Isolation, Burnout, and a Lost Sense of Belonging: Combating the Challenges of Distance Education During a Pandemic Free

More than 1.48 billion students, or 84.8% of global enrollments, were directly affected by school closures at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in early April of 2020 (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2020). The pandemic forced a rapid shift from in-person to online learning in both K–12 and postsecondary schools. Some teachers and students adapted well to the shift, while others continue to struggle. Common complaints from those who struggle in the new distance learning environment are feelings of isolation (Kotera et al., 2020) and burnout (Singer, 2020) for teachers and a lost sense of belonging for students (Besser et al., 2020). To prepare teacher education students for a future that will likely include distance education, teacher educators should consider including the following best practices in their instruction.

Curricula that is taught in a traditional, face-to-face classroom should not be taught in the same way online, but teachers who are isolated at home and have never taught online do not have access to the assistance of colleagues or professional development opportunities in order to develop quality coursework. Recent research suggests ways teachers can combat isolation to get the assistance and professional development they need.

At the University of Derby in the United Kingdom, faculty meet for a virtual huddle each morning before classes begin. Their online meeting link is established through Microsoft Teams as a recurring calendar invitation with no set agenda, but Zoom could also be used if it happens to be the preferred video conferencing software. Derby faculty often sign into the meeting before the start time in order to engage in casual conversation before turning to the primary purpose of the huddle, which is to check on their colleagues’ well-being and share ideas for the delivery of quality online instruction. Conversations are informal, but faculty make every effort to ensure that everybody gets a chance to speak, ask questions, and/or offer suggestions. In addition to video/audio interaction, faculty use the chat feature to share documents, helpful links or, in some cases, jokes which provide some comic relief from a stressful situation. Although these virtual huddles are only scheduled for 15 minutes, they often last much longer and result in social and emotional well-being, a compassionate team culture, and a feeling of connectedness (Kotera et al., 2020).

Teacher educators might consider beginning their own online classes with a virtual huddle to model the strategy and demonstrate its potential to make teachers feel less isolated. In addition, Microsoft Teams and Zoom both offer a share screen feature that could be utilized by colleagues to teach each other how to use technologies that “afford students the means of interacting substantively with [the instructor] and with one another and enable a deep engagement with course materials or applications” (Gannon, 2019, para. 19). Teacher educators might also consider incorporating some peer technology demonstrations into their virtual huddles so their students gain experience in resource sharing and peer instruction. According to Gannon (2019), technology tools should be chosen based on their ease of use, ability to complement pedagogy, and potential to accomplish a specific learning goal. It is imperative that teacher education students realize how important it is “to know the technology well enough to be the main troubleshooter for [their] students when — not if — they encounter difficulties setting up or using a tool themselves” (Gannon, 2019, para 20). Resource sharing is an excellent way to build community among teachers and make them feel less isolated.

During the pandemic, there have been no opportunities to attend in-person conferences, trainings, or other professional development opportunities to learn valuable skills for online teaching. Funding for virtual professional development is also scarce due to the financial constraints COVID-19 has placed upon public schools including reduced state and local funding, extra spending on cleaning, sanitizing, and personal protective equipment, and the need to hire additional custodians and nurses. In some states, school funding is based on daily average attendance and could be withheld if a district is not open for in-person instruction (Modan, 2020). There are, however, many free professional development opportunities being offered virtually for teachers and teacher education students in response to the pandemic such as podcasts, continuing education courses, and webinars.

Podcasts are a convenient way to engage in professional development since they are typically short and can be listened to while in the car, exercising, or performing household duties. In most cases, they do not count for continuing education units (CEUs), but some districts will grant CEUs for a written reflection and implementation plan based on strategies and skills learned in a podcast—especially when constraints of a pandemic are considered. So, teachers should check with their administrators (Davies, 2021). The following podcasts are free and provide advice, strategies, and best practices for online teaching:

• Becoming an Authentic Online Teacher:https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/becoming-an-authentic-online-teacher/

• Cult of Pedagogy

  • Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/genuine-connection-online/

  • How to Teach When Everyone is Scattered: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/scattered/

  • 9 Ways Online Teaching Should Be Different From Face-to-Face: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/9-ways-online-teaching/

• The House of #EDTECH

  • 8 Tips for Teaching Online: https://chrisnesi.com/8-tips-for-teaching-online-hoet162

  • Strategies for Engaging Students in Virtual Learning: https://chris-nesi.com/strategies-for-engaging-students-in-virtual-learning-hoet168

