The Arizona Department of Education held a virtual summit on Saturday for instructors to share methods for teaching the arts and physical education online.
The meeting covered five subjects: dance, music, physical education, theatre and visual arts. Teachers of each subject worked together and focused on the topics of social and emotional learning, instructional strategies, and advocacy.
The groups reviewed both the challenges they’ve faced amidst the shift to distant learning, as well as what has worked well for them.
Carlos Laura, an artistic collaborator at the Rising Youth Theater in Phoenix, has found that setting boundaries prior to his drama lessons has promoted success. Students must use the reactions Zoom provides, such as the thumbs-up icon or heart icon when playing games that require participation, rather than turning on their microphones without permission.
“So far we’ve been able to have either no inappropriate responses, or we’ve really minimized those inappropriate responses when they do happen,” Laura said.
A prominent issue for them has been the lack of access to technology. Schools may have funds to provide students with laptops or tablets. But for a nonprofit organization like the Rising Youth Theater, parents must be willing to find those resources themselves.
“I try to establish a relationship with the parents and the young people,” said Ty Muhammad, an artistic collaborator at the Rising Youth Theater. “Making sure you have that one-on-one connection with the parents and students is the one thing, and the biggest thing, I can recommend.”
Physical education requires not only technology, but equipment as well, that many students don’t have at home. However, while students may not be able to access weights or a treadmill, P.E. instructors have found alternatives for most resources, such as using rolled-up socks as a ball.
Like most teachers, P.E. instructors have altered their lesson plans to fit the virtual format. One benefit has been increased time devoted to subjects like social and emotional learning (SEL).
“I’ve spent a lot of time looking at SEL and health and nutrition concepts with my students,” said Jennifer Houston, a physical education instructor at Mesa Public Schools and Arizona State University.
Time has also been saved due to students not having to change into gym clothes at the start of their P.E. period.
“We typically had 15-minute classes,” said Jason Norman, a varsity girls soccer coach and P.E. teacher at Alhambra High School. “With 30-minute class periods—and by the time you’re done doing dynamic stretching or warming up—you don’t have very much time left,” he said.
Alhambra High School recently transitioned to block scheduling, in which students have three periods a day for an hour and a half. Class sizes have also been reduced from 36 to 25 students. Teachers gladly welcomed this new schedule, Norman said.
Both art and P.E. teachers expressed a pressing issue—the lack of students turning on their cameras during class. Many districts are allowing cameras to be off for privacy reasons, so instructors cannot always see if their students are being attentive.
“I spend all of my day staring at myself, trying to decide If I care about how much engagement is going on, without having the proof of having the camera on,” Norman said.
However, they are glad to see some students participating, and understand that they must be more lenient during this difficult time.
“Students are hitting that unmute button and answering some questions,” Houston said. “To me, that’s success.”
Contact the reporter at omccann1@asu.edu.
Correction: A previous version of this story had the Arizona Board of Education as the host of the meeting. The correct name of the body is the Arizona Department of Education. This has since been updated.
