Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) recently released his Seventh Annual Educator Confidence Report, who found that educator confidence is declining due to the state of the profession and concern for the emotional well-being of students, but confidence in the use of learning technologies is on the rise. According to the report, only 38% of teachers have a rather or very positive opinion of the state of their profession, against 49% in 2020. Most notably, 37% of educators said they believed the pandemic would increase respect for teachers this year, a significant drop from 63% in 2020.

HMH Research Director and former teacher Francie Alexander answers questions about the report and what it can tell us about the future of the class.

How can teachers keep up with technology and impart confidence to students, especially those from minority or disadvantaged communities? How can we build trust in the technology of the remaining third of teachers?

This is the first time educators have focused on the same challenge as the nation responds to a pandemic and all schools provide distance education. We went on a learning journey together and accomplished a lot, starting with the very basics like deploying devices. Educators, families and communities have done an admirable job of increasing access to technology, and we have moved closer to the long-term goal of personal computing.

However, we do realize that some students were underserved, including students with multilingual backgrounds, special needs and who already had fewer resources. Some have described the situation that some of our children and youth have experienced as “under-connected”. This is when devices are shared among children in a family and Wi-Fi and access to tech support are spotty.

Teachers were also not at the same stage of preparation for distance education, but those in HMH’s studies and professional learning sessions tell us that they have learned a lot. A fourth-grade teacher I met began her distance education by sharing that she had completed two degrees online and that her students were going to be very ready for the future. Storytelling was one of the ways teachers engaged students, stayed connected, and dissolved the screen, and language teachers provided excellent examples of this. No matter how prepared they were, teachers shared the feeling (73% in the HMH Teacher Confidence report) that digital resources would help them be more effective. As teachers are the most critical factor in student success, this holds great promise. In addition, teachers were less worried about being “replaced” by technology.

None of this growing confidence was easily achieved as the school progressed in spurts and safety concerns remained paramount. HMH also conducted an ethnographic study of teachers with prepandemic Kelton International which found that teachers used digital resources in four main ways: productivity, social media, data analysis, and teaching. The latter was the laggard, and when we re-interviewed teachers during the pandemic, teaching had become the most important. This has also been identified as an area of ​​continuous improvement through professional learning opportunities.

Our journey continues, but the lessons learned will help us get there. Here’s what we can do now:

Use new funds to build a strong infrastructure to provide equitable access to digital resources. This involves making sure that no student is under-connected and that all families and communities have the necessary Wi-Fi and IT support. In addition, it is necessary to ensure universal access to devices, with repair and update plans.

Teachers need personalized professional learning that builds their confidence in integrating technology into all aspects of their work. After all, they are arguably the most important work of our company. We have come to value each other’s contributions as we have lived through this pandemic together and we have all benefited from the teachers in our lives. Technology and educational goals are mutually reinforcing and can serve as the basis for a new era of education, both high-tech and high-touch.

It’s great that we recognize the increase in SEL problems. How can teachers and administrators let students know their concerns are heard? How can teachers integrate SEL into their daily programs?

This year’s Teacher Confidence Report made it clear that the number one priority for teachers and administrators was the well-being of the students in their care. Even before the pandemic, educators increasingly focused on meeting social and emotional needs. The National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development called this critical area the “substance of education itself” in 2018.

It is more important than ever to pay attention to how everyone in the education ecosystem is doing, starting with students but also not forgetting adults – we are in the same boat. I’ve read articles on phrases frequently requested for translation by the Google app, and one of them is simply “How are you?” We all try to start from a place of empathy, and asking this question early and often will help. We shouldn’t have preconceived ideas, but should listen and notice carefully. Research tells us that a holistic approach to the child integrated into academic, social and physical activities at school is best. The positive effects are not only observed on personal well-being, but also on school performance. The educators in our survey understood this and overwhelmingly supported “well integrated” and school-wide socio-emotional programs. No one wants to feel like “kindness” has to be a scheduled class, but rather to read about the impact of caring behavior in literary works through the lens of character development in the arts of the English language. (ELA) and find other opportunities throughout the program. . While visiting schools, I saw kindness and prosocial behaviors embedded in the culture of the classroom, from A for “agency” to Z for “lively”, with qualities such as M, “state of mind”, R, “resilience” and everything in between. I have seen creative displays on bulletin boards, in mission statements, and on school report cards. It is time to organize and coordinate so that our children, school staff, families and communities meet the socio-emotional needs of all and that specific interventions from counselors and health professionals are given as needed. . We are better together.

Now that parents have first hand experience and appreciation for their children’s education, how can teachers keep them involved, especially if their own education was limited?

The relationship between families and schools has been forever changed by the experience of the pandemic, but it may turn out to be something very positive in the future. The “POS” (parent over the shoulder) instant messaging shortcut is more than just an alert between students to let each other know that a parent is nearby when chatting rather than studying. It is now a reality as the students learn at home. With a direct digital window to the classroom during distance learning, family members came away with a new appreciation for the work of teachers, and teachers found ways to make deeper connections far beyond. traditional back-to-school evenings and family conferences. These two pillars have already been transformed to be more inclusive and accessible. Not all children were represented by family members at these traditional in-person events before the pandemic due to issues with childcare and work obligations. A teacher friend told me that in the future all BTS presentations will be recorded. As a result, some families can now participate in real time and in person when this option is available, and all families can watch the recording at their convenience. No one is left behind. Conferences during grading periods were starting to include students to a greater extent, and student-led family conferences are becoming more common. With or without students, these meetings can be in person or online depending on transportation and other matters.

On a less optimistic note, disparities have also been revealed when devices aren’t adequate or Wi-Fi isn’t optimal. This is an infrastructure problem that must be addressed so that all families can participate equitably.

Another challenge is to ensure access in the mother tongue to families of multilingual learners.

As we strive to meet the educational needs of multilingual learners, we find that an asset-based approach works best. Knowing one language already is an advantage in learning another. Reading together is a great opportunity to bond and develop a vision of yourself and the world. It can happen in any language. Oral storytelling can also provide the same benefits. No parent is supposed to be a teacher, but all can help students by finding out how they are doing and encouraging them to seek help when needed. Knowing when to ask for help is often considered a characteristic of successful people. When I was teaching, I sometimes used a golden strip of ribbon as a symbol of the bond between home and my classroom. With recent events, this home-school connection has become very tangible through digital devices that allow us to stay connected in unprecedented ways. It is an opportunity for all of us to work more closely in the service of the children entrusted to us.