board” from which students are able to choose from 3 warm ups, 3 main activities and 3 cool downs. Next week, students are invited to wear their favorite Star Wars gear to the virtual PE class as part of Star Wars Week. The Star Wars choice board will feature 4 warms ups, 4 main activities, 4 cool downs, and 4 creative activities all having to do with Star Wars.
As a paraprofessional and with just a click of a mouse, Robin Alves has been able to access different classrooms to support students needing extra help. She has found this extremely effective and thinks it might be helpful, as well, for teachers to access each other’s classrooms, to learn how other teachers set up their virtual classroom environments.
Having the forethought to take home some lab equipment on the days prior to the March vacation week, SHS chemistry teacher Jenn True has been filming her daughter conducting experiments under her watchful eye. The pair has investigated molarity, intermolecular forces, and types of solids. They even made their own conductivity tester from household materials.
Another SHS science teacher, Liz Rusillo had her students write superhero stories based on electromagnetic waves. They recorded themselves reading the stories on a padlet and then listened to one another and commented. The use of technology has enabled students to provide feedback to each other in a variety of classes.
GMS teachers Lisa Carter and Cindy Ripley shared a link to the new Narrow River Osprey Cam and shared information provided by the Narrow River Preservation Association. This enables an opportunity for students to participate in a virtual field experience while learning at home.
In a lesson for the introduction to engineering class entitled, “The Mission to Mars,” fledgling engineering students used critical thinking, creativity and the engineering process to colonize Mars. Students are researching the red planet to understand the planet’s conditions, including climate, atmosphere, natural resources, and terrain. They can then make decisions about the 25 things they would bring to Mars to help build a sustainable colony. The class is using “Minecraft for Education” and a “Mars Realm” to build their colonies. Jeff Macari, the engineering teacher, is able to “walk around” in the virtual world, checking on student progress in real time, answering questions and giving advice.
Not every lesson can be a tradition-shattering experience, but with less than a month under our belts, Smithfield teachers have learned to do things differently, applying innovation to continue to provide our students with effective learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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