Chapter 15: Emergency Response Teaching During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Maryland Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic forced school closures in the United States by the Spring of 2020. Several months into the pandemic, teachers in Maryland were surveyed about their experiences instructing with respect to the tools they used, delivery of instruction, students’ participation, and new opportunities they found. Maryland was a unique setting because it had the highest rate of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in the United States. This chapter considers public school teachers’ experiences while engaging in one of the longest-duration ERT initiatives in the United States. The research employed here asks, how did teachers experience ERT several months into the pandemic? Teachers reported significant challenges, including difficulty engaging students and students’ problems with technology. Concurrently, teachers reported opportunities, such as growing as teachers and finding more flexibility in their work, particularly noting increased contact with families and a clearer window into students’ home life. Recommendations are made for further research on teachers’ technology use during and after the pandemic.