Students and faculty adjust to teaching and learning – and engaging with one another – from a distance.

Jana F. Brown

At the end of the first week of pandemic-induced distance learning, SPS students, parents, and faculty were asked to respond to a survey about how everything was going.

Respondents to the survey, distributed by the Distance Learning Task Force, indicated that they would like to see small adjustments to how academics were being delivered at St. Paul’s. In an effort to accommodate multiple time zones, the days were proving too long for some and, one thing was clear – students especially valued the togetherness they have become accustomed to as members of a residential academic community.

“The students really wanted the synchronous (“live”) classes,” says Vice Rector for Faculty Michael Spencer, chair of the Distance Learning Task Force. “They said that ability to connect with each other was incredibly important. Asynchronous (independent) work was not as meaningful; they like to see each other. It really underscored the relational aspect of our education. The task force came back together and tweaked the schedule by reducing homework time, removing evening classes, and extending the time in which work for an asynchronous class could be completed.”

While certainly not under circumstances anyone would choose, St. Paul’s has done a better job than most of its peers in making the pivot from in-person instruction to virtual classes. Familiarity with online tools played a role in that preparation, including the good work of Humanities Department Head Melissa Poole, the School’s academic technologist. Poole helped SPS institute an online platform called Canvas six years ago. Pre-pandemic, it helped faculty become accustomed to sharing information, assigning homework, and using Canvas to host interactive content.

“Since distance learning began, faculty are using Canvas to post all course content,” explains Poole, who earned a certification in blended learning a few years ago that also has helped her imagine hybrid models. “We also use it to host our Zoom classes and collect assignments. Having the faculty already familiar with creating Canvas courses and using the basic functions helped us when it was time to figure out distance learning, because we already had a platform faculty and students knew how to access. We weren’t trying to teach something brand new while remote.”

Over an unexpectedly hectic March Break, the task force created a distance learning guide – “SPS Connected” – that outlined two phases of educational delivery. Phase one, Pelicans Read Together, detailed a weeklong interactive reading project spearheaded by Director of Ohrstrom Library Sarah Ludwig. Students were asked to select a book from a list of multiple genres of fiction and nonfiction titles in history and historical fiction, science and science fiction, society, and spirituality and self. They then participated in daily interactive Canvas activities, culminating with creative presentations shared in their advising groups. Meanwhile, the Pelicans Read project gave faculty valuable time to prepare for the transition to distance learning. Classes began on March 30, launching phase two, with student engagement listed as the priority. The document also explained the pass/fail grading system, rules for attendance, and guidelines for success (establish a routine, honor the dress code, be on time, be prepared).

“The first thing we had to do was figure out how to get faculty familiar with the online tools,” says Dean of Studies Lori Bohan, sharing that the School contracted with Meteor Learning for a week of faculty webinars. “As with all things, some faculty members are leading the charge in their Canvas proficiencies; we needed to get everyone to be able to swim in the deep end.”

Poole sits on the Distance Learning Task Force, along with Spencer, Bohan, Rector Kathy Giles, Vice Rector for School Life Teresa Ferns ’84, Director of IT Scott Morin, Dean of Students Suzanne Ellinwood, and Arts Department Head Colin Callahan. After a week of test driving the initial schedule, the group settled on a modified plan, taking into account the feedback received from the survey.

Balancing Synchronous Classes

Since April 9, arts, languages, math, science, and humanities electives have settled in at three 45-minute synchronous classes per week, plus 45 minutes of asynchronous learning due within a week of being assigned. Humanities core courses are allotted one additional 45-minute synchronous block per week. Synchronous classes are recorded to help accommodate students logging on from all corners of the world. In addition, homework is limited to 45 minutes per class day and may not be due on a weekend. Teachers offer two extra help sessions each week, at least one of them in the evening hours.

Though the School officially enrolls students hailing from 30 states and 18 countries, during the distance learning period, IT reports indicate that students have logged on from all 50 states and 65 independent countries. Julie Cepiel, who heads the SPS Science Department, is accustomed to using the “flipped” classroom model that has now become part of accommodating students in various time zones. For the last five years, Cepiel has recorded lectures and presentations for students to watch on their own time, so they come to class prepared with questions and ready for hands-on learning based on their lecture notes. That flexibility has helped Cepiel and her current biology students prepare for learning from a distance. “If you have been doing things like that before, it’s certainly helpful,” says Cepiel. “I had lessons recorded that the kids were going to watch, so that piece of the work was already done.”

