Research Review Activity

Kristen Bradshaw
Towson University
ISTC 603: Foundations of Distance Education
Dr. McGinn
December 7, 2021
Introduction
I found a peer-review article using the Cook Library search tools. The article was enticing

to me because it focused on the issues surrounding online instruction due to the COVID

Pandemic in the Spring of 2020. The teachers’ input for this research was interesting and I

enjoyed that the analysis covered a variety of topics. Not only was this article relatable, but it

discussed recent and present issues that are surrounding our school systems.

Research Overview
The primary focus of this research article was to compare access and participation of

online learning among students in different school districts. The researchers were concerned

about how the students with limited access to technology & Internet, students with disabilities

(SWDs), and students who were English language learners (ELLs), fared academically in the early

months of the pandemic.

Catalano and her team began by analyzing these disparities. They decided to craft a

survey in which they assessed the perspectives of over 300 educators in New York (mostly Long

Island and New York City – areas with very high COVID case rates at the time). 40% of responses

were from high school teachers, 33% middle school teachers, 24% elementary teachers, and 3%

pre-K teachers. Of the surveyed teachers, 78% taught in the general education setting, 18%

were special educators and 3% were ELL teachers.

The survey was given in Mid-April 2020, six weeks into the emergent distance learning

began. Their survey was composed of 18 questions centered around student engagement in

online learning and work completion, targeting specific needs groups. The teachers were also
asked about accommodations they used and their personal experience with the quick transition

to distance learning (Catalano, et al., 2021, pp. 262-263).

Review of Results

The teachers surveyed had very diverse student demographics. There were reports of

over 26,000 students instructed by the surveyed educators. Of those, 4,811 students were

identified as SWD, and 4,064 students were ELLs. In response to COVID-related questions, most

teachers reported that none of their students had been infected, however about one third of

surveys reported that they did not have that specific student knowledge. One teacher stated

that 50 of their students were infected. Several responses indicated that students had ill family

members, and three even had students’ losing someone to COVID. Although the students

weren’t ill themselves, they were still impacted with household stresses and struggles of the

Pandemic.

In terms of comfortability with online teaching, 70% of teachers felt comfortable or very

comfortable, with only 10% having low comfort levels. The majority of teachers (73%) used

Google Meet/Hangout as a platform for teaching students. To achieve the students’ IEP goals

for SWD, many teachers reported that there was a separate video meeting with a Special

Educator, as well as increased communication with parents. Limited data was presented about

the goals for ELL students, most likely because they aren’t set in a legally-binding document like

an IEP.

The results of students’ assignment completion were 36% of students in high-needs

districts were noncompliant during online learning, compared to 20% of students in the low-
needs districts. In those high-needs school districts, close to 40% of ELL students and 36% of

SWD were reported to not have work completed. Those teachers surveyed were asked to

choose between six potential reasons for the lack of work completion. Most commonly, the

reason was lack of parental supervision or overwhelmed/unaware parents. Some responses

indicated difficulties communicating with parents who spoke a different language. Another

hurdle was lack of technology devices or Internet service.

Lastly, teachers were asked to state their concerns about students’ academic progress

during this online learning transition. 22% were very concerned about general education

students. Numbers drastically increased to 52% for SWD and 53% for ELL students. When asked

for ideas regarding solutions or improvements, teachers stated several suggestions. The

primary ideas being district- provided access to Internet and technology devices, more

preparation and guidelines for online instruction, and online resources and communication to

foster online learning. Surprisingly, some teachers also reported that their districts did not

allow the use of videoconferencing, so students could not see their teacher or each other. This

prevented teachers from modeling or explaining procedures to students (Catalano et al., 2021,

p. 265).

Importance and Potential Impact

The researchers in this article discussed how these survey results can bring to light the

divide amongst students with disabilities, English language learners, high-needs students, and

their general-education peers. These student groups require more support, resources, and

differentiated instruction which was not always readily available at the beginning of the
Pandemic. I know that data collection for these groups of students was a problem during online

learning. Typically, ELL students are assessed using the WIDA platform, and it was very difficult

to collect the same data online as a face-to-face administration. Teachers did the best they

could to collect accurate results, however the testing situations in a school building are more

restrictive than from many student homes over a Google Meet session. No one could foresee

the lasting months of online instruction. I would be extremely curious to see if these teachers

took the survey again in April 2021, how their attitudes and results would differ.

One of the biggest issues identified in the survey was the gap in technology. Students

with higher-income families were able to purchase or provide their own devices for online

learning. However, not all families were that fortunate. I know at the elementary school where I

teach, we had a 1:1 device ratio for our students and were readily handing out devices for

students to borrow for online instruction. Not all schools were that fortunate. This survey

discussed the technology gap with students, but I know I had to go and buy an updated laptop

with my own personal funds to support distance teaching. Teachers at our school did not

receive personal laptops until Fall of the 2021 school year.

Another mentioned issue was the lack of parent supervision. Many higher-income

families were able to have one parent work and another monitor instruction at home. In

contrast single-parent households or ones with parents who were frontline workers were highly

impacted. Especially in early-childhood education where students needed extra support to

navigate online learning.

students’ online education from Spring 2020. The question raised then is what can be done, or

how can we make improvements? The simple answer is to get students back in school, which

for many is their safe space.

Application

This research article was extremely relatable when compared to my experiences with

online learning in the Spring of 2020. I felt very comfortable with the online learning platform

yet felt confined by the weak district curriculum and mandatory guideline to not stray from said

curriculum. I noticed major improvements from the Spring 2020 online learning system, and the

expectations for the Fall 2020 online learning system. Obviously, time was a factor in that

change, with district officials and curriculum writers having the summer months to adapt.

Major (2015) stated how faculty members should assess their own levels of knowledge

about teaching online (p. 32). I would be interested to hear from some of the survey-takers, to

see if reflecting on their experience in the first six weeks of the Pandemic, impacted their

instruction or attitudes for the remainder of the school year. Clearly, they needed to identify

their class weaknesses and they were able to speculate cause for those issues relating to

various student groups. I am sure that highlighting those areas of need in the survey would help

them to support their students more effectively.

Another one of Major’s strategies for developing knowledge for online teaching was to

create a Personal Learning Network (PLN). A PLN is defined as “a group of people who can

guide learning, identify learning opportunities, answer questions, and be a center of knowledge
and experience” (Major, 2015, p. 34). I know that I relied heavily on my teammates when we

were jolted into the world of online instruction. We tried our best to coordinate efforts to

design lessons and answer each other’s questions. The one weak area was the center of

knowledge and experience. We might have had teaching experience in the classroom but were

more like infants in the world of online education. I think the fact that there weren’t many

experienced teachers in the district was a heavily contributing factor to our lack of student

participation and success. These issues quite like those faced by NY state teachers from the

research article.

The Pandemic has been an unprecedented and challenging time for all educators. We

continue to learn, reflect, and grow to best support our students and communities in their

educational goals. We are constantly adapting to the fallout from the 18 months of online

instruction, and are aiming to close some of the gaps, academic, social, and emotional, that our

students and staff have faced battling the Pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic: differences in access and participation among students in

disadvantaged school districts. The International Journal of Information and Learning

Technology, 38(2), 258–270. https://doi-org.proxy-

tu.researchport.umd.edu/10.1108/IJILT-06-2020-0111

Major, C. H. (Ed). (2015). Teaching Online: A guide to theory, research, and practice, Johns

Hopkins University Press.

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/towson/reader.action?docID=3318874&ppg=3