Erin Trautman has worked as an international educator for more than 24 years. She began her career as a teacher for students with learning disabilities. After a break in education to support and care for her two children, she returned to The American School Foundation to work in the Early Childhood Center. Inspired by her work and effort to reach students’ individual needs, she created a literacy intervention program within the center to provide strategic and intentional literacy instruction. Erin then took on the leadership role of the lower school dean of students. Continuing her journey as an international educational leader, she has been working for four years in her role as the head of the Early Childhood Center at the foundation. Erin’s educational background includes a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and Early Childhood from Ohio University, a master’s in Reading and Learning Disabilities from DePaul University, and a second master’s in International Education Administration from Endicott College.
Below is a full transcript of the podcast.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 00:01
This episode of EdTech Hour is brought to you by the Educational Psychology and Technology Program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. The Chicago School’s mission is integrating the values of education, innovation, service, and community. The Chicago School provides students innovative and practitioner-based learning experiences in which they’re able to positively impact others around the world and address issues faced by underserved populations. Through collaboration university administration, faculty, and students. The EdTech Hour was created in order to pursue our vision of innovation and global outreach. This monthly podcast series will include thought leaders from around the world who will discuss relevant issues centered not only on technology, but also the impact of technology on humanity. Speakers will provide listeners with stories of how they have impacted learners, employees, and communities through their pursuit of understanding how individuals learn and use technology to improve performance. This show provides a global median to share and promote various issues and developments and learning and how professionals are utilizing technology. By listening to this show, I hope that you’re able to develop a unique insight into how you can incorporate similar topics and trends into your own professional settings. I look forward to learning more about our topic with you throughout this episode.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 01:17
Welcome, I just want to start by thanking you for joining us and sharing your thoughts on education at this present moment. So today, we’re going to be talking to Erin Trautman, who is an international educator who has been working in education for 28 years. She has held a variety of positions and is currently leading the Early Childhood Center at an international school in Mexico City, Mexico. Today, we’re going to be having a conversation about navigating the COVID-19 pandemic with young learners. So welcome, Erin.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 01:54
Thank you. It’s my pleasure.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 01:58
So just to start, could you tell me a bit about the academic institution you work for and the nature of an international school in general?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 02:06
Sure. So the school that I work for is the American School Foundation in Mexico City. It’s an international English speaking college preparatory school. We prepare our diverse student body to be leaders of tomorrow. We do have around 2,500 students K through 12. We also have several accreditations, including the IB, SAIS, and the Unum which is strictly here in Mexico. We are over 133 years old. And I believe we are the oldest international school in Latin America. It could be the world, but I’d have to do more research on that. But we’re, we’re a pretty old institution.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 02:55
Yeah, so you mentioned that there’s the IB curriculum, which is international. And then the can you just expand a little bit more about the other two?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 03:07
Yeah, the SAIS is usually within the US. So it’s just an accreditation from the US. And then the Unum is a Mexican accreditation.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 03:18
So there’s a lot of different curriculum within that where…
Erin Trautman, M.A. 03:23
We’re well rounded.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 03:25
Haha. Good. So can you give us a little background and what led you to work in the international school environment and your journey to become the head of the Early Childhood Center?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 03:38
Yeah, so it’s, it’s a really long story. So I’m going to shorten it the best that I can. So in 1995, my dad accepted a job here in Mexico City to be the vice president of Fordham, Mexico. I was about to start a master’s degree at Loyola…not at Loyola, sorry…at DePaul University in Chicago, and decided I’d take a quick little trip to Mexico to see them before I started that. So long story short, on my visit, I met my future husband, took two years to finish my master’s in Chicago, moved here in 1997, and got married.
So my degree was in reading and learning disabilities. And I got my first job here at the American School Foundation, working for the services for Academic Success Program, which is the special ed department here. So I was in that position for a couple of years did take some time off to have a couple of babies. When both of my girls were at school here full time was in 2008. My daughters were in first and second grade. At that time in conjunction with the services for academic success coordinator, I created the early literacy intervention program in the ECC.
