Palisades Teachers Share Distance Learning Experience

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter 

Moving instruction to virtual settings in response to COVID-19 has not only challenged students, but has led teachers into unprecedented territory.

Some of Pacific Palisades’ educators share their experiences creating a beneficial online learning environment.

Tracey Giller, a fourth-grade teacher at Marquez Charter Elementary School, shared the unique ways she has kept her classroom engaged, from taking virtual field trips through museums—most recently the Autry Museum—and having a local native plants tour around campus.

Giller meets with her class daily on Zoom at 10 a.m., and uses Google Classroom to assign and collect assignments.

“Prior to all this happening I already used Google Classroom with my students and we’re very fortunate at Marquez to have 1:1 technology,” Giller said to the Palisadian-Post. “When all this happened, it was a pretty easy transition technology-wise with our students.”

But Giller has noticed an increase in workload.

“I think as a teacher it’s definitely an increased workload because you’re creating new content constantly that’s different than what you might have done in the classroom, or you can’t teach it in the same way remotely,” Giller explained. “I’m trying to keep things as normal as possible for my students with the kind of content I assign and activities we do.”

Lindy Bazan, a kindergarten teacher at Marquez, also commented on the workload teaching remotely has presented.

“The workload is huge because at school we have our files for the letters of the alphabet, files for all the different holidays and celebrations, and we have everything in our classroom,” Bazan said. “I feel like I’m an entrepreneur now because I’m at my computer about 12 hours a day and I’m a Seesaw maniac—I’m creating and editing lessons.

“So at home it is much different … I want to be back in the classroom with my students, I love teaching in my classroom.”

Bazan also said she teaches lessons to her class on Zoom, Monday through Thursday.

“We’re not required to do Zoom meetings or any kind of live meetings, however, as teachers we’re workaholics and we’re always going above and beyond,” Bazan said. “We’re making the best of it and we’re having as much fun as we can given the circumstances.”

Both Bazan and Giller reported high rates of attendance to their Zoom meetings, participation and assignments.

Palisadian Paige Greene, a calculus professor at UCLA, shed light on teaching remotely at a collegiate level.

Greene said that she uses Zoom for lectures and to hold office hours. She also records her lessons and uploads them for students to access.

“A lot of students went home … I have a student in Thailand and another student in India, so I record all of the lectures that I give and before the lecture I write detailed lecture notes so it’s easier for my students to follow,” Greene said.  “I feel like I’m working about as twice as many hours as I usually do. To be truthful, at first I was completely bent out of shape … but once I did the first two or three days and got into the swing of things, it got to be a lot better.”

Greene said that she misses being on campus and engaging with her students, she’s also going to miss attending graduation this year—she attends the math department graduation every year.

“This is just what we have to do right now,” Greene said.