MAY 5, 2020 — Six of UTSA’s top education experts will be part of the third in the series of Community Conversations, an interactive dialogue hosted by the university. Each educator brings vast experience and research focus on important segments of education, which has been forced to undergo changes due to the impact of COVID-19.
The livestream event—What Might K–12 Education Look Like in the Fall?—is free and open to the public and will provide attendees with an opportunity to ask questions of the panelists during the discussion. Slated for Wednesday, May 6 at noon, the event will be of particular interest to parents, local educators and administrators preparing for changes to educational approaches in a COVID-19 world.
UTSA panelists who will speak about the future of K–12 education are Margo DelliCarpini, Michael Villarreal, Vanessa Sansone, Heather Trepal, Ann Marie Ryan and Lloyd Potter.
“There are so many topics of discussion surrounding education since students were abruptly taken from the classroom to remote learning,” said Margo DelliCarpini, dean of the College of Education and Human Development and vice provost for strategic educational partnerships, who will be the panel moderator. “For example, many believe this semester was lost completely and teachers may need a new type of preparation to instruct students partially online and in the classroom. There are financial, mental health and economic issues to consider going forward. Though none of us knows exactly what our situation will look like in the fall, it is sure to be a thought-provoking discussion about changes on the horizon.”
The other panelists for the event are Michael Villarreal, director of the Urban Education Institute; Ann Marie Ryan, professor and chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching; Vanessa Sansone, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Heather Trepal, professor and graduate adviser of record in the Department of Counseling; and Lloyd Potter, professor and director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research.
⇒ Watch the livestream or learn more about the event.
Topics slated for discussion during the hour are:
- The benefits and limits of distance learning,
- Addressing San Antonio’s digital divide,
- What does quality remote learning look like?
- Long-term impact of a lost semester,
- How struggles with online learning can impact mental health for students and their families,
- The pandemic’s financial impact to our public schools,
- Teacher preparation for new modes of learning, and
- Implications for students and their postsecondary dreams.
Community Conversations is a series of interactive dialogues with UTSA’s leading faculty experts sharing their insights and research involving COVID-19–related topics.
