Virtual teaching and learning processes preceded the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have evolved significantly during it. As we near the end of this school year, now is a good time to reflect on how we’ve been educating students within the context of additional technology tools, increased expectations from virtual instruction, and greater familiarity with—and honestly further scrutiny of—platforms, devices, and delivery.

We are both history teachers at heart, so we find value in looking to the lessons of the past with an eye for challenges and successes. The shift to remote instruction is not the first societal change in the way we educate students. Although change is necessary, it is often initially experienced as loss and greeted with fear and trepidation, yet we know change remains constant. Many of us have read the quote from U.S. Gen. Eric Shinseki, “If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”

Educators often express the concern that technology and virtual instruction may make the job of a classroom teacher obsolete. Our experience with a pilot of a virtual class that began in the fall of 2019 demonstrates just the opposite. We have found that students in remote and virtual learning experiences need and crave connection. Engagement is rooted in class culture and interaction with other humans and does not flow from content alone.

Although we have a solid grasp on what that engagement looks like in a traditional classroom, we have also found opportunities to build culture online. As the teacher for this virtual class, I (Jordan) have reflected on this essential question: “In the vast space of the world wide web, how can we construct walls that create our online classroom?” These metaphorical walls are necessary for creating a sense of familiarity and proximity among students and, ultimately, a sense of safety.

Piloting a Remote Course

In the fall of 2019–20, I (Jordan) started piloting a remote course in world history that replicated the work I had been doing in my classroom for years. As the administrator working with virtual coursework, I (Eric) helped provide the resources and supports from scheduling to approvals at the site and district levels, as well as building the course into the master schedule. Neither of us had any idea that what we were experimenting with would prove so crucial to students, staff, and families alike by the spring semester.

We started the pilot for a couple of key reasons. We wanted to improve educational outcomes for students in our virtual history class options (we had already been offering several virtual courses at the time, including six in social studies). I (Jordan) was also experiencing some life changes at home that required more flexibility in how and when I met with and supported students. Since I was more available in the evenings, a virtual format would work best. I was still able to build connections with my students that resulted in one relatively quick victory. A few weeks into the course, I conducted the first notebook check with them. Instead of merely memorizing facts for an assessment, I was pleased to see that students proudly articulated the skills (e.g., using evidence, managing time, and finding their own voice) they had developed and used so far.

Aspects of my traditional classroom were still present. Instruction was divided into units around themes, eras, and content, as well as the development of skills involving reading, critical thinking, inquiry, writing, and historical understanding. The course was also still based upon state and district standards and was not substantially different than other world history courses other than the fact that students did not have to show up to a classroom or even log on to their course at a time prescribed by the computer-generated schedule or a bell. Students could work independently, but they still had regular check-ins with me and their fellow students.

One of the most common concerns with virtual coursework is a lack of academic integrity. Will students truly learn in a remote environment? Or will they just Google their way to an answer? With this pilot course, we were able to engage students in their learning and ensure they mastered the necessary content. That’s because the units in the course are designed so that all students can CREATE! This is the name of the model we followed for this course, and we unpack the CREATE! acronym below.

First students are asked to Connect the dots. Teachers introduce a topic through an essential question and then generate initial learning opportunities by introducing timelines and by asking students to reflect upon “how did we get here?” and make real-world connections. Next, students Review information to link to past schema, study necessary terms and practices, and discuss findings and observations. After this step, students Engage to learn, which introduces them to new information that will help them answer the essential question upon deeper and more complex levels. At this stage, they need low-stakes mechanisms to interact with new material in shorter chunks that allow practice and reinforcement, as well as opportunities to begin to express what they are learning to others, whether it is a parent, students in their class, or the teacher.

Apply your learning comes next, with the instructor approaching this step as “your turn” for the students, given that they not only develop answers for the essential question but also provide evidence to defend and support their analysis. In a history class, that could also include examining primary sources and comparing opposing viewpoints. Next, the Tell stage involves community learning and sharing. Discussion boards serve as great tools for this, but even virtual “gallery walks” or the creation of short videos can help students demonstrate not only what they have learned but also their process for learning the material. The “Telling” can also support other students in modifying their thinking when listening to what their peers have learned.

The penultimate step is Evaluate, which allows for feedback. We often think of this as a teacher grading an essay, a poster, or a project, but grades are not necessarily the same thing as feedback. In fact, feedback does not always need to come from the teacher. Classmates themselves can learn protocols for delivering insightful and constructive feedback and giving them an opportunity to do so equips them with a valuable life skill.

Finally, the exclamatory ending for the unit “!” results in a celebration of the learning and the progress students have made. Again, students can be recognized for their learning achievements by their teacher, but students themselves can be a powerful motivator as they celebrate the successes of their classmates. Our class celebrated one student who had transitioned from the “point chasing” game when it came to earning grades to understanding the need “to seek knowledge,” as he put it. Teachers also build on the celebration and excitement by creating the hook for the next essential question or reengaging students by making another connection to prior learning in an earlier unit, theme, or essential question.

Another unexpected benefit of the course was the chance it gave students to take a breath. In the wake of the pandemic, many students say they now choose a virtual class for a break in their day from the social pressure of sitting in a classroom. The virtual option also allows them greater flexibility in managing work and family responsibilities and coping with anxiety and depression.

A Familiar Structure

The CREATE! model consists of structures that students can recognize. If they were in a traditional classroom, students would often be asked to work in small groups, take notes on video clips, read critically, form arguments, and share what they have learned. The virtual classroom and the CREATE! model allow for similar structures to bring a sense of familiarity, stability, and comfort to students who may prefer learning only in person. Students in this pilot course also learned more about themselves as learners thanks to virtual bell-ringers (small assignments students complete when they first enter the classroom) that enable them to write daily reflections in response to content-based prompts.

This pilot has informed other courses in other content areas, as well as the purchase of Edtech tools (e.g., EdPuzzle and Jamboards) used by instructional staff in traditional classroom settings. Students continue to request virtual coursework both as full-time options and as part of a blended schedule.

Whatever the setting, we know that students have needs. These include feeling connected to a caring educator, accessing well-crafted lessons, and interacting with peers. Such needs can be more challenging to deliver through virtual classrooms, but we are finding ways to build community for our students and families online. As educators, we’ve ultimately become the learners that our students have needed so that we can be the teachers the times have demanded.

Eric Fox is an assistant principal of Jenks High School in Jenks, OK, where Jordan Johnson teaches world history and U.S. history.