Remote Learning Schedules

Dear Greenhill community members,I hope this letter finds you and yours safe and well. Part of my role at Greenhill is to support division heads and faculty members in their professional development and in their efforts to design and implement curriculum and schedules. As you can imagine, this work has been different over the last month as Greenhill pivoted to remote learning. We have shifted to a blend of synchronous (teaching and learning in real time) and asynchronous (teaching and learning at different times) experiences. With the recent announcement about school closure for the remainder of the year, it’s important to provide additional information that explain the “whys” behind our remote learning program.Many educators at Greenhill have been learning from colleagues at peer schools around the country, especially from those who made the transition to online learning well before Greenhill and from those who have included online learning components in their curricula for years. We are being intentional to make decisions in consultation with those on and off campus. One of those partners is Global Online Academy (GOA), a leading online course provider for independent schools around the world. GOA took years to create and launch their online program, whereas we find ourselves in an emergency remote learning situation. GOA is supporting schools who find themselves in a similar position to us. They recently conducted a survey of independent and international schools to gather information about current schedules during this period of widespread remote learning. Respondents represented all divisions (Preschool, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School). Below, you will see some of the results of the GOA survey. I wanted to share this information with you, as it provides greater context for the decisions Greenhill has made for its remote learning plan and schedules.Similar to our approach at Greenhill, the overall data shows that the vast majority of schools are mixing synchronous and asynchronous learning.Forty-two schools (47%) describe their schedules as primarily asynchronousOnly 21% of respondents described their schedules as primarily or solely synchronous.Rationale for their schedules (schools shared responses that fell into three major categories)
1. Flexibility: Learning and working remotely look different from student to student, family to family, and educator to educator. Flexibility in schedule is important.2. Wellness: Worry about screen time, stress, and pace while learning remotely drove many schools to consider carefully how much and how often students were expected to be on video calls.3. Sustainability: Maintaining a rigid schedule of primarily synchronous learning is overly demanding for most students and teachers.Key trends about schedules
1. Culture and relationships drive synchronous vs. asynchronous decisions.
Synchronous interaction is most powerful and meaningful for social and emotional connection, community building, and previewing and launching asynchronous experiences. The majority of sample schedules included designated synchronous time for a cocurricular, extracurricular or community purpose.2. Overall, the younger the student, the more asynchronous the learning.
Among the respondents, most Preschools and Lower Schools have primarily asynchronous schedules, relying on support from families at home to implement learning plans designed by teachers.3. Seeking balance.
Many schools have made, and are making, adjustments to their schedules—especially those schools that have been online for longer—usually to strike a better balance between synchronous and asynchronous learning. Preschools and Lower Schools that began as fully asynchronous have begun to integrate synchronous elements. High schools that began by replicating daily schedules that were primarily synchronous have backed offNo institution has the perfect schedule, especially considering we are all serving students and families in a Prek-12 school whose current experiences span the spectrum on any number of personal, professional, familial, physical and emotional variables. We continue to tweak our remote learning program, making changes that improve the student experience.These are unprecedented times for us all, and we look forward to partnering with you in the weeks and months ahead.Yours,Jason Yaffe
Director of Academics