Empowered at a Distance: How to Build Student Self-Direction into Remote and Hybrid Learning

by Dr. John Spencer

Student engagement can be a real challenge in virtual and hybrid learning. This is especially true when the transition is unexpected. Often, students struggle to show up to class meetings and they turn work in late. However, the real issue isn’t simply a lack of engagement. It’s often a lack of self-direction. In other words, students aren’t taking the initiative with their own learning. In Empowered at a Distance, Dr. John Spencer provides teachers, coaches, and administrators with a roadmap that will inspire anytime / anywhere innovation at the K-12 and university levels. He provides practical strategies for building student ownership into the assessment process, creative process, collaborative process, and inquiry process. He includes practical insights for improving virtual meetings and overall course design. There’s no single right way to do distance learning. There are no magical formulas. However, although there is no instruction manual, we can all use tools, blueprints, and ideas to craft meaningful learning experiences that happen anytime and anywhere.

Genres: Education, Teaching

232 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2020

Reviews

[Antoinette Van Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. It was actually assigned as PD for my cooperating teacher in this first half of my student teaching, but it's a quick read and so thorough.

There are charts and diagrams and descriptions of varied educational methods— particularly those that have come into regular use with the presence of COVID-19— as well as encouragement in the minutia of teaching that can so often be overlooked (e.g. "You are not a content-delivery machine") in the hustle to make online learning as engaging and fruitful as in-person learning has traditionally been.

There are resources and ideas on activities and various methods of encouraging student self-efficacy and empowering voice and choice in the classroom on the regular. Not only is the content engaging and purposeful, the illustrations, graphics, and choice of arrangement is delightful and makes it incredibly easy to read. In my mind, it hearkens back to the Geronimo Stilton books of my childhood, but with a subject that is more beneficial to my current and future work.

Teachers of all levels should read this, as the shift to digital learning is unlikely to leave with any swiftness.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of John Spencer and Empowered at a Distance is another great educational resource by him. (Although, Launch remains my favourite!) Empowered at a Distance is timely, thoughtful advice for structuring successful remote teaching and how to use reflection, student choice, and flexibility to build community and empower students.

My only comment is that I teach EY and while a lot of Spencer's guidance can be applied to any grade level, there are some aspects that are still just out of reach for remote teaching grade 1s and 2s. It was still empowering to envision what could be achieved with older learners and well-crafted remote learning.

[Susan McGilvray]

I love John Spencer books but this one offered little new information for me. Still a big fan, though!

[Maricela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely informative book if you want to learn how to be an effective online teacher. Keeping students engaged can be a challenge, but this book gives you many strategies to address that and how to empower students to take ownership of the learning process.