Teaching in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted education systems across the country and around the world, changing what classrooms and learning look like on a day-to-day basis. Educators are navigating a constantly shifting landscape, with the health of students, teachers, and the community at large at stake.

Explore our research, resources, and webinar recordings to better understand the challenges teachers are facing and find tools and resources educators can use as they move forward:

• Strengthening teacher quality
• Resources for teachers and education leaders
• Learning more about teaching and learning during COVID-19
• Teacher appreciation during a pandemic
• Teaching and COVID-19 around the world
• Other resources from AIR Centers and partners

 

Strengthening Teacher Quality

In this series, AIR experts provide their insight into evidence-based practices and approaches for facilitating high-quality instruction—from attracting, preparing, and retaining teachers to providing them with professional learning opportunities—even during uncertain times.

Addressing Teacher Shortages with Differentiated Staffing Models

Gretchen Weber discusses how the pandemic could be the force that finally drives us to permanent, much needed teacher staffing solutions.

Promising Strategies to Prepare New Teachers in a COVID-19 World

Lynn Holdheide explains how preparation programs are responding to the coronavirus pandemic and shares some innovating ways school districts and programs are preparing teachers.

How Can Schools Provide Quality Professional Learning Remotely?

Lynn Holdheide answers a few questions about how districts and schools can turn this crisis into an opportunity for robust professional learning.

Why Retaining Deeply Experienced Teachers Is Critical During a Global Pandemic

Etai Mizrav and Gretchen Weber suggest how education leaders can spend time and effort to retain their experienced teachers.

Resources for Teachers and Education Leaders

AIR experts provide resources and actionable steps educators can take with respect to remote learning.

Teacher Attrition and Mobility in the Pandemic

In this flash brief, experts at CALDER frame the magnitude of teacher attrition during the pandemic, including from the 2020–2021 school year to the 2021–22 school year in Washington state.

Addressing COVID-19 Learning Disruptions: Four Recommendations for Effective Tutoring Interventions

As more students return to in-person learning, education leaders are working not only to rebuild school communities and help students transition but also to address gaps in learning resulting from the disruption. Emily Loney discusses one strategy states and districts are considering: tutoring, or focused instruction, provided to students in one-on-one or small group settings.

Promoting Digital Equity and Opportunity in the Time of COVID-19

Senior TA Consultant Trent Sharp spent the summer of 2020 meeting virtually with ten school principals to try to gain insight into the challenges they faced due to the pandemic, specifically those related to digital equity.

How Expanded Learning Programs and Schools Work Together to Support California Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AIR partnered with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) and the Partnership for Children and Youth to create resources that help educators strengthen partnerships between expanded learning programs and schools; plan integrated whole child supports; and design in-person learning hubs. In this Q&A, Femi Vance describes the interconnected nature of these concepts and programs and their connection to equity.

Grading Policy in the Time of COVID-19: Considerations and Implications for Equity

This brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform explores some of the policy options California districts and other states have pursued, as well as considerations and tradeoffs related to equity.

Digital Accessibility: How Schools and Teachers Can Support Students with Disabilities in Remote Learning

Alise Crossland discusses actionable steps and resources for both teachers and education leaders to improve the accessibility of remote learning activities for students with disabilities. Listen to our podcast: Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities During COVID-19.

Shifting Classroom Practices to a Virtual Environment

Watch the recording of this webinar, hosted by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest and the Region 9 Comprehensive Center, which highlights strategies for effectively teaching K-12 students in a virtual setting.

To What Extent Does In-Person Schooling Contribute to the Spread of COVID-19? Evidence from Michigan and Washington

How schools choose to teach in the pandemic (in-person, hybrid, or remote instruction) has implications not only for the health and safety of students and staff, but also student learning and the degree to which parents can engage in job activities. This working paper from the CALDER Center considers the role of instructional modality in disease spread among the wider community.

Podcast: Communities of Practice During COVID-19

In this episode of AIR Informs, AIR experts discuss communities of practice and how they can help teachers connect.
 

Learning More About Teaching and Learning During COVID-19

AIR experts are conducting ongoing research on how schools and districts have adapted to school closures and the challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic.

National Survey of Public Education’s Response to COVID-19

From late spring to summer 2020, AIR asked school district and charter management organization leaders to respond to a national representative survey about the actions they’ve taken and challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic-related school closures.

COVID-19 and Equity in Education: Longitudinal Deep Dive

Conducted in conjunction with the Gates Foundation, this project is creating an in-depth view of how states, districts, and their communities—especially those with higher percentages of Black and Latinx students and/or students experiencing poverty—responded to the pandemic. The longitudinal database contains state, district, school, and community data, enabling a broad view of pre-, during, and post-pandemic trends.
 

Teacher Appreciation During a Pandemic

National Teacher Appreciation Week comes every May, and in 2020 it took on a new significance as many schools and districts abruptly transitioned to remote learning.

Teacher Appreciation in the Time of Coronavirus

AIR experts highlight creative ways teachers and schools have adapted to a changing education landscape.

Teacher Appreciation Takes on New Meaning in COVID-19 Era and Beyond

AIR National Board Certified teacher Gretchen Weber discusses how to value teachers, especially during a global pandemic.
 

Teaching and COVID-19 Around the World

The pandemic is affecting teaching and learning around the world. AIR’s research and expertise aims to provide an understanding of the different challenges facing countries face.

In Conversation: How an International Survey Can Help Us Understand the Challenges the Coronavirus Poses for Educators

AIR Principal Researchers Matthew Clifford, Ebru Erberber, and Lisa Lachlan discuss key findings from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), including how it might provide some context for education in the age of coronavirus.

Women’s Groups and COVID-19: Challenges, Engagement, and Opportunities

AIR experts, in partnership with the Evidence Consortium on Women’s Groups, co-authored a policy brief exploring the implications of the coronavirus pandemic for women’s groups, focusing on India, Nigeria, and Uganda. Explore more resources on women's groups and COVID-19.

Emergency Remote Teaching Webinar Series

In collaboration with the USAID/Latin America Reads Capacity Program, RedLEI completed a series of six online Spanish-language webinars on Emergency Remote Teaching for higher education institutions in the LAC region. These sessions are intended to help teachers transition to a remote curriculum and ensure that learning continues during COVID-19.
 

Other Resources from AIR Centers and Partners

Center on Great Teachers and Leaders

AIR’s Center on Great Teachers and Leaders is using its expertise, experience, and network to provide support for educators and education leaders across the country. The Center's COVID-19 Insights collection includes a webinar series, Teaching and Leading in the Time of COVID-19, and compilation of resources on topics such as distance learning, students with disabilities, English learners, and supporting teacher and student well-being.

Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) Resources

The 10 RELs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, collaborated to produce a series of evidence-based resources and guidance about teaching and learning during the pandemic. (AIR operates REL Midwest and REL Southwest, and serves as a partner to Florida State University on REL Southeast.)

Innovation Hub Briefs

AIR's Innovation Hub created several briefs based on research and conversations with state-, district-, and school-level leaders. The topics included mitigating COVID-19 learning loss, designing a flexible reopening plan, leveraging federal funding to improve equitable outcome for students, and more