I was in that position for seven years, it’s still going strong, two other people have held that position after me. But while I was in this position, I was asked to run the English-Spanish language arts review. This was kind of when I realized that leadership may be my next step. I really never thought I would end up, it wasn’t a plan that I had. I was you know, really happy working in a special ed department, I loved it. It was a really a challenging process. I had a team of people K through 12. And I was just surprised at how people listened, and they followed, and they agreed with what I was saying. And I thought, “Wow, maybe this is something I might want to do.” And I was encouraged from some of my colleagues, and even my supervisors at the time that this might be a step that I should take. So right after that, I began my second master’s degree in international education administration that very next year. So from there, in 2015, I took on my first leadership role as Dean of Students in the Lower School. And then three years later, I had the opportunity to come back full circle back to the early childhood center, as the head of school. And this is my fourth year in that position, and it really is the right fit. I feel like all of the puzzle pieces have finally come together.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 06:33
Yeah, we’re going to kind of move forward and talk a little bit about what it’s been like to work virtually within the early childhood center. But before we move on, you mentioned that you created the early literacy intervention program. Can you just really quickly talk about what that program is and how it’s still thriving?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 06:56
At that time, we really didn’t have a lot of communication within divisions. We were kind of like isolated little islands, right. And especially the ECC, because we’re across the street, we’re in a separate building. So at that time, what I was noticing, as my girls were moving through the kindergarten and going into first grade, and they’re bilingual, because they live in a bilingual household, so they were fine. But I was noticing a lot of these kids really were moving into first grade, not really ready. And, you know, they really lacked basic literacy skills.
So you know, within the time that I took off to have my kids, I was in conversations with the head of the special ed services for academic success department saying, “you know, I really think this is a missing link. We need to really look at this so that we can better prepare our kids to move across the street.” And she agreed with me, and so did the administration. So they created a new position. And I have to say that since that time, the Lower School also realized that they needed it. They started with one interventionist, and now they have another one. So it’s kind of grown. Which I’m pretty proud of. And we do have incredible communication between divisions, especially now—between the ECC and the Lower School. We really worked together to make sure that it’s a really smooth transition from here to there.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 08:24
Great, thanks so much. So as you transitioned to a virtual learning model back in March of 2020, what were your biggest successes and challenges?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 08:38
Yeah, that’s a loaded question. But I think the biggest challenge was figuring out how to educate over about 350, three to six year olds online. I mean, that in itself is just mind boggling. It’s just not natural for them at all. So that was challenging. Once we figured out that we could engage them that way and came up with different strategies to do so, scheduling was the next issue. The expectation was that kids were—at least the expectation, oftentimes, when parents not really understanding how this age group, their tolerance for time is and how much time they can spend online and so forth.
Scheduling would be the next issue. So what we decided was, we absolutely could not engage them online for longer than 30 minutes. And that smaller groups were a lot easier to manage than a group of 20. So what we did was try to have larger meetings in the morning. In the afternoon, very short check ins and check outs. Then within the day, they did have differentiated groups which were fluid. They changed often depending on how those kids were growing. And the teacher met with very small groups for differentiated instruction.
Then, we had to kind of figure out how to hold specialist classes, intervention sessions, counseling sessions, all of that. We decided at least with the specialist, it was a lot easier for parents at home to be able to receive kind of recorded lessons that they could do at their own time. Then, they could submit any work that they require. Intervention sessions, which only was held with K-3, she actually did work with them live and the counseling sessions as well.
