The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic showed why learning institutions need new strategies for learning, teaching, and collaboration with other educators. Districts moved to virtual instructions in the spring of 2020 as the education sector debated how learning could safely return to the traditional classrooms during the fall semesters (Pressley & Ha, 2021). As learning resumed in the 2020-2021 school year, school districts in the country implemented different approaches for safe learning. For example, some districts returned to face-to-face instructions with learners exercising social distancing, while others used hybrid teaching that alternated physical classrooms with virtual instructions. However, challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be the only motivation for developing new teaching and learning strategies. Innovative learning and teaching strategies can simplify learning and enhance collaboration with other educators.
One of the strategies that can be introduced in teaching and learning is personalized learning. This educational strategy considers the unique interests, strengths, and needs of each student and then offers learning experiences based on the individual traits of each student. To develop such a strategy, teachers and students collaborate so that the educators can agree on a plan that suits the entire institution. For such to happen, the educators identify the unique needs of the middle school children and then present their findings to the institutional heads and district. The district then customizes a learning plan for each classroom.
Personalized learning does not increase the workload for the teacher but instead simplifies their work by ensuring that students with similar traits have been grouped. This ensures that all the other teachers will focus on each cluster of pupils, indicating that their workload, which involves educating students without understanding their strengths or unique characteristics, will be reduced. Thus, through this strategy, the students will take ownership of their education, and the educators will collaborate in the workplace to identify any challenges that should be addressed at the start of the middle school curriculum. As such, the teaching and learning actions in this approach can positively impact all the components of teaching, including job satisfaction and higher student performance.
Another new strategy appropriate to meet the challenges in public middle schools is introducing project-based learning. In project-based learning, teachers establish exercises requiring learners to identify real-world issues and devise solutions (Condliffe, 2017). The leadership team develops specific transferable skills like critical thinking, research, cooperation, and problem-solving. The students will then actively seek solutions rather than take notes and observe their educators in the traditional classroom setups. However, the institution’s leadership team must decide on digital tools that can be used to connect teachers and students since teamwork and collaboration will be needed to solve workplace challenges. Therefore, the technique will improve learning satisfaction since the students will conduct further research independently while teachers must coordinate and supervise the learners.
The current generation of teachers and students must be equipped with scientific literacy as it is needed to cope with modern workplace challenges. Similarly, students need scientific and technological skills to solve classroom challenges and real-world career problems. As such, research has shown why project-based learning is the ideal tool for both learners and educators. According to Zhao & Wang (2022), project-based learning cultivates the curiosity of the learners. It helps them understand core ideas in science, allowing them to solve classroom challenges without the input of the teachers. On the other hand, PBL simplifies teaching for the students and offers them opportunities to understand technological advancements such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams as they interact among themselves and with the learners.
Combining the use of open-ended questions with inquiry-based learning is another strategy that has been adopted across the United States. Open-ended questions help broaden the students’ horizons as teachers promote in-class discussions through these inquiries. Since some questions have multiple correct answers, combining open-ended questions with inquiry-based learning (allowing students to ask questions on areas they need clarification) ensures participatory classroom sessions. The same approach is then spread throughout the institution, becoming the new culture in the middle school.
The use of QR (Quick Response) codes in the classroom is another innovation that can accelerate learning and share information between teachers. QR codes can be used to direct students to data by scanning the codes with digital devices among themselves. When teachers want to share video tutorials with the students, they can use these QR codes and allow one student to share the data with fellow students. This will eliminate dictation or sharing classroom notes in lectures or during active classroom sessions. The educators will then use the sessions to answer questions from the learners or review the progress of learners. The same approach will allow educators to share data and address issues or clarify the shared information.
Previous research has shown that using QR codes has enhanced language learning in middle school. Specifically, technology-driven language activities have been associated with positive affective variables in language learning (Balintag & Wilang, 2020). Balintag and Wilang report that, among Japanese undergraduate learners, the use of QR codes helped them learn new languages in middle school since they were easy to use. This means that using this technique will enhance the sharing of information and motivate middle school learners while taking away the task of sharing notes with all students from the teachers.
Culturally inclusive teaching is another strategy introduced in the workplace to help teachers and students deal with the problems encountered in the twenty-first work environment (Markey et al., 2022). Teaching students from different cultural backgrounds is challenging, especially in America, where each culture might have different needs. An innovative strategy that ensures the teaching module has been shaped to accommodate the diverse needs of the learners is critical to promoting inclusivity in classrooms and staffrooms. Culturally inclusive teaching and learning connect the subjects to the cultures of the learners, which helps the students experience personal connections with the education material and curriculum. This strategy should also ensure cultural inclusivity in the teaching staff, which allows the educators to intermingle and understand each other’s and their students’ different backgrounds. As a result, teachers will understand the students better regardless of their cultural differences. Besides, it will inform the leadership team before developing curriculums for different grades in the middle school. Incorporating various cultures should be conducted delicately and in a way that respects and promotes diversity in the work environment.
References
Balintag, C. M., & Wilang, J. D. (2020). QR code utilization in EFL classroom: Affective language learning attributes in writing. Script Journal: Journal of Linguistics and English Teaching, 5(1), 1-13.
Condliffe, B. (2017). Project-Based Learning: A Literature Review. Working Paper. MDRC.
Markey, K., O’Brien, B., Kouta, C., Okantey, C., & O’Donnell, C. (2021). Embracing classroom cultural diversity: Innovations for nurturing inclusive intercultural learning and culturally responsive teaching. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 16(3), 258-262.
Pressley, T., & Ha, C. (2021). Teaching during a pandemic: United States teachers’ self-efficacy during COVID-19. Teaching and Teacher Education, 106, 1-9.
Zhao, Y., & Wang, L. (2022). A case study of student development across project-based learning units in middle school chemistry. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 4(1), 1-20.
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