Cepiel and her science colleagues have used their creativity to compensate for the loss of laboratory time. Science teachers, she says, have been recording themselves doing labs in their SPS classrooms, allowing students to watch the step-by-step process. Though not a substitute for the hands-on experience, Cepiel is happy that her students are able to gather real data from the virtual experiments and learn how the equipment works. She also sent her students a shipment of seeds and petri dishes so they could work on a photosynthesis lab at home. Science colleague Sarah Boylan turned the infectious disease unit in her molecular biology class into an opportunity for her students to learn about COVID-19. Boylan has incorporated guest lecturers into her synchronous Zoom classes, including SPS Medical Director John Bassi and Emerson Tuttle ’05, a regional science manager for the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Bassi spoke about how SPS manages cases of seasonal influenza each year, while Dr. Tuttle spoke about his work studying the threat of emerging pathogens around the world.

Based on what Tuttle told her class, Faith Onyechere ’20 says she has learned about the role of globalization in the spread of the coronavirus and the characteristics that make it tick. “Combined with learning about how the virus targets our airways and can cause respiratory shutdown,” Onyechere says, “I have a whole new view on the biological mechanisms inside viruses.”

Through their study, Boylan’s students have learned how to read and dissect scientific journal articles, conduct their own research, and present their findings to their classmates.

“We are digging into brand-new science,” says Boylan. “They know about how COVID-19 is attaching to the cell and how treatment might work. The kids have enough lab skills that we can look at data and they can develop their writing skills. What this data is telling us is almost as important as doing the labs themselves. We are looking at a gene, sequencing it, and seeing similarities to the SARS virus. We are finding lots of skills kids can still develop online.”

In the spirit of flexible learning, Boylan’s students were also preparing for a debate about infectious diseases, including whether to vaccinate or not, and getting inside the minds of those with whom they might disagree. Boylan labeled the verbal exercise “humanities meets molecular biology.” An unforeseen positive consequence of not being able to do labs in person is that science students have found additional time to delve into the topics they are studying.

Getting Creative with Technology

Creativity is no stranger to the arts. But in the absence of traditional class time, Department Head Colin Callahan has had to adjust his curriculum to fit the distance learning model. Callahan jokes that he has become the Bob Ross of distance learning, referring to the well-known painter who taught his craft on television for many years. In his painting class, Callahan has been putting a camera on his easel and demonstrating techniques for his students to follow on Zoom. Printmaking class has been converted to Photoshop class, since students don’t have the necessary carving materials at home to continue the work they had begun before the pandemic. All classes are recorded and dropped into Canvas so his students (including two on the West Coast and one in Hong Kong) are able to watch the demos on their timetables.

For 3D art classes – challenged because students do not tend to have home access to kilns, fine arts teachers instead put together kits and shipped them to their charges. The boxes contained cardboard, glue, and scissors, and the students have been asked to use the materials to create projects that represent fundamental design concepts. Their work is displayed in a virtual museum on Instagram.

“I thought the transition would be much harder,” says Callahan. “But the students have been very good about doing their work.”

Theatre students, adds Callahan have been meeting online via Zoom’s smaller breakout rooms, while music students are encouraged to create demos and send them to their teachers for critiques. Members of the SPS Ballet Company have been rehearsing for an hour each afternoon, learning a piece of chorography created for the SPSBC by visiting (Zoom) artist Duncan Cooper.

“We will be filming the same choreography from our houses and then an editor will be using the clips we submit to create a new piece,” says Zoë Dienes ’20, who has been dancing alternately in her driveway and the bedroom of her Concord, N.H., home.

In her Humanities V class, Poole has been making use of Zoom’s breakout rooms to facilitate small-group discussions of Arundhati Roy’s novel, The God of Small Things. She also incorporates a digital corkboard called Padlet to further encourage interaction. Students who are unable to attend the synchronous classes because of time differences can contribute to the virtual Harkness table via Canvas discussion boards.

“There’s an ongoing Padlet, where students contribute different quotes and passages and respond to each other,” explains Poole. “A student who wasn’t in the last meeting but is there that day can join in on the conversation seamlessly because they have been following the digital conversation.”

Simulating Daily SPS Life

In addition to her duties as dean of studies, Bohan also teaches a section of calculus. She has been using a screen- sharing program so she can solve problems on an iPad and show them to her students, simulating work on a classroom white board. Bohan shares her lesson plans with students online so they can be better prepared – it’s something she had not done prior to distance learning, but plans to continue once students return to campus. Through the ever-useful Zoom breakout rooms, students are paired into small groups to work on problem sets, with Bohan having the ability to “pop into” the various rooms to offer guidance as needed.

