The meetings I had scheduled for my top schools all fell after spring break, so when the news came that we would not be returning to school and that for the health and wellbeing of everyone we were to practice strict social distancing I didn't know what to do.
In order to still have time to talk with teachers I sent out emails requesting zooms sessions. Thankfully, in the midst of all this craze and uncertainty most teachers were very willing to work with me. My first scheduled virtual meeting was with Mrs. Fulton and Mrs. Nailor from Big Spring High School.
My first challenge was to think of questions that would help me get a good picture of the program without being able to be there in person. Some questions I came up with were...
- What does a typical day look like?
- How many and what kinds of students do you normally have? (age, background, etc.)
- What are your students usually excited about?
- How do you utilize your facilities to maximize student learning throughout the year?
Except for a few technical difficulties (we all live in very rural areas where internet connection is known to be spotty) I feel that the zoom meeting was a success! I left the meeting feeling very excited about the opportunities I could have at Big Spring. Mrs. Fulton and Mrs. Nailor were extremely helpful in helping me to "see" their program and I know they would both be very supportive mentors if I end up student teaching with them next spring.
This unconventional search process is definitely not ideal, however I feel that it just adds another educational opportunity to this whole experience. Hopefully, when this pandemic finally calms down I can visit my cooperating center in person and begin to form relationships with the students and teachers, but until then I will continue to find ways to connect from a distance.
Question: What are some other methods I could utilize to connect with potential student teaching sites?
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