At the end of the 2019-2020 school year, things at North Augusta High School changed. Adapting to the Coronavirus situation, NAHS took on a virtual learning model. When asked how she felt about last year, specifically concerning the Math Department, Mrs. Lindsay Tucker said, “The end of last year was hard for everyone. I think, looking back, if we knew how long this pandemic would last, we would have possibly approached the last couple of months of school a little differently. It was tough though finding out on a Sunday night we were not coming back to school on Monday.”
Because of all the precautions North Augusta is trying to take to make sure the school can stay safe and functional, students have been put into two cohort categories of Blue (Monday & Tuesday) and Red (Wednesday & Thursday) groups. This allows students to have two days of in class instruction and 3 days of virtual learning. This has caused teachers to have to adapt to this new teaching environment. After being asked how the Math Department is different this year, Mrs. Tucker stated, “So much has had to change. Prior to school starting, I had to think through all aspects of my teaching and make adjustments, and then rethink them again and again. Something as simple as taking attendance and recording grades took hours to figure out a new system. As far as instruction goes, I try my best to teach more challenging topics face-to-face and some that are a little easier to grasp, I record videos for students to watch at home. It is all a challenge though as students are home more than they are at school and about half of the first day back has been recapping what students learned at home.”
The work of NAHS math teachers does not stop in the classroom. Teachers are often having to work outside of class to make videos for student's virtual days. When asked about how much time she spends working outside of the classroom to prepare materials for her students, Mrs. Tucker responded by saying, “I am spending 12-18 hours each week more than I would spend in a normal year in order to be prepared for the upcoming week. Some of that is the fact that I am teaching a new prep, but additionally, it still takes a lot more time to plan online lessons than it does in person lessons. I also find myself checking email all the time to try to get back to student questions as soon as possible. It is hard for students to move forward if they do not understand something, so it is important to me to try to help as soon as possible.”
One of the biggest struggles math teachers and students face is that all students must do some work for math at home. This can be a challenge for some students, and it can be a help to others. When asked how effective she believed learning math virtually to be, Mrs. Tucker stated that, “I think virtual learning for math can be effective for some students, but that is definitely not the norm. I personally have found that a lot of teaching and learning opportunities are lost when I cannot look at my students while I am teaching a lesson or going over homework. I adjust my teaching and explanations based on student understanding and student questions and that is completely lost in a virtual platform. Many students find it hard to move forward if they do not understand something and although teachers can respond to questions via email, it is not the immediate feedback that is necessary to progress in math.”
In closing, Mrs. Tucker was also asked how she felt students at NAHS could improve the situation of virtual math learning. She responded by saying, “It so easy to quit working on an assignment when it gets “hard” or students do not understand the problems; however, so much learning occurs as students wrestle with the problems and continue to try to get through them. Sometimes it is necessary to take a break and step back, but it is very important to go back and try again. I have heard over and over again, “I don’t know how to study math.” But, math requires a different study approach than most other subjects. Working problems is studying math, and I don’t think most students see it as such. It is also important to realize that watching math is different than doing math. It can look so easy when someone else is doing the work, but only when students do the work themselves do they know exactly where they are struggling.” As students and teachers make their way back to full-time learning at school, math students at NAHS should take these points into consideration.
Photo Credit: Greer Worley
Pictured: Mrs. Lindsay Tucker and Ms. Mary Anne Williams
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