Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Hattie, J. (2021). The distance learning playbook: Grades K-12. Corwin.
My Rating: 5 stars . . . 2 thumbs up . . . 10 out of 10 . . . Highly Recommended
I will start off by stating that this book was not what I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be like most resource books – full of strategies, some useful and some not. Don’t get me wrong – it does have strategies in it, but this book goes far beyond just strategies to use in distance learning.
This book is a PLAYBOOK. Think about what that means, particularly in the sports world. A playbook is used by coaches to develop plays or strategies for winning, and then coaches turn around and teach these plays to the athletes. The authors of this book are the coaches, and the teachers/readers are the athletes. Throughout the book the authors (through short videos, quotes by educators, and the writing itself) keep encouraging you by emphasizing, “You CAN do this!” It was like being in a huddle before a game and feeling the adrenaline rush. Not only did I feel like I could TEACH more effectively through distance learning, but I also couldn’t wait to start working on my class and implementing what I had learned from the playbook.
My overall impression of this book is that it is something you must interact with in order to get the most out of it. It is a workbook in that you really need to start at the beginning and work your way through it. Each module (there are 9 in all) builds off the one before it. You can’t cherry pick through this book. If you do, you will miss the connections between the modules. Module 1 starts off with the importance of taking care of yourself (interesting that this is FIRST), and Module 9 ends with how to make learning better for both students and teachers. The modules in between lead you through the steps of creating an effective distance learning classroom to the best ways to assess, grade, and provide feedback to students.
I believe that this is a great book for a teacher book club or used for PD – I don’t mean 1 session of PD, but multiple weeks! Throughout the modules, there are times to pause, reflect, and make connections. This is perfect for a group setting so that ideas can be shared with one another. Veteran teachers, however, have the background to dig deeply into these reflections, whereas, a first year teacher may find the reflection pieces a little bit more difficult to answer. But we can all learn from each other!
The book includes over 50 short video clips, and I can say that I enjoyed watching each one. Each has a specific purpose, and I gleaned so much valuable information from them. I must say I truly enjoyed watching the video of Nancy Frey near the beginning of the book encouraging teachers by letting them know that we got this! There are video clips of teachers describing how they handle distance learning – great information! Each video is short but packed full of encouragement and resources. What better way is there to learn than by listening to other teachers?
If you are thinking about getting this book . . . DO IT! No matter what the future looks like in teaching, this book will be a valuable resource to you. Hats off to Fisher, Frey, and Hattie! They did not let me down.