Author: Malgorzata Kulesza

Date: 01/03/2020-22/04/2020

We are facing unprecedented times during COVID-19 pandemic.  I would say the biggest challenge for students, teachers and parents is that we’ve had never done this before, so we are all facing the unknown.

Planning for education in the pandemic requires different approaches. I needed to think and choose how to incorporate a blended learning approach and which tools and pedagogical practices will serve my students best.

Project-based learning is a great solution to teaching in a time of coronavirus. I have focused my teaching on building relationships and creating learning opportunities to help my students understand the world and their place in it.

Recently I have been working with my students on the UN Sustainable Development Goals Projects that included many real-world applications. Now I have used them at the starting point for our online learning.

I have developed online activities to start working on the Sustainable Consumption Project. What we eat not only affects our own health, but also the environment. Food is at the heart of many environmental issues – it’s a significant contributor to climate change and responsible for almost 60% of global biodiversity loss.

I have planned activities which involve a combination of synchronous and asynchronous approaches. A synchronous approach takes place in real-time, allowing instant feedback and clarification. Microsoft Teams gives me the opportunity to set up a live session with my students, to answer their questions and to support each other. An asynchronous approach allowed my students working independently at their own pace, at different times. We use different collaboration tools like Flipgrid, Sway, Wakelet, Padlet, Google Earth, Mentimeter, Microsoft forms, Google Forms and many more.