There is a good chance that many districts in Indiana and beyond will spend some of the upcoming year engaging in blended/distance teaching and learning. This will offer many challenges, but one of the most significant is that during blended/distance learning most of the bridges connecting teachers and students--the small discussions at the beginning and end of class, the quick check-ins, the real-time data via body language and facial expressions--are cut off. This is a major issue for many educators because those quick interactions aren’t just pleasant moments; they are where many teachers gain crucial information about who the students are and how they learn, build relationships with and cultivate positive beliefs within students, and generally create community and humanize the classroom.
Luckily, however, there is one bridge that will remain open, regardless of how school looks: The feedback teachers give to students. This session, drawn from Matt's experience as a full-time ELA teacher and his recent book
Flash Feedback: Responding to Student Writing Better and Faster -- Without Burning Out, will unpack the role that feedback can play during this time, regardless of a class's structure. It will also provide practical feedback strategies that will help feedback in any teaching arrangement, distanced or just socially-distanced, do more when it comes to building connections and community, cultivating positive beliefs and identities in students, and of course, helping students to better learn the content of the class.
