Last summer I had the pleasure of meeting a
new colleague who would teach the same subject on a different campus. Danny is a dynamic educator and a curriculum
design powerhouse. When he graciously
offered to share his files, it became apparent Danny was that teacher. The one you
love and are jealous of and hope never supervises you, but secretly try to
convince to become your life coach. Not
only was he generous, he was organized and armed with a treasure trove of
beautifully designed units that were ready to roll out at a moment’s
notice. I have always wanted to be that teacher. I am not that
teacher.
This pandemic has forced us all to face a
number of realities about our education systems, about teaching, and about
ourselves. Our greatest strengths in the
classroom don’t always translate to distance learning platforms. I personally pride myself on my intuition,
adaptability and flexibility. What I lack in efficiency I make up for in
student centered teaching that rarely feels stale and is always open to
improvement. I think of myself as an educational curator. I observe my students closely to discern
their preferences and learning styles. I am really good at finding and
integrating new resources; I switch it up all of the time. I will throw out things I spent hours
prepping over the weekend if Monday’s class illuminates a better way forward or
a different need. Something not
working? No problem. I have another
idea. Discussion reveals a tangent worth
exploring? Let’s go! We will circle back eventually.
None of that is useful anymore.
Now I only see my students “live” once a week.
We are all craving normalcy, routine, and assurance. I have just enough time to
walk them through an assignment’s location and directions, to make sure they
have everything they need, and to answer questions. We might be able to have a small group
activity using video breakout rooms, but I concede they need that time for
socializing, and I hold them marginally accountable. They are doing most of their learning asynchronously. Everything needs to be prepped and posted
days ahead of time. Whatever I start, I have to stick with. Change causes
chaos. I have had to become more like Danny.
More transparent. More organized. More intentional.
Enter the HyperDoc.
There are several excellent guides to designing and using HyperDocs. I recommend checking out the work of The HyperDoc Girls and reading this. A lot of what you see might look familiar because HyperDocs reinforce many best practices like cycles of learning and backwards design.
I really love the concept of a tight package
where all of the tasks, links, and instructions my students need are organized
within our school’s “6Es” project learning framework and put into an intuitive
workflow. I can easily transition between content acquisition, skills work, and
assessment. In some of the sections
there might be a menu of options students can choose from, which gives them a
voice in determining how they will learn material or demonstrate their
understanding. They don’t need me to
tell them what to do next or when they are done. It’s all right there. They document their
progress and can see their knowledge and critical thinking skills grow.
There are a lot of downloadable templates
available for both Google and Microsoft apps. You can also make your own and
play around with what works for your class.
Both documents and slides are great platforms depending on your visual
preferences. Hyperdocs work for any
subject. This folder contains a set I made for 7th grade
Humanities students on World War 1 and World War 2 and a set that I made for
6th grade Math students to kick off our Algebra Unit. It is really easy to link resources like Khan
Academy, Scholastic, or Newsela. It is
also easy to integrate other digital tools like Padlet, Kahoot, and Flipgrid.
Hyperdocs are helping me design and deliver
assignments in a way that supports my students’ organization, independence, and
motivation. This in turn increases the
likelihood that there will be good academic outcomes even though they have to
do more on their own. So far I see
students with a wide range of abilities navigating our studies with confidence
and self-sufficiency. I hope this comes
as a relief to their overburdened families.
There is nothing easy about
teaching and learning in a crisis. But
we can make it easier. Hyperdocs are
working for me and maybe the silver lining is becoming that teacher after all.
