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Abstract
Due to the pandemic, teachers across the nation were thrown into a digital educational environment where they had to rely on technology (and the good graces of parents) to convey instruction across the virtual learning landscape. For teachers of the visual arts, the shift to virtual learning created the opportunity and challenge to create engaging, fun, and relevant lessons, especially when teaching students with disabilities. The impetus for accessibility to visual arts learning for all students comes from the importance of visual arts to culture, community, and further life skill engagement. The basis for the need for accessible instruction is in the policies and procedures developed at a county, state, and federal level supporting the access to the educational environment for students with disabilities. In this article, we move from the macro level of policy and procedure to the micro level of real teachers implementing appropriate strategies to engage students directly in their visual arts instruction. We, in collaboration with visual arts instructors, dive into the barriers that came with the shift to a virtual learning environment during the pandemic for students with disabilities, and how they identified strategies to bridge the gaps. Teachers identified how their “teaching toolbox” was stretched and expanded through the use of new digital tools. We also identify supports and strategies lacking in the digital learning environment and how the teachers attempted to overcome them. The teachers also share how they implemented specially designed instructional strategies to meet the students’ needs while engaging the students with the visual arts content. We explore teacher perspectives on the implementation of digital strategies during distance learning and gain insights on lessons learned, strategies to carry forward, and digital divides that continue, even into the varied learning modes following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Micro-credentials: Competency based credentials allow educators to focus on a discrete skill related to their practice. Maryland State Department. Every Student Succeeds Act Accountability Framework: State Board Meeting (June, 27, 2017). pg.189.
2 P2P/USM Consortium Sponsored by Coppin State University: https://www.credly.com/organizations/p2p-usm-consortium-sponsored-by-coppin-state-university/collections/p2p-microcredentials-in-teaching-effectiveness-career-readiness/badge_templates
3 Maryland Micro-Credentials for Creative Classrooms: https://www.mcreds.org/
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Elizabeth Stuart Whitehead
Elizabeth Stuart Whitehead has served as the Visual Art Supervisor for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland since 2014. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in art education from the University of Maryland, College Park, a Master of Arts degree in education from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and her certificate in supervision and administration also from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently seeking her Doctorate in School System Leadership from the University of Maryland. Whitehead taught elementary art for nine years and was the content specialist for art, theater, and dance for Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Maryland, for seven years. Elizabeth has coauthored two books—Using Art To Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies (Klein & Stuart, 2013), and Using Art to Teach Writing Traits (Klein & Whitehead, 2018)—along with other articles published in School Arts Magazine.
Lauren Elizabeth Duewer
Lauren Duewer has led as a special educator for the last 18 years in Prince George’s County Public Schools District in Maryland through the roles of resource teacher, co-teacher, talented and gifted coordinator and educator, special education chairperson, and special education specialist across grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Lauren is currently in the doctoral program for School System Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she also received her Bachelor and Master degrees in Special Education, in addition to her certificate in supervision and administration from Trinity Washington University. She was a semifinalist in the TNTP Fishman Prize, received Special Educator of the Year from the Upper Marlboro Rotary Club in 2015, and continues to be a National Board certified teacher (2010, 2020). As a long standing member of the Center for Exceptional Children (CEC), Ms. Duewer advocates, educates and supports staff, students, community and families through the many challenges of navigating the learning process for children with special needs across the educational spectrum.