Concurrent Teaching: How PIA Teachers are Leading In-Person and Online Instruction Simultaneously
Last week, PIA transitioned to a hybrid teaching model that allows both online learners and in-person learners to stay engaged with one another and receive the exact same high-quality instruction. This concurrent teaching model, where teachers are instructing students in both learning environments simultaneously, means that students are able to maintain consistent classroom schedules, stay connected, and maintain the strong relationships we’ve established as a community.
We’re one week in to implementing this model and we’ve already determined several significant positive implications:
Consistency. We know that families are faced with many difficult decisions in terms of COVID - whether or not they’re comfortable with sending children in person, how to respond if/when a family member comes into contact with COVID, and various other factors - this hybrid model has allowed us to respond to ever-changing circumstances without disrupting the child’s schedule, classes, or teachers. Whether they’re learning from home or in person, every student’s schedule remains the same. This allows us to flexibly respond when a family needs to quarantine without losing instructional time or worrying about excessive absences.
Flexibility. As mentioned above, when instances come up where a family member becomes ill or someone in the household has had direct contact with some who is COVID positive, it generally means that children will be absent from class. With our current hybrid teaching model, students who need to quarantine are able to check out their computers and chargers, take them home, and carry on with their regularly scheduled classes from home. This ensures there is very little disruption to the child’s education.
High-quality instruction. There are many components to our model that set us apart - one of which is project-based learning. Teaching students in our concurrent teaching model ensures that all children are receiving the same instruction, the same experiences (as much as possible when in person vs online), and are able to interact with their peers just as they would if it were a typical year.
Socialization. Learning from home can feel incredibly isolating. Our hybrid teaching model allows students to connect with their peers in person. Teachers are able to create in person and online small groups and engage with children they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to see if simply attending an all online classroom.
We are so proud of the work our in person learners have done to connect with and include their online peers. Our teachers and students have truly gone the extra mile to ensure school is filled with joy, learning, reflection, and growth, no matter the learning environment.