It was very challenging, but I have to say, after some trial and error, the schedule worked. Most of the parents were really satisfied. And I I’m incredibly proud of our teachers. I would say that was our biggest success. The hard work and diligence of our teachers. Most of our ACC families were incredible as well, they really partnered with us took on that challenge to help educate their kids at home. It was really a partnership. And I’m really proud because we’re seeing this year that our kids are right on track for the next grade level. So we’re pretty proud of that.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 11:11
So you mentioned counseling. How do you try to foster social emotional wellbeing at a distance with early childhood students?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 11:21
As I mentioned before: I think these kids are so young, it’s really hard to engage them. But my counseling team last year was just incredible. And they created this whole Google classroom with resources for students and for parents. We held workshops for parents for what we saw as different needs or different questions that parents had, we brought in specialists for that. But the counselors were in virtual classrooms constantly observing the students. They were setting up virtual playdates for students that really needed that support and reaching out to families. The counselors, I’m sure are exhausted from last year, because they were constantly connected to the kids into the classroom. So it was it was quite fantastic. I have to give them that shout out because they created that. It was great.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 12:23
Sounds kind of comprehensive. What’s the specific technologies do you believe help mediate learning the most in online learning?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 12:37
Right. So obviously, Zoom was the first one I had never heard of before until we started using it for online learning. Incredible. Google Classroom was utilized to house all of the teacher communication, to receive student work, and for teachers to give feedback. That’s the same. As I was mentioning before with the counselors, they had their own Google Classroom. All of the specialists had their own Google Classroom so they could receive work and send feedback. But those would be the top two. We obviously had other online resources that we utilized, but those would be the big two.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 13:21
Yeah, I think most people hadn’t really heard about Zoom prior to the pandemic.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 13:25
Part of our vernacular now, you know, yeah,
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 13:28
Exactly.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 13:28
No one knew about it before. It’s crazy.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 13:30
We have a whole new vocabulary. How did students connect with the teacher, the other students, and the content?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 13:42
It wasn’t easy. But being clear and consistent was number one. Consistency of timing and cadence so that we could help families and students feel comfortable, schedule their days appropriately. We were so proactive with communication if teachers needed to meet one on one with kids or in smaller groups, which they did for differentiated sessions. But aside from the differentiating sessions, we had time scheduled throughout the day. The teachers remained authentic, familiar. They were trying out new things to really engage the kids. They were flexible, creative, innovative. I can’t say enough about what the teachers were able to accomplish last year. It was really fantastic.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 14:31
You may not have an example of just offhand, but did you see the students connecting with each other at all, when you were observing what was happening in the classroom? Can you kind of expand on that?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 14:48
Yes, especially in the smaller groups, for sure. But it was cute in the morning meetings when they would all get together, and they would say “hi” to each other. You know, many of the teachers would introduce the kids as they came in and say “hello, good morning” to everyone. And they would say “hello, and good morning to everyone else.” So they did they find connections. And what was really interesting is that near the end of the year, when things were calming down, and people were starting to get vaccinated, the teachers would try to meet while the parents of each classroom would set up outdoor meetings with the teachers, which was amazing. They’d be at the park or something like that. And at the end of the year, we actually had on-campus tours for the kids that had never been on campus. And it was amazing to see them engage with the with their friends that they had only seen online and with their teachers. They couldn’t believe their teacher was real. It was it was really cool.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 15:47
Yeah, bringing it from the virtual world to the physical world, and how kind of how that blends together.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 15:53
Exactly. Yeah, it was.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 15:57
So what was your biggest lesson as an educational leader?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 16:03
I guess, there’s a lot. I mean no one could ever picture themselves in this situation, and having to teach this way with such young students. I know that you know. There’s universities that you can do online, but it’s so different with grade school and kindergarten children. I had to tap into my emotional intelligence more than ever before. I do believe that is a strength of mine. But it was something that I really had to focus on, because so many people were going through so many different emotions and feelings. And I was fielding questions and dealing with so many different things.
That for me was one of the most important aspects of what I realized through this whole process. Leading staff in the time of COVID-19 was both daunting and a privilege. I needed endless self-awareness, self-management, motivation, and empathy. I was online all day. There was no beginning or end to the days. I did realize during this pandemic is, while I was trying to deal with everyone and their issues and really trying to make sure that I was there for them, I did need to take some time for myself. That balance was really necessary for me to kind of make it through. So I guess that would be my biggest lesson.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 17:41
Yeah, I’m thinking you mentioned two things that are unique to this experience. And one is that just everyone was at a different place along this journey. Everyone had their own specific iteration of what it’s like to live through a pandemic and really being flexible and understanding the needs of others.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 18:03
Exactly. And that’s why I mentioned emotional intelligence at the beginning, because it’s not possible to understand what everyone’s going through. Right. So you really have to utilize that and also finding that balance. So those would be definitely the two biggest lessons that I learned.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 18:24