• The Onliners:https://theonliners.transistor.fm/

• Online Teaching Survival Guide: A 7-Part Audio Series:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/online-teaching-survival-guide-a-7-part-audio-series

• Telling Audio Stories About the Pandemic: The Most Popular EdSurge Podcasts of 2020:https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-12-23-telling-audio-stories-about-the-pandemic-the-most-popularedsurge-podcasts-of-2020

• TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast:https://cdl.ucf.edu/teach/resources/topcast/

• The Wired Educator

  • The Most Important Ingredient of Remote Learning: https://wirededucator.com/wep161/

  • What I Learned About Remote Learning After 10 Weeks, an Interview With Stephanie Castle: https://wirededucator.com/wep164/

Continuing education gives teachers the opportunity to remain current in their field by learning new skills and approaches that can also advance their career and salary potential. According to Davies (2021), “while some online courses cost money, they also offer the most bang for your buck because many are provided by accredited colleges and universities and credits earned can be transferred toward a future degree” (para. 21). Teachers should be careful to examine online courses before enrolling and expecting to receive CEUs. Some providers claim to offer free continuing education courses, but upon closer examination, they do not offer certificates of completion, and/or require you to pay a fee for CEUs (Davies, 2021). The following continuing education courses are free, and some even offer professional development certificates in online teaching:

• Alison: Free Online Teaching Courses:https://alison.com/courses/education

• Class Central

  • Advanced Instructional Strategies in the Virtual Classroom: https://www.classcentral.com/course/advancedvirtual-1567

  • Foundations of Virtual Instruction: https://www.classcentral.com/course/virtual-instruction-860

  • Introduction to Online and Blended Teaching: https://www.classcentral.com/course/edx-introduction-to-online-and-blended-teaching-8856

  • K-12 Blended and Online Learning: https://www.classcentral.com/course/k-12-online-education-1531

  • Learning to Teach Online: https://www.classcentral.com/course/ltto-1393

• edX

  • Foundations for Excellence in Teaching Online: https://www.edx.org/course/foundations-for-excellence-in-teaching-online

  • Pivoting to Online Teaching: Research and Practitioner Perspectives: https://www.edx.org/course/pivoting-to-online-teaching-research-and-practitioner-perspectives

  • Strategies for Online Teaching and Learning: https://www.edx.org/course/strategies-for-teaching-online

• Future Learn: How to Teach Online Courses:https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/teaching-courses/how-to-teach-online

• Learning to Teach Online: An Open Educational Resource for Pre-Service Teachers:https://onlineteaching.ca/

• OpenStax CNX

  • Best Practices in Online Teaching: https://cnx.org/contents/jCI34nc-@2.3:9pA50RBN@1/Course-Goals-and-Objectives

  • Promising Practices in Online Teaching and Learning: https://cnx.org/contents/Zmpi-kNET@2.1:KAEDS_ll@1/About-the-Course-Promising-Practices

  • Visual Design for Distance Education Content: https://cnx.org/contents/tu1i2eLX@1.1:zTI9Eqbp@3/About-this-course

• Teaching Online from the University of California, Irvine:http://ocw.uci.edu/courses/teaching_online.html

• Tips and Tricks for Teaching Online:http://www.onlineteachingtips.org/

Webinars are a great way to be introduced to a topic or learn something new about a topic you have some experience with. Because they are usually no more than an hour, they can fit into a busy schedule like a podcast. Unlike podcasts, however, the video format of webinars makes it difficult to multitask while you’re watching them. Live webinars offer the added advantage of student-teacher interaction and discussion about the best ways to incorporate technology, strategies, or techniques in the classroom, but live webinars can pose a problem if they don’t fit into a teacher’s schedule or are being offered from a different time zone. Unfortunately, most webinars do not offer CEUs, but some districts may make provisions similar to those already described for podcasts (Davies, 2021). The following organizations and publishers offer free webinars that provide valuable information regarding online teaching and learning:

• Achieving the Dream:https://www.achievingthedream.org/resource/18040/webinar-series-online-teaching-learning-through-disruption

• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development:http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/ascd-webinar-archive.aspx

• CoolCatTeacher: 10 Essential Online Learning Best Practices:https://www.coolcatteacher.com/10-essential-online-learning-best-practices-free-webinar/

• Ed Elements:https://www.edele-ments.com/webinars

• Education First: Teacher Zone:https://www.ef.com/wwen/tz/courses/free-webinars

• Education Week:https://www.edweek.org/events/webinars

• edWeb:https://home.edweb.net/webi-nars/

• Illinois Digital Educators Alliance:https://ideaillinois.org/WednesdayWebinars?gclid=CjwKCAiAxeX_BRASEi-wAc1QdkatqUSXe3NDO5kI4qQdWHwUnRFyl9K4mccvKvTfJlsjC5ken8xk-FJxoC3P0QAvD_BwE

