Corwin Launches The Distance Learning Playbook to Help Teachers Shift from Crisis Teaching to Distance Learning During COVID-19

Produced over a period of six weeks, the new guide helps teachers prepare for – and thrive in – a distance learning environment

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 9, 2020 / Corwin, the leading professional learning provider for K-12 educators, announces the release of The Distance Learning Playbook, Grades K-12: Teaching for Engagement and Impact in Any Setting. Covering student-teacher relationships at a distance, teacher self-care, planning digital instructional units, assessment, and much more, the book, which hit #3 on a Publishers Weekly bestsellers list since its release in July, is now being used as a resource by over 325,000 educators. The book’s success has led to the publication of a suite of Playbooks supporting parents, higher education, and school leaders.

Co-authored by leading education experts Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie, the book applies the expertise of Hattie’s groundbreaking Visible Learning® research.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic became a reality across the world, and schools closed their doors, what we saw was really ‘crisis teaching’ – not distance learning,” says Nancy Frey. “Educators across the globe essentially needed to pivot to distance learning over the course of a weekend – and what they did in partnership with parents this past spring was truly heroic. Now, as we move into the fall, there’s an opportunity to take what we learned from the spring and combine that with what we already know about teaching and learning to create a more cohesive, consistent experience for students, families, and educators. Educators didn’t forget how to teach, and the playbook is designed to offer strategies and instructional approaches to increase their impact, regardless of the setting.”

Across the playbook’s nine modules, insight from evidence-based Visible Learning research is applied to the distance learning environment:

• The book begins with the importance of teacher self-care before diving into the critical elements of teacher-student relationships, teacher credibility, and teacher clarity.
• The latter half of the book discusses the familiar pieces of planning instructional units, feedback, assessment, and grading through the lens of distance learning.

The playbook’s modules are supported by over 50 videos from the authors and teachers discussing a wide variety of distance learning topics.

To understand the specific challenges teachers were facing with distance learning, Fisher and Frey consulted with and observed over 70 teachers from around the world during their writing of The Distance Learning Playbook. Through one-on-one conversations, sitting in on virtual teacher team meetings, and looking at learning management systems, the authors learned in tandem with educators.

The Distance Learning Playbook, Grades K-12’s success has led to the publication of a suite of titles including:

• The Distance Learning Playbook for Parents, currently available – supports parents creating a supportive learning environment – both academically and emotionally – in partnership with educators
• The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instructors, also available – applies the authors’ expertise to a higher ed context
• The Distance Learning Playbook for School Leaders, scheduled for release in October 2020.

As it would typically take more than a year and a half for a book of this size to be published, The Distance Learning Playbook, which Corwin published in six weeks, was brought to market with exceptional speed in order to support educators according to their needs on their timeline.

“We knew we had to quickly pivot to support our educators with distance learning strategies, and the usual publishing schedule was not going to be quick enough,” says Elena Nikitina, Vice President of Marketing & Channel Development at Corwin. “This publication was a game-changer for us at Corwin; Our entire company was challenged to think and work differently, and it’s how we plan to operate moving forward. Educators have always looked to us for helpful, relevant professional development, and it’s been satisfying to know that we could fill this need for them by pivoting our own business model.”

For more information on The Distance Learning Playbook, read the story behind the title or visit www.corwin.com/distancelearningplaybook.

About Corwin

Corwin, a SAGE Publishing company, is the premier provider of professional learning products and services that equip educators with the resources needed to improve teaching and learning. Corwin offers print books and eBooks, digital products, and onsite consulting services for all types of educators at all stages of their careers. Corwin resources are authored by experts on the topics most relevant to education; formatted for hands-on, practical guidance; research-based and peer-reviewed for quality, and designed for professional learning. For more information, visit www.corwin.com.

Contacts:

Katie Stoddard
Work: 720-682-3380
katie.stoddard@corwin.com

SOURCE: Corwin

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/605397/Corwin-Launches-The-Distance-Learning-Playbook-to-Help-Teachers-Shift-from-Crisis-Teaching-to-Distance-Learning-During-COVID-19