The COVID-19 is a major health crisis above all other definitions. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures governors and legislatures have called for the statewide closure of at least 124,000 public schools in 48 states and every U.S. territory Given its worldwide impact and the outbreak, most countries out there have voluntarily decided to shut down educational institutions including schools, colleges, and universities. The pandemic crisis is known to crystallize the dilemma policymakers out there tend to face between their decision to close down schools (reducing the chances of social contact, and thus, saving lives) and to keep them open (to allow the workers to continue working towards maintaining the economy). The lockdown of almost all educational institutions across the globe is likely to cause major as well as unequal interruption in the learning process of the students. It might as well cause significant disruptions in internal assessments while leading to the cancelation of periodic public assessments by replacing the same with some interior alternatives. While school closures may be necessary to slow the spread of the virus, they can adversely affect both parents, who might have to take off work to care for their child, as well as students, particularly low-income students, who rely on school meals for lunch and much more The given book aim at discussing the modern education system in the 21st century through the lens of COVID-19 and what might lie ahead!
This handbook showcases extraordinary educational responses in exceptional times. The scholarly text discusses valuable innovations for teaching and learning in times of COVID-19 and beyond. It examines effective teaching models and methods, technology innovations and enhancements, strategies for engagement of learners, unique approaches to teacher education and leadership, and important mental health and counseling models and supports. The unique solutions here implement and adapt effective digital technologies to support learners and teachers in critical times – for example, to name but a few: Florida State University’s Innovation Hub and interdisciplinary project-based approach; remote synchronous delivery (RSD) and blended learning approaches used in Yorkville University’s Bachelor of Interior Design, General Studies, and Business programs; University of California’s strategies for making resources affordable to students; resilient online assessment measures recommended from Qatar University; strategies in teacher education from the University of Toronto/OISE to develop equity in the classroom; simulation use in health care education; gamification strategies; innovations in online second language learning and software for new Canadian immigrants and refugees; effective RSD and online delivery of directing and acting courses by the Toronto Film School, Canada; academic literacy teaching in Colombia; inventive international programs between Japan and Taiwan, Japan and the USA, and Italy and the USA; and, imaginative teaching and assessment methods developed for online Kindergarten – Post-Secondary learners and teachers. Authors share unique global perspectives from a network of educators and researchers from more than thirty locations, schools, and post-secondary institutions worldwide. Educators, administrators, policymakers, and instructional designers will draw insights and guidelines from this text to sustain education during and beyond the COVID-19 era.
POPULATION HEALTH SCIENCE formalizes an emerging discipline at the crossroads of social and medical sciences, demography, and economics--an emerging approach to population studies that represents a seismic shift in how traditional health sciences measure and observe health events. Bringing together theories and methods from diverse fields, this text provides grounding in the factors that shape population health. The overall approach is one of consequentialist science: designing creative studies that identify causal factors in health with multidisciplinary rigor. Distilled into nine foundational principles, this book guides readers through population science studies that strategically incorporate: · macrosocial factors · multilevel, lifecourse, and systems theories · prevention science fundamentals · return on investment · equity and efficiency Harnessing the power of scientific inquiry and codifying the knowledge base for a burgeoning field, POPULATION HEALTH SCIENCE arms readers with tools to shift the curve of population health.
This book is to explores a variety of facets of online learning environments to understand how learning occurs and succeeds in digital contexts and what teaching strategies and technologies are most suited to this format. Business, health, government and education are some of the core sectors of society which have been experiencing deep transformations due to a generalized digitalization. While these changes are not novel, the swift progress of technology and the rising complexity of digital environments place a focus on the need for further research and novel strategies. In the context of education, the promise of increased flexibility and broader access to educational resources is impelling much of higher education’s course offerings to online environments. The 21st century learner requires an education that can be pursued anytime and anywhere and that is more aligned with the demands of a digital society. Online education not only assists students to success-fully integrate a workforce that is increasingly digital, but it helps them to become more comfortable with the use of technology in general and, hence, more prepared to be prolific digital citizens. The variety of settings portrayed in this volume attest to the unlimited opportunities afforded by online learning and serve as valuable evidence of its benefit for students’ educational experience. Moreover, these research efforts assist a more comprehensive reflection about the delivery of higher education in the context of online settings.
This edited volume offers an updated picture and state-of-the-art regarding the challenges faced by universities all over the world derived from the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses the strategies designed and put in play by the universities to move forward in times of confinement and prospects of new modes of functioning in the aftermath of this exceptional global situation.
Educating dual language learners (DLLs) and English learners (ELs) effectively is a national challenge with consequences both for individuals and for American society. Despite their linguistic, cognitive, and social potential, many ELsâ€"who account for more than 9 percent of enrollment in grades K-12 in U.S. schoolsâ€"are struggling to meet the requirements for academic success, and their prospects for success in postsecondary education and in the workforce are jeopardized as a result. Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures examines how evidence based on research relevant to the development of DLLs/ELs from birth to age 21 can inform education and health policies and related practices that can result in better educational outcomes. This report makes recommendations for policy, practice, and research and data collection focused on addressing the challenges in caring for and educating DLLs/ELs from birth to grade 12.
