KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the future of the upcoming school year still in limbo due to the coronavirus pandemic, many educators are reimagining the way they will have to teach.
For many, that means figuring out how to shift to a hybrid style, which combines in-person instruction with online education.
“It can be figured out," Dr. Suzanne Tiemann, an assistant professor of education at Park University, said. "It’s just you just have to shift how you traditionally did it."
Tiemann teaches undergraduate students who want to become elementary and secondary school teachers.
The coronavirus has changed what lessons she is planning to use this fall.
“We’ve even changed our lesson plan design now so it has a new component to it that says, how do you move it online. So, our students that are going out there and are going to be teaching in future classrooms know how to do it," Tiemann said.
Before the pandemic, Park University offered a Master’s program in Educational Technology for Teachers, which focused on technology-integrated instruction and assessment.
The master’s program is also getting a makeover to adapt to the changes and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The focus will be how do you teach online using face-to-face communication, web conferencing and still have (teachers) use different tools to apply their knowledge," Dr. Gina Chambers, an assistant professor of education at Park University, said. "Sometimes, I think we focus too much on the actual piece of technology or an app as opposed to the application of knowledge."
Park is planning to host an online workshop in the fall to help teachers transition to e-learning. The university hosted a similar workshop in April at the onset of the pandemic.
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