• Innovative Educators:https://www.innovativeeducators.org/collections/free-training-innovative-educators

• Online Learning Consortium:https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/learn/webinars/?gclid=CjwKCAiAxeX_BRA-SEiwAc1QdkS3aXpoZvVf8f-aV_aGkW8h_4KvVPgyVEBOrwfKt9p3rUuRJ-j2vuxoC3pwQAvD_BwE

• Pearson’s Digital Learning Webinar Series:https://www.pearson.com/us/1/digital-learning-webinars.html

• Soft Chalk:https://softchalk.com/learn-more/webinars/innovators

Another way teachers and teacher education students can learn skills and strategies to improve their online instruction is to read about them. Trikoilis and Papanas-tasiou (2020) examined the possibility of using educational research to search for ideas and best practices in online teaching. They found that teachers who perceived themselves to have a high level of professional isolation were more likely to have a high level of research skills and knowledge that could lead to a higher probability of using research for professional development. Trikoilis and Papanastasiou (2020) asserted the likelihood that teachers who experience more isolation “actively seek to develop themselves by engaging in research related activities” (p. 297). The authors support teacher education programs providing their students with the information literacy skills needed to “transform themselves from passive recipients of knowledge to active receivers or producers of knowledge” (p. 298). With these skills, teachers and teacher education students will be able to locate journal articles with suggestions for best practices to solve problems they’re facing with online teaching during a pandemic. For those teachers and teacher education students who have little to no access to online subscription databases, the Directory of Open Access Journals (https://doaj.org/) can direct them to freely accessible, peer-reviewed journal articles.

In addition to being taught how to locate and read the research of others, teacher education students should be taught to conduct their own research. For example, if teachers are struggling to make their online lessons engaging for students, they can be taught how to gather data from colleagues by using a survey that can be created for free using Google forms (https://www.google.com/forms/about/) and then shared through email or social media (Trikoilis & Papanas-tasiou, 2020). Data sources like these, as well as research articles obtained through open-source journals, can support teachers who are struggling with the challenges of teaching online during a pandemic, while turning them into critical thinkers and data-based decisionmakers who will also be able to face challenges in their teaching postpandemic (Merkel, 2003).

In the fall of 2020, America debated whether to reopen schools and allow inperson instruction. Teachers took center stage in the debate—sometimes being criticized for speaking out against reopening and, at other times, being praised for making it work. Rarely did the debate include a discussion of the burnout teachers have been experiencing as a result of the pandemic (Singer, 2020). Carter (2013) describes burnout as “a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment” (para. 2). The New York Times interviewed more than a dozen teachers regarding their experience teaching during a pandemic and the resulting burnout.

The amount of time, care, and counseling these teachers devoted to their students caused them to neglect their own well-being. In fact, Dr. Richard Shadick, clinical psychologist and national mental health consultant for Teach for America, claims that “we are seeing some of the same psychological effects from teachers as we saw from frontline healthcare workers” (Teach for America Editorial Team, 2020, para. 4). Without some form of intervention, pandemic-induced teacher burnout “could erode instructional quality, stymie working parents and hinder the reopening of the economy” (Singer, 2020, subtitle).

Chen et al. (2020) suggest three actions administrators can take to alleviate the stressors that lead to teacher burnout. Interestingly, the first two actions are also suggestions other researchers have made to combat teacher isolation. They include: (1) providing opportunities for teachers to communicate with their peers to exchange teaching strategies and time management skills and (2) providing professional development opportunities that target specific challenges teachers are facing. The third suggested action is to provide professional counseling services for teachers who are struggling with their own well-being. According to Teach for America Editorial Team (2020), well-being may also be achieved through active self-care incorporating the eight dimensions of wellness (as identified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016). Table 1 outlines the eight dimensions of wellness as well as suggested activities for achieving them.

The eight dimensions of wellness (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016) are a valuable resource for anybody working in a stressful environment, but especially for teachers and teacher education students dealing with the fallout from a pandemic.

