{"id":1496,"date":"2020-04-06T03:29:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T03:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newmansociety.org\/?p=1496"},"modified":"2020-06-19T15:13:43","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T19:13:43","slug":"maintaining-catholic-identity-in-distance-learning-instruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/maintaining-catholic-identity-in-distance-learning-instruction\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining Catholic Identity in Distance Learning Instruction"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
Click here for PDF<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

With little time to prepare, Catholic schools have had to respond quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic by moving education from traditional brick-and-mortar buildings to students\u2019 homes. Thousands of teachers are now seeking to re-package instruction tailored to distance learning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A common way for teachers to facilitate at-home education is to copy worksheets and send home textbooks with a list of weekly assignments. This is generally done when a student is ill, but in this new extended learning arrangement worksheets and textbooks alone are not sufficient to convey the richness of the Catholic curriculum which, for most schools, has taken years to develop.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Catholic schools are not only content providers but also evangelical learning communities.\u00a0 It\u2019s important that we come at this situation with our own needs and goals in mind. Facing weeks of missed in-class instruction and the loss of all the critical formation that happens outside of the classroom in a Catholic school, we need to devise more thoughtful and comprehensive strategies to try to compensate for the suspension of in-person instruction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The first step is to make explicit what we do on a daily basis that makes Catholic education unique and then seek to find ways to translate as much of that magic as possible to a distance learning environment. Vatican documents on education identify several distinctive elements of Catholic education, including:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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  1. the centrality of community and importance of relationships;<\/li>\r\n
  2. the presence of a rich prayer and sacramental life;<\/li>\r\n
  3. the integral formation of students\u2019 minds, bodies, and spirits; and<\/li>\r\n
  4. the development of a Catholic understanding of the world.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    This is quite an amazing mission and a huge mandate. It is important to acknowledge up front that it simply cannot be as effectively and powerfully accomplished on-line and at home as it can where we are gathered as a community and interacting with each other personally. Catholicism is all about reality and real physical presence. We are all feeling this now, as we do our best to attend \u201cOnline Mass,\u201d which is perhaps the best we can get at the moment\u2014but it pales in comparison to the power of being in each other\u2019s presence as we approach HIS presence in the Eucharist we share. So by all means let\u2019s do what we can, but let\u2019s be transparent that this is a time of separation and shadow, until we can once again be with the students we love and bring the full force of our apostolate to bear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    What follows are few practical tips for conducting our rich mission in a diminished environment. How can Catholic schools continue to provide these key aspects of Catholic education?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    The Centrality of Community and Importance of Relationships<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    So much of who we are in Catholic education is based on our existence as a faith-based community, where we gather together to see, hear, and be with each other in prayer. Participation in the Sacraments, feast-day celebrations, prayer, and rituals form the basis of daily interaction and activities. The regular school day also has other community building activities like class meetings, breaks, games, and just time to hang out with each other. All day long we are building community with each other in school, and it has a cumulative effect of creating and transmitting culture. It is through the community that students receive \u201ca systematic and critical assimilation of culture\u201d<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0which passes along our Catholic traditions, values, and beliefs. In Catholic education, the community itself is considered a formative and educative means of student formation and development,<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0where students learn Christian values by being exposed to Christian values\u2014primarily through the witness of adults and others with whom they interact daily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    How much more important now is the presence of the teacher in these unsettling times, when coming together is difficult and \u201csocial distancing\u201d is the norm. Teachers can never be as present in distant learning programs as they are in a real classroom, so it is all the more important to do as much as possible to bridge the gap. It is assumed that teachers will be posting video help for lessons and instruction to the degree possible, but among the community building options available are short videos from the teacher, not just explain a lesson introduction, but speaking from the heart and saying and doing human things to lighten the load and let students know you miss them but are in good humor. Perhaps sending a personal video to a student (copying the parent) on his or her birthday or feast day or recording a dramatic reading of a story or poem for all the children to watch. Take a video of your garden or other image that makes them think of something you all learned or did together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    High-tech options include a livestream class meeting using Teams, Zoom, or some other group conference platform such as podcasts and class chat forums. Make this optional for younger students and give parents at least 24 hours\u2019 notice. Shared social time with you and their classmates may be a welcome break to their home isolation. You can also do a live reading of a story to them for educational purposes without copyright infringement.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Low-tech ways to keep students close might be through a weekly phone call to each of them. Or even write them a letter or card and mail it\u2014they will likely remember it for the rest of their lives. Finally pray for each one of your students daily by name at a particular time and let them know it. This is a time none of us will soon forget! Don\u2019t forget to reach out to parents as well and let them know that you are willing to facilitate help for any particular needs by leveraging school resources.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Older students will enjoy many of the previous contact ideas, but in addition they can be encouraged to sustain community through online \u201chousehold\u201d social media activities. Both college campuses and high schools have found great success with the household system, which merges various grades or groups together to form smaller sub-communities. This does not have to end with distance learning. There are many opportunities for interaction and joyful competition between groups. These fun competitions direct students\u2019 energy and focus during down time and help maintain peer connections.