“The students have done excellent work,” says Bohan. “I could not be happier with the quality of their work and their consistent presence.”

One student who has particularly impressed Bohan is Jin Chey ’21. Fearing that she would lose connection with her classmates and teachers, Chey has turned her schedule upside down, following EST from her home in Seoul, South Korea, which is 13 hours ahead of the clock on the American East Coast. On the first day of online classes, Chey decided to see if she could stay up all night and attend classes in real time. Though her last class that day ended at 5 a.m. Seoul time, she found the experience satisfying.

“I am a firm believer that thought-provoking discussions with my classmates and teachers are invaluable in achieving maximum levels of learning,” says Chey. “Despite the very late hour, I was able to have insightful discussions with my peers and learn directly from my teacher. For that reason, I continued to attend most classes synchronously. I did not completely flip my time schedule, I simply pushed it back, sleeping at around 5 a.m. and waking up at 12 p.m. instead of sleeping at around 12 a.m. and waking up at 7 a.m.”

Though an extreme and admirable example, it is that commitment to interaction that the School is continuing to promote outside of the virtual classroom as well. Led by Spencer, who is serving as acting dean of chapel during the distance learning period, Chapel services have continued via Zoom two days a week, with Giles offering thoughts and announcements, recorded music filling the empty Chapel, and associate chaplains from local places of worship offering words of solace in a time of uncertainty. “One of the themes in all the Chapel services is that we are apart and we are together,” says Spencer. “To be together in this moment now is really important and something to hold onto in the midst of everything else. That is what Chapel, student activities, advising, and synchronous classes are for – underscoring that we are apart, but we can be together.”

It’s also the reason why the Distance Learning Task Force chose to call the program for teaching students while they are away from campus “SPS Connected.” Advisee groups still meet weekly via Zoom, as do athletic squads, including virtual team bonding facilitated by Boylan for the SPS softball team and workout circuits every Tuesday led by captain Alison Liu ’20 from her home computer. Dean of Students Suzanne Ellinwood has worked hard, along with the Sixth Form Officers, to offer a host of online clubs and activities to keep students connected to the SPS community. The Pelican, Minecraft Society, Chess Club, Student Council, and Eco-Action have been among the most active groups.

Keeping SPS Connected

In addition to answering questions from parents, ranging from how to collect student belongings from their empty dorm rooms to how to access technology in areas with limited Wi-Fi signals, Ellinwood has worked hard to create daily lunchtime Zoom drop-ins, coffeehouses, and group chats, and has organized with her associate deans “Saturday Night Life” activities from trivia games to a magician. A group of students has been playing the strategic board game Risk virtually. The SPS Connected newsletter is also a good resource for students to locate activities that are accessible online. “We will keep throwing things out there to see what engages the students,” says Ellinwood. “It’s still important to have options for kids to engage in this way.”

Sixth Form Officers Christofer Robles (president), Liu (vice president), Logan Cudlip (secretary), and Dienes (treasurer), have continued to meet via Zoom and have kept fellow students engaged via “StudCo Daily Challenges” on Instagram. The events invite students to submit photos of themselves completing the challenge of the day, which are then posted via the group’s Instagram story channel. Challenges have ranged from sharing baby photos to best TikTok dances to photos of students’ favorite breakfast eggs. “These challenges are a small, fun way to keep the community connected,” says Liu.

As hard as the transition to distance learning has been, and as much as she misses her students, Bohan believes that the obstacles overcome in delivering a quality education from a distance is “making me a better teacher.” She anticipates eliminating gobs of paper by administering more tests online in the future and appreciates the additional collaboration with colleagues that the pandemic has prompted. One question remains unanswered: Will St. Paul’s School look any different when the community returns to campus to continue its residential learning model? Chey credits the work of the SPS faculty, who have dedicated enormous effort toward modifying their spring course plans and offering extended office hours to make sure students are not left out because of geography. “They have shown a Herculean effort,” she says, “which I deeply appreciate.”

Cudlip believes the time away from the business of daily life might increase the efficiency of education in the long run, as students have quickly become better problem- solvers and “we’ve been able to take a step back and press reset on some of the hectic things in our lives.”

“This is an opportunity to be more nimble and flexible, which is a positive,” adds Spencer. “We are cultivating resilience and flexibility in difficult times, keeping our commitment to students at the center of what we do. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and we certainly have already developed a deeper appreciation for how special this relational learning environment really is.”