SUMMARY Responding to a Global Pandemic: The Role of K-12 Science Teachers (COVID 2020)
Summary
This report details findings from a research study about teachers’ decisions and instruction related to COVID. Study data indicate that teachers accessed a variety of media sources to find information about COVID, with large percentages relying on health information websites such as the CDC and NIH. However, health information websites were more likely to be accessed by teachers who taught about COVID than by those who did not.
Large proportions of life and non-life science teachers at each grade band devoted class time to COVID. Life science teachers tended to address COVID as part of their curriculum, while non-life science teachers addressed it as a standalone topic. Encouragingly, when looking at equity factors, student access to COVID-related instruction was generally equitably distributed.
The vast majority of teachers at each grade band indicated that students asked questions about COVID before they addressed the topic. Students asked questions about many different aspects of COVID, including risk of infection, what the virus/disease is, and how to prevent transmission. Yet, large majorities of life and non-life science teachers at each grade band indicated they would have addressed COVID even if students had not asked about it. Additionally, teachers in Democratic-leaning counties were more likely than teachers in Republican-learning counties to indicate they would have addressed COVID regardless of whether students asked questions.
While school buildings were open, teachers frequently utilized class discussions (driven by student questions) as a means of teaching about COVID. However, after school buildings closed, teachers increasingly relied on readings and videos. Active learning strategies, such as hands-on/laboratory investigations, were infrequently used to address COVID.
Across grade bands, the most commonly addressed topics while school buildings were open included how the virus is transmitted and what coronavirus/COVID-19 is. In contrast, after school buildings closed, teachers increasingly focused on topics related to public health, such as the impacts of social distancing and factors that place people at risk for contracting the virus. Interestingly, teachers in high-poverty schools were more likely than teachers in low-poverty schools to address COVID transmission, COVID treatment/diagnosis, and advanced COVID topics. Large percentages of teachers at each grade band relied heavily on units or lessons they created to teach about COVID.
Teachers identified several reasons why they chose to teach about COVID. At the elementary level, many teachers took up the topic as a way to address student fear and anxiety. Middle and high school teachers generally addressed COVID because it was a relevant and current event. Conversely, elementary teachers who did not address COVID cited the age of their students, lack of stable knowledge about COVID, and the desire to avoid causing fear and anxiety. Middle and high school teachers who did not teach about COVID overwhelmingly noted lack of alignment to their standards or curriculum.
Survey items aligned with the Theory of Planned Behavior provided additional information about factors that influenced teachers’ decision whether to teach about COVID. Teacher attitudes toward teaching about COVID, perceptions of control over teaching about COVID, and feelings of self-efficacy had a substantial influence on whether they addressed COVID in their instruction. However, there were no substantial differences in teacher decision making when examining these data by equity factors.