Searching for a meaningful problem can be tricky. What might be meaningful for me, as the teacher, may not be as meaningful to my students. What might be meaningful for my students, may not align to the standards. Either way, it is well worth the effort to spend time formulating a meaningful problem to increase engagement, build inquiry strategies, and hone students’ solution sharing skills.

Arizona educators and concerned parents are eagerly anticipating direction from state officials on how and when K-12 schools should proceed as their communities continue opening up amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Arizona Department of Education is expected to release its guidelines for school reopening this week, and an Arizona State University professor said a dynamic and multilayered approach will be required in order to secure students’ learning environments.

Wendy Peia Oakes has been an assistant professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University since 2012. Her research and teaching continue a mission she undertook nearly 30 years and three degrees ago as a middle school classroom teacher in College Park, Maryland: improving educational access and outcomes for young children with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Due to the global pandemic, many families are wondering whether and how schools will reopen this fall. Schools might physically reopen and then be forced to close because of a sudden spike in COVID-19 transmission. There are still many uncertainties about how schools will handle new social distancing protocols and the potential shifts between in-person learning and remote instruction.

Through all of this disruption, schools and communities will need to support families and students by addressing challenges having to do with health, instruction and equity.

Assistant Professor Carrie Sampson is the recipient of the 2020 William J. Davis Award from the University Council for Educational Administration. Presented annually since 1979, the Davis Award is usually given to the author or authors of the most outstanding article published in Educational Administration Quarterly in the preceding year.

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