Survey Says #ACTEcares: Tips and Resources for a COVID-19-impacted School Year

We asked career and technical education (CTE) professionals to share their needs, and tips for success, while navigating back-to-school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The response was amazing — with feedback from all levels and multiple sectors. Here, we have compiled the great suggestions and distance learning resources you provided to share across the CTE community.

Tips for planning virtual or classroom instruction

  • Simplicity: Don’t recreate the wheel. Keep it simple and be patient… Students and their families are under stress, too.
  • Engagement: Think about yourself as a student, and plan lessons that would keep you engaged. If you wouldn’t want to sit through a long boring presentation, neither do the students.
  • Consistency: Consistency with students is key, in-person or virtual. Don’t overwhelm students with too much work or too much technology. Focus on what you need to teach and what they need to learn. Add in the technology once that is worked out.
  • Planning: Back up everything! Digital files are easily deleted or corrupted so be sure to back up all your files.
  • Understanding: Give yourself time to learn new platforms, and don’t be hard on yourself if you try something new but it doesn’t work out! Take a deep breath. Offer grace to yourself and your students. We are all struggling to navigate back-to-school in a new normal environment. Plan for the student who may struggle the most when remote learning. Set an example and share your positivity! Your attitude will affect theirs; lean on each other.

CTE’s most pressing needs

  • Smart cameras, headphones, USB drives and digital drawing tablets topped the list of hardware accessories for digital access.
  • Training, engagement strategy, accessibility, hands-on alternatives, curriculum resources and lesson planning took center stage for your digital and hybrid needs.
  • Safety and sanitation protocols and how to go about crafting a list of best practices that consider the current needs of in-person learning, including social distancing and masks, came across loud and clear.

Many teachers worry about making an emotional connection with their students, regardless of the teaching environment. This final concern is what it’s all about: teachers caring for students.

Because you care, anything is possible — and we want you to know that #ACTEcares, too.

Please reach out to us anytime with suggestions for ways we can better serve you and the CTE community!