Planning for the unknown

Author: Kathleen Almy

If your news feed is like mine, you've been inundated with announcements of states and colleges of their plans for the fall. Some are already changing them. Others are leaving room to change. The growing consensus with the current spikes in COVID cases is that we don't know what things will look like in 6 weeks so we must prepare for everything. It's a logistical nightmare for everyone involved. Both administrators and teachers are feeling intense stress trying to do right by their constituents along with their own families plus deal with economic pressures.

“My only goal is to make it easier for schools and colleges whatever they decide, which is challenging since it’s unknown.”

I definitely do not claim to have an answer to this situation for every school and state. My only goal is to make it easier for schools and colleges whatever they decide, which is challenging since it's unknown. Our business has been trying to pivot as quickly as possible to adjust to needs. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we don't. So we've made some decisions to help you get the solutions you need in a flexible and affordable way.

Support for the biggest current needs

First, we will keep offering Taking STEM Online each month for college faculty. It supports them well if they are moving a class online. Based on participant feedback, the full day of intensive training is too long for some. So we will be offering the August cohort as two half days on August 1 and 2 instead of one full day. Maria Andersen and I have also been talking about other formats to break down the content into more manageable pieces, particularly as we get into the fall semester.

Second, we are offering a program called Flipping STEM later in July which is built for any STEM teacher, middle school to graduate school, who wants to prep in a way that can flex to in-person, online, and remote classrooms at a moment's notice. You can get on the waitlist now and even get a coupon code. Below is some additional information about flipped learning and the approach to it our experts use.

Third, we are building a new ongoing program that will allow for payment once annually and then access to ongoing support, professional development, and a new problem bank. It will always be affordable, but it will be even more so when we roll it out. The goal is to support you and your school but also to make it easy for us to get you more resources and programs without teachers constantly needing to seek out funds.

Interested in the idea of flipped learning?

In her book Creating the Path to Success in the Classroom: Teaching to Close the Graduation Gap for Minority, First-Generation, and Academically Unprepared Students, Kathleen F. Gabriel, EdD suggests five steps for promoting an inclusive classroom. Promoting a positive classroom climate, embracing students’ diversity, and encouraging student interactions can all be fostered in a flipped classroom.

Instructors Jessica Bernards and Wendy Fresh have done just that in their Flipped+ model. Recognized by their college for increasing pass rates, Bernards and Fresh’s model creates equity in the classroom by allowing students to learn at their own pace, thereby leveling the playing field. Check out this article to learn more about their approach that can work with any STEM content, not just math.

 Get on the waitlist for our upcoming Flipping STEM program. Here are some quick tips for creating engaging STEM videos from one of the instructors, Jessica Bernards.

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