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    The Presence of a Rich Prayer and Sacramental Life<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    To the degree possible, keep the school\u2019s daily prayer cycles going. If the school day starts with a specific prayer, encourage parents to continue the practice. Remind them that at school, grace and\/or the Angelus is said before lunch and to please continue that with the students.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    If a class is being live-streamed, then of course it is good to start with a prayer led by the teacher or one student. (Choral prayer or responses do not work well online.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Not being able to participate together in the Sacraments does not mean that our hearts and minds should be allowed to go on a spiritual vacation. If anything, this is a time to look at what our lives would be like if we didn\u2019t have the Sacraments. Why is attending Mass or going to confession so important? What would my life be like if these activities were permanently eliminated?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    If possible, perhaps arrange for an all-school Mass to be video-streamed by the school\u2019s chaplain. This can provide a common experience and keep students and teachers tied to each other in prayer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Recognizing that students may not engage in prayer at home as frequently as they do in school, make extra efforts to insert prayer and Catholic themes into home assignments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Provide mothers and fathers, the spiritual heads of the domestic Church, with suggestions for leading the family in morning and evening prayer, the Rosary, the Church\u2019s daily Mass readings, the Liturgy of the Hours, or Lenten Stations of the Cross. Allow time for students to personally reflect on provided prompts or using Lectio Divina<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0to more deeply uncover how God is speaking to the heart can be done by children as well as adults. Following the Church\u2019s liturgical cycle at home as we do in school is also important. Families can now perhaps more purposefully than ever enter into that cycle by introducing new novenas,<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0praying together at certain times of the day,<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0and teaching their children how to do an examination of conscience<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0before they go to bed. Helping families start these family rituals now can have a lasting effect on children\u2019s faith development for years to come. In some cases, families may be relying on us to pray with and form their students and now is an opportunity to fully engage the domestic Church and leverage fuller participation moving forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Unlike Catholic school buildings with religious art and classrooms with prayer corners, some homes may have few religious items and no sacred spaces set aside to contemplate God\u2019s word. Since the pandemic has prevented many people from entering the sacred space of our churches, now would be a good time to suggest to families to set aside sacred spaces in the home where children can go throughout the day to quiet their hearts and minds and thank God for His gifts, express sorrow for their failings, or ask for His assistance. A simple crucifix, a picture of Jesus or the Holy Family, a Rosary, or prayer cards can initiate a contemplative, prayerful space.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    The Integral Formation of Students\u2019 Minds, Bodies, and Spirits<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Distance education lends itself to content delivery and detached academic skills, but in the process may not fully provide for the integral intellectual, physical, and spiritual needs of students. Special effort is needed to maintain this essential aspect of Catholic education.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    To avoid the disaggregation of knowledge, which can arise when assignments are provided strictly by subject area, the use of broad essential questions can help tie discrete subjects together. In the classroom, quite often it is the teacher who helps make these connections, so it is important to continue integration through learning at home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Using problem- and project-based learning approaches may also help facilitate interdisciplinary learning. When using these approaches, develop and provide grading rubrics to students when assignments are given, and suggest online resources and directions where to find them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    As for spiritual development, the above section on prayer already touched on some ways to ensure that we are educating students\u2019 hearts and souls, but special effort toward this end should also be made whenever possible in various subject areas. Specifically tying subject-area materials to lessons on virtue or the faith can help make connections between course subjects such as history or English. Identifying virtues and essential questions will help parents enter into the teaching, exemplifying concepts through discussion and example.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Helping older students reach a deeper level of academic and moral formation through contemplation of rich and complex artistic and philosophical material may benefit from the use of Socratic seminars<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0or guided discussions.<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0These can be done in synchronous or asynchronous<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0online options. In the synchronous option, the teacher and students meet online at a designated time (always allow enough time and patience to ensure the workings of technology) and discuss a text using traditional Socratic etiquette. If synchronous is not an option, teachers can set-up discussion prompts and require each student to make an original response to an online prompt and then two additional responses to comments made by other classmates. This asynchronous option requires an original response to a discussion prompt which ends with a required question, such as \u201cIs this what you think?\u201d or \u201cHave I found all the pertinent aspects?\u201d This is done to generate discussion, further conversation, and facilitate the gathering of different viewpoints and aspects of the topic under consideration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    While \u201cengagement\u201d is the buzz word in the classroom, it is even more important in a distance learning arrangement. Opportunities for interaction among teacher and students and students among themselves will help keep students motivated. Research indicates that high interaction and instructor support through online courses lead to greater course success.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    According to one research report,<\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0distance instructors who are effective have good:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n