Teachers have always done incredible work. Each of us recalls that teacher who influenced our lives in significant ways. The impact of a great teacher is life-changing. Now, let’s talk about COVID and the impact is amplified! Here are a few things teachers in a post-Covid era are expected to do well:
Capitalize On Technology – Learn new platforms for teaching on the fly. Receive access to new technologies with minimal training and jump in ready to use them and teach others how to use them. Technology is not intended to replace great teachers, but to enhance great learning. Good thing teachers are expert “learners!”
Connect – Find creative ways to connect with students you haven’t ever met and assist them with connecting with others. Learning occurs best in community. Good thing teachers are expert “learners!”
Create – Reframe lessons to fabricate student engagement in thin air. Remember how easy it was to hide in the back of the room? What about hiding when I’m only participating via video? Good thing teachers are expert “learners!”
Care – Be vulnerable and transparent and build into the work of parents. The work of teachers is front-and-center, open to praise and criticism, literally in view of all. Teachers set aside their own needs as humans in order to invest richly in our children. Good thing teachers are expert “learners!”
What’s the trend? What do teacher preparation programs have to create? What is the new teacher in the post-COVID system need to be able to do?
The answer to all of these questions is, “be an expert “learner!” This includes flexibility, confidence, adaptability and heart. As it has always been, the best teachers are those that pour their hearts into the students they teach.
NNU has been training teachers for decades. We understand how teachers need to be fluid today and how quickly they have to learn new skills and find quick success. This is why we push you, our teacher candidates, to practice your craft in classrooms throughout the program encouraging you to teach students while still learning yourself, under the guidance of a licensed teacher by your side. You will learn to capitalize on technology as new platforms become available, intentionally connect with students in new ways, create on-the-fly and care beyond the walls of the building. NNU’s new Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is built on these “essentials” of the profession and will prepare you to succeed in a post-COVID classroom.
Holly Ripley is the NNU Chair of Undergraduate Education and the ACE Program Director.