The need to develop 21st-century competencies has received global recognition, but instructional methods have not been reformed to include the teaching of these skills. Multiple frameworks include creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration as the foundational competencies. Complexities of planning curriculum and delivering instruction to develop the foundational competencies requires professional training. However, despite training, instructional practice can be impacted by barriers caused by personal views of teachers, economic constraints, access to resources, social challenges, pandemic, overwhelming pace of global shifts, and other influences. With digitalization entering the field of education, it is unclear if technology has helped in removing or eliminating the barriers or has, itself, become another obstruction in integrating the competencies. Gaining an educator's perspective is essential to understanding the barriers as well as solutions to mitigate the impediments through innovative instructional methods being practiced across the globe via digital or non-digital platforms. The need for original contributions from educators exists in this area of barriers to 21st-century education and the role of digitalization. The Handbook of Research on Barriers for Teaching 21st-Century Competencies and the Impact of Digitalization discusses teaching the 21st-century competencies, namely critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. This book presents both the problems or gaps causing barriers and brings forth practical solutions, digital and non-digital, to meet the educational shifts. The chapters will determine the specific barriers that exist, whether political, social, economic, or technological, to integrating competencies and the methods or strategies that can eliminate these barriers through compatible instructional approaches. Additionally, the chapters provide knowledge on the impacts of digitalization in general on teaching and learning and how digital innovations are either beneficial to removing impediments for students or rather causing obstructions in integrating the four competencies. This book is ideally intended for educators and administrators working directly with students, educational researchers, educational software developers, policymakers, teachers, practitioners, and students interested in how 21st-century competencies can be taught while facing the impacts of digitalization on education.
The current learning environment is substantially different than what existed for most of the 20th century. Learners and teachers today must navigate in perpetually changing contexts where education is influenced by technological advancement and obsolescence, economic barriers, a changing employment landscape, and even international politics. Studies indicate that employers seek to hire graduates with strong skills in areas coalescing around international awareness, creativity, communication, leadership, and teamwork. Skills and experiences in these areas are necessary preparation for the current economy and to pursue jobs that do not exist yet, while providing some insulation against the obsolescence of industries that lack these characteristics. These interpersonal skills are not often the subject of students’ degrees, yet there are opportunities in online education to cultivate them. With increased interest in new career options comes the need to reconsider how to teach subjects in the increasingly online environment. Advancing Online Course Design and Pedagogy for the 21st Century Learning Environment is a critical reference book that navigates today’s dynamic education requirements and provides examples of how online learning can foster growth in skill areas necessary for career advancement through effective course design. Moreover, it helps educators gain insight into online pedagogy and course design for the 21st century learner and prepares them to convert traditional courses and enhance existing online courses, thereby supporting students’ growth and development in the highly dynamic online learning environment. Focusing on specific learning activities, assessments, engagement, communication techniques, and more, this book provides a valuable resource for those seeking to upgrade teaching and learning into the online environment, those that seek better employment outcomes for their students, and those seeking to explore contemporary online course design strategies or examples. This includes teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, academicians, researchers, and students.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to education around the world. Since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, most students on the planet were affected by the interruption of in-person schooling. To mitigate the educational loss such interruption would cause, education authorities the world over created a variety of alternative mechanisms of education delivery. They did so quickly and with insufficient knowledge about what would work well, for which children, and for what aspects of the schooling experience.Having to create such alternative arrangements in short order was the ultimate adaptive leadership challenge, one for which no playbook existed, one for which solutions would have to be invented, rather than drawn from existing technical knowledge. The nature of the challenge differed across the world and regions, and it differed also within countries as a function of the differential public health and economic impact of the pandemic on communities, and of variations in institutional and financial resources available to redress such impact, including availability of digital infrastructure and previous knowledge and experience of teachers and students with digi-pedagogies and other resources to create alternative education delivery systems.Sustaining educational opportunities amidst these challenges created by the pandemic was an example of adaptive education response not to a unique unexpected challenge but to one in a larger class of problems, just one of the many adaptive conundrums facing communities and societies. Beyond the challenges resulting from the pandemic, other complications of that sort predating the pandemic included those resulting from poverty, inequality, social inclusion, governance, climate change, among others. In some ways, the pandemic served as an accelerant for some of those, augmenting their impact or underscoring the urgency of addressing them. Adaptive puzzles of this sort, including pandemics, are likely to continue to impact education systems in the foreseeable future. This makes it necessary to strengthen the capacity of education systems to respond to them.Reimagining education systems so they are resilient in the face of adaptive challenges is an opportunity to mobilize new talent and institutional resources. Partnerships between school systems and universities can contribute to those reimagined and more resilient systems, they can enhance the institutional capacity of education systems to devise solutions and to implement them. Such partnerships are also an opportunity for universities to be more deliberate in integrating their three core functions of research, teaching and outreach in service of addressing significant social challenges in a context in rapid flux.In this book we present the results of one approach to produce the integration between research, teaching and outreach just described, resulting from engaging graduate students in collaborations with school systems for the purpose of helping identify ways to sustain educational opportunity during the disruption caused by the pandemic. This activity engaged our students in research and analysis, contributing to their education, and it engaged them in service to society. The book examines what happened to educational opportunity during the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, Belize, the municipality of Santa Ana in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Kenya, in the States of Sinaloa and Quintana Roo in Mexico, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and in the United States in Richardson Independent School District in Texas. It offers an systematic analysis of policy options to sustain educational opportunity during the pandemic.
