Middle School Social Studies Teacher Patrick Stopford Describes his Experience with Online Teaching

Patrick Stopford is a Huntington Middle School social studies teacher with 13 years of HMS teaching experience, with the social studies course that he’s most enjoyed teaching being the 7th Grade Medieval World History course. He’s also enjoyed teaching the 8th Grade American History course.

But Patrick isn’t just known for the teaching of various social studies courses, he’s also known for the teaching of various filmmaking and film editing courses AND for all the good work that he has done lately using the internet to teach his students.

In other words, Patrick is one of our district's more experienced and more accomplished online teachers with MUCH of value to offer any teacher assigned to teach online in the fall.

For this episode of Titan Talk, Patrick answered the questions appearing below (all related to his online teaching experience.)

1. Briefly describe your online teaching experience from March 13, when school shutdown, to the present.
2. Assuming that in the fall there will be no face-to-face instruction . . . that the school and the district have decided to play it safe and keep us away from school for at least another two or three more months . . . what do you plan to use, Google Meet or Zoom?
3. If in the fall, I were to access your classroom during the first week of school, what would I see and hear when it comes to “get-to-know-you activities?” Are you planning to integrate any of these into your long-distance learning sessions?
4. What about when it comes to the teaching of content? How do you plan to deliver what the students need to know to pass your tests?
5. How do you plan to test?
6. Do you believe teachers should be permitted to require their students to present their face on camera?
7. Should teachers be permitted to require their students to present their voices on camera?
8. How do you plan to hold your students accountable? In other words, what are you going to do to prevent your students from checking out on class discussion?
9. Has anyone ever tried to bomb your online class sessions and if so, what did you do?
10. Have you yet in any way polled/surveyed your students to learn what they thought of your online instruction?
11. Do you plan at the end of the first semester to in any way poll/survey your students to learn what they thought of your online instruction?
12. Have you had any epic fails when it comes to your online teaching experience?
13. Do you believe that Zoom fatigue is a real thing and if so, what if anything do you plan to do in the fall to prevent your students from acquiring Zoom fatigue?
14. Is there anything else that you would like to say, that you haven’t yet said, about either your long-distance learning experience or your plans for the fall?

Titan Talk is a San Marino High School teacher-hosted, interview formatted, bi-monthly podcast that seeks to highlight two kinds of educators: (1) those who have something of value to say in regards to teaching, learning, testing, and wellness and (2) those who have a personal story worth sharing.

Titan Talk is normally hosted by SMHS social studies teachers Peter Paccone and Andrew Gayl. Peter can be reached at ppaccone@smusd.us and Andrew can be reached at agayl@smusd.us.

This particular Titan Talk was hosted by SMHS Titan Shied advisor and SMUSD all-time great utility player Jose Caire and by SMHS Media Arts teacher Robbin Rae McCulloch.

San Marino High School is a top-rated public high school located in San Marino, California, just twenty minutes northeast of downtown Los Angeles and a few miles from the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

This "Home of the Titans" serves grades 9-12. The San Marino High School website can be viewed at https://www.sanmarinohs.org.

This Titan Talk was produced using Free Conference Call to record and then edited by SMHS Junior Julia Beredo