In order to make up for snow days, MCPS has planned for an asynchronous learning day on April 22, 2024. Students will be given assignments to complete independently outside of the classroom. Originally marked as a professional development and possible make-up day, April 22 has been converted to achieve both at once. While students are working on their assignments, teachers are expected to be completing their own asynchronous professional learning module.
Students are required to complete their assignments to count for attendance on this day and will have 10 days to submit their work. If there are any unforeseen circumstances encountered, additional time to complete the work will be allowed. As for teachers, there is a 2-hour professional learning module with a focus on the Equitable Teaching and Learning Framework. While this is a requirement, the due date is said to be flexible. More information will be provided about this day throughout March.
Ceramics teacher Cameron Petke plans for the asynchronous day to build upon what students are working on in class. Even though the hands-on and individualized nature of ceramics is difficult to achieve remotely, Petke is certain that the work he assigns will not just be ‘busy work’.
“The asynchronous assignments will be reflecting directly on the projects [the students] are making in the studio,” Petke said. “It will tie directly to what they are working on.”
Similarly, special education teacher Mrs. Megan Heinzl works in close collaboration with students to teach material and provide additional support. In an asynchronous setup, this becomes much more difficult to achieve.
“At the end of the day, I feel in person is the most effective way to support all students,” Heinzl stated.
Even so, she is set on making April 22 a day when students can continue their learning- even if it means changing some parts of her instruction. To make sure that her students can navigate the lesson appropriately on their own, Heinzl is focusing on presenting the lesson and resources in a way that is both productive and easy to follow.
Fortunately, this is not all uncharted territory. During the COVID-19 lockdown, lessons had to be altered to ensure that students were still learning even in a non-classroom environment. Both Petke and Heinzl assert that they were able to find ways to achieve what they needed to in this setup that will hopefully assist them in making April 22 move as smoothly as possible.
“I actually established a pretty nice routine [for teaching] during the quarantine,” Petke commented. “for the upcoming asynchronous day, I plan on using the same process.”
