A TEACHER FOR OTHERS

May 26, 2020

Xavier Alum Transforms First-Grade Curriculum to Virtual Environment

Ever since she was a little girl, when she’d make up fake tests for her siblings, Betsy Stoeckle knew she wanted to be a teacher.

She carried that dream on throughout her college career at Xavier, where she majored in Early Childhood Education. And, as luck would have it, she landed a job teaching first grade at St. Agnes School in Fort Wright, Ky. — the very same elementary school she attended when she was young.

For two years she lived her dream. But she could never foresee what would happen in March 2020 — that was the month when everything changed, when COVID-19 closed schools and Stoeckle had to transform her class into a virtual one.

“We started at zero and I kind of learned along the way,” says Stoeckle, 25. “During the process you learned what worked and what didn’t.”

She had a day to go back to her class and gather up the items she deemed necessary for what was termed NTI, or non-traditional instruction. She grabbed things like dry-erase boards and clocks.

“I learned at Xavier to be more hands-on,” she said. “I don’t love textbooks, though I use them and I recognize they are important. But I like to teach by doing.”

Which made things more difficult. After all, how do you teach to first-graders in a virtual environment?

Stoeckle said she learned some things very quickly.

First, she realized the most important thing during the tumultuous time was to keep a sense of structure and consistency. She took videos of her teaching and used Google Meet to hold class online in a virtual environment.

“You do what you can to create as much normalcy as possible,” she said. “And the students need to see their teacher. So we would meet every day, like normal, and we would do things like read stories and discuss the structure and plot. I had perfect attendance to all of our online classes.”

Secondly, Stoeckle admitted that you must alter your expectations. Not every child will be able to complete everything, so she prioritized literacy and math, while letting other subjects become secondary priorities. She separated students into small groups based on their needs, and worked with them that way.

She also used current events as part of her assignments. Tasks could include building a hospital out of Legos, or writing a sequel to the popular Pete the Cat books called “Pete Social Distances.”

Thirdly, Stoeckle said she had to realize that parents were overwhelmed, too. That meant she had to be available — whenever she was needed.  

“I know my students,” she said. “I know all of their stories. One has a mother who is a firefighter, and a father who is a police officer. So I provided very detailed outlines because I know maybe Mom and Dad are busy and may have a hard time helping. So I would jump online with the student whenever I was needed, sometimes 7 at night. I had to be flexible. Then again, what else was I doing?” she laughed. “Nothing was open.”

They used the Seesaw app — kind of like social media for kids — to record some of their assignments, which included writing vocabulary words in sand or flour. And Stoeckle created a website to feature all of her communications, which eliminated the sending of unnecessary emails.

Some families didn’t have printers to print out assignments, so Stoeckle hand-delivered them when necessary. If it sounds like a very Xavier way of doing things — being a teacher for others, if you will — then Stoeckle says she feels that way, too.

“I really want the kids to be successful and not be overwhelmed,” she said. “I think a lot of this goes back to my education classes at Xavier, and the Xavier philosophy of doing more. I think Xavier prepared me for all of this. I’m still very much in touch with my professors and classmates.”

Like Teresa Young, associate professor in the School of Education, and Stoeckle’s mentor.

“I am most impressed with the dedication and commitment to making sure her students’ learning needs were met and that they continued to thrive in this new learning environment,” Young said.  

Then there’s Erin Redleski, principal at Saint Agnes who also happened to graduate last year with her Master of Educational Administration degree. Stoeckle actually shared some classes with her principal, as Stoeckle is also getting her master’s from Xavier, in reading.

“Betsy views teaching as a ministry,” Redleski said. “She is truly caring for her students and families. She’s open to trying new things and she’s willing to take risks. She’s a true inspiration to her students.”

“I think we all share that common ground of having the Xavier Way influence our work and dedication to the kids,” Stoeckle said.

Now, as she slows down for the summer vacation, she says she will always incorporate these non-traditional techniques into her curriculum.

“I’ll never go back,” she said. “Yes, it pushes you out of your comfort zone — I didn’t know how to create a website — but I’ve never received so much good feedback on what we’ve done as teachers. It really hit me a couple of days ago how resilient the kids and parents were. My kids who were struggling really worked hard and were successful. That was very rewarding. I’m proud of our work and I would do it a thousand times again if I had to.”

By Ryan Clark, Office of Marketing and Communications