Despite teachers’ and administrators’ best efforts to continue to provide quality instruction during a pandemic, students have lost in-person and hands-on learning, the opportunity for peer-driven socialemotional development, and in some cases, access to basic needs such as healthy meals (Teach for America Editorial Team, 2020). One of the most significant losses students are experiencing as a result of having to learn online is the sense of belonging they would normally develop in a traditional, face-to-face classroom setting (Besser et al., 2020). “A sense of belonging in school is the extent to which students feel accepted, supported, and respected by their teachers and classmates” (Tuio, 2020, para. 2). According to Maslow (1943), only food, clothing, and safety come before belonging on the hierarchy of human needs. A sense of belonging increases overall well-being and protects against stress and depression—two things many students are dealing with because of the pandemic. “When students feel a sense of belonging in the classroom, they are more relaxed and receptive. Unsurprisingly, research correlates belonging with motivation, attention, effort, academic performance, and persistence. Feeling connected to others also increases a student’s willingness to learn and behave in school” (Tuio, 2020, para. 5). How, then, do teachers create a sense of belonging in the online classroom?

Besser et al. (2020) suggest providing regular opportunities for students to express their needs so they have a clear sense of having a voice while providing safe opportunities for students who are typically reserved to participate. Other strategies are outlined in Table 2. 

In addition to the aforementioned strategies, Dr. Jamaal Matthews, an associate professor of educational psychology at Montclair State University, developed the “4 H’s of belonging-centered instruction” (2018) which can be incorporated into online classes:

• Home—relate lessons to activities students engage in at home;

• Hobbies—feature examples with personal activities that your students enjoy;

• Hope—focus on aspirations, interests, or goals; and

• Heritage—connect to people or traditions that are a source of pride for your students and their heritage.

When students see themselves reflected in teachers’ instruction, they feel accepted, supported, and respected. Since it is more difficult for teachers who are teaching online to get to know their students well enough to incorporate the 4 H’s of belonging-centered instruction, using a “getting to know you” questionnaire or interest survey may help (Tuio, 2020).

Sull (2020) developed a guide for teaching online during the pandemic that also gives tips for belonging-centered instruction. First, Sull recommends teachers publicly recognize the challenges their students may be facing because of the pandemic and let them know they understand and are available to help. Sull also contends that using humor in the classroom can provide some comic relief for students who are dealing with a lot of stress related to the pandemic and make class more inviting. Teachers who are warm, listen to their students, show interest in their students’ success, and make time for their students also create a classroom environment where students feel they belong. However, this can’t be accomplished online without constant communication through email, intraclass messaging services, texting apps, and live meeting platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Connect, WebEx, and GoToMeeting. Sull argues that students “need to know you can be depended on to be available (and to respond to their questions and need for clarifications); unlike shuttered restaurants, parks, meetings, and activities, it’s important for students to know you are always open” (p. 72).

Other tips Sull (2020) suggests for creating a sense of belonging in the online classroom are to be open to leniency and to know where to refer students for help. These are unprecedented times that have created unprecedented challenges for students, and these challenges can sometimes cause students who would not normally turn an assignment in late to miss a due date. Sull argues that “it is imperative we bend, even break, assignment due dates during this crisis; not doing so can lead to students simply giving up” (p. 73). Consequently, it’s important that teachers encourage students to reach out for help if they notice them struggling to meet due dates or performing poorly on assessments. Teachers can set struggling students up with a peer mentor/tutor, school librarian, or reading/writing specialist for assistance with academics. They can also refer them to a guidance counselor or school psychologist for assistance with basic needs or mental health.

What do isolation, burnout, and a lost sense of belonging have in common? They are all negative side effects of the COVID-19 crisis (and the resulting rapid shift to distance education) plaguing both teachers and students. However, they are also all treatable through simple practices involving empathy and compassion.The biggest lesson administrators, teachers, and teacher educators should have learned from 2020 is that many of the strategies, techniques, and approaches they have been using to reach instructors and students who are struggling with the challenges of teaching and learning in a pandemic are strategies, techniques, and approaches they should have been using all along. Evans (2020) provides suggestions for administrators and teachers who want to support teachers and students through COVID-19 and beyond. First, she claims that effective administrators should be empathetic leaders who listen, are present, and create bonds. “Cultivating empathy is a leadership skill that develops bonds of trust. It offers insight into what your faculty are feeling and thinking and equips you to better lead during crisis. The ability to understand and relate to the difficult challenges your faculty are facing [such as isolation and burnout] will create a lasting effect on them” (Evans, 2020, p. 26). Second, Evans argues that effective teachers and teacher educators should be flexible and understanding, show compassion, and stay connected to their students. According to Evans (2020), “each of us has felt the effects of COVID-19, so let’s practice leading [and teaching] with empathy as a rule” (p. 26).