Twenty-First Century Middle Schooling in New York: Teachers Share Experiences and Perspectives on Remote Teaching and Learning Early in the Global Pandemic

In early 2020, the Covid-19 virus hit many places, including New York City, with such a force that nobody could have foreseen the events following its spread. The education system was pushed to transition itself to meet with 21st century technology. This study explores this disruption in the education system and how middle school teachers in several New York counties responded. What are middle school teachers’ perspectives and practices during the rapid switch to remote teaching? Professor and graduate students in a Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment class on middle level schooling designed the interview protocol focused on five related areas of the remote learning endeavor: 1) Preparation, 2) Teaching, Learning, and Participation, 3) Social and Emotional effects on Students, 4) Monitoring and Assessment, 5) Looking forward. The findings demonstrate a primarily reactive response and limited preparation. Teachers express a mixed review of successes and struggles with online teaching and the challenges of engagement, participation, and meeting the social emotional needs of restless students who sometimes do not have the parent support or the technological devices that could further assist their success with online learning. Each teacher had their own unique experiences and challenges teaching students through a computer screen