Yeah, and I think that balance is that other pieces that we as educators, most people are used to an eight-hour workday. And when it went virtual, it just seemed to extend itself. And then once extended, we have to remember that we are also complex human beings, and we need to have, you know, time for ourselves and working that out.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 18:50
Exactly.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 18:52
Yeah.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 18:52
Exactly. And to build on that just a little bit: You really needed to as an educational leader, you needed to remain vulnerable. I did not have all the answers. I needed to know who to delegate to, who I could reach out to, and who I could reach out to for support. But I did believe in the team, and we had values. I trusted my team, and I empowered them. It was rough, but I really I really am proud of what we were able to achieve.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 19:27
And in that same vein, was there anything that students or teachers did that exceeded your expectations for online learning for young learners?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 19:36
Absolutely. Just what I was just mentioning, that it never really ended. The teachers were that way also. They were working at all hours. It was a lot more work to do this virtually than to work with kids face-to-face. I would say almost twice as much. I was just astounded at the willingness for them to be able to take risks. They were flexible. They were resilient. They were able to reach outside of their comfort zone. They were absolute rock stars, and they just worked at all hours. They wanted the kids to succeed, and that was their number one priority.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 20:14
I feel like you’re mentioned that the students were really successful. Was there any particular group of students or something that they learned that exceeded your expectations from the student end?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 20:32
What we’re seeing this year…I want to talk a little bit about social-emotional wellness. The academics, we knew that we’d be able to get that done. What we were more worried about was how they would return to us socially and emotionally. And what I’m seeing now is…we’re pleasantly surprised that most of them are just so resilient. They’re ready to start. They’re so excited to be back. The academics were less worried about coming in this year. But I think that would be the biggest surprise that we have seen.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 21:14
Yep, it is amazing how resilient we can see some, some of the children being through this whole experience.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 21:22
Absolutely. And I mean, the fact that some of these kids have spent half of their lives now in masks, and they come into school, and they’ve got their masks on. And it’s just like, any other day. It’s crazy.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 21:36
So what are some of the sustainable or the best practices that you learn during this virtual experience that you’d like to carry with you into an in-person model?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 21:47
We’re continuing to use Google Classroom to house student work. And for parent communication. That was so successful, it’s just a great place to store things. So as far as platforms, I would say, Google Classroom.
We also though, because we’re doing a lot of meetings still through Zoom, it’s what we’ve decided needs to shift. For instance, every year we have a back-to-school night, where we get hundreds of parents on campus. We’re continuing to do this virtually because parents reached out to us and said, “You know what, this is so much more comfortable for us, we’re not caught in traffic, you can do this from the comfort of our own home.” So I believe we get more attendance this way. And I think we’re going to continue to do this for a while. So I would say that’s something that we learned as well.
But I also think, again going back to social-emotional wellness, we need to maintain that and keep that in the forefront. Really to continue to model mindfulness and out of the box thinking that’s essential. We’re really focused on social emotional wellness, not only for students, but for teachers. And so my counselors this year, great team, are doing Motivational Mondays and Wellness Wednesdays for our staff. As far as the actual classrooms, we’re doing a K-3 unit on mindfulness. And the counselors are constantly in the classroom, offering guidance lessons to all of the kids, and it’s really focused on social-emotional learning this year.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 23:34
So, you mentioned Wellness Wednesday. Can you expand a little bit what the counseling team does for that type of a?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 23:43
Wellness Wednesday, they invite the teachers in for an hour, it is completely optional. And they’ll have different focal points each week. It’s really just a place for teachers to feel safe to talk about maybe some struggles that they’re going through. And to get some support from the counselors. I deliberately don’t go into those meetings, because I feel like the teachers might be a little—even though I have a great relationship with my teachers—but I think it’s a lot easier for them to open up if they’re just opening up to the counselors. My academic dean’s not in those meetings, either. It just gives teachers an outlet to talk about things that they really are struggling with or need support with. And we started it last year. We kept it virtual because it was so successful. And I think we’ll continue to do so, in the future.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 24:36
Yeah, that’s great to kind of just can’t maintain that focus in on the social emotional wellbeing of everybody who’s in the building.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 24:43
Exactly.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 24:45
Great. So what structures are you putting into place to ensure that students can transition from in person to virtual learning and vice versa?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 24:55
Well, what we have done is develop schedules for both just in case we go in and out of this, and it’s going to be a really easy transition. If that happens, we’re totally prepared for that. So I would say careful planning for both in-person and virtual learning—the understanding that we’ll be in and out of it probably, consistent and transparent communication with parents. Anytime the parents want to meet with me or with the academic dean or with the counselors, we are available. We will do it, again, putting social emotional wellness at the forefront. So that’s how we’re transitioning. It’s been great. We’ve been back for two full weeks. And things are flowing. I hope we can hope we can stay. But we do have plans if we do need to go online again.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 25:45
Yeah, we certainly cannot predict the future.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 25:49
Nope. But we’re ready. And the kids really seem very resilient. They’re super happy to be back. But yeah, the transition has been, as I said, before, a lot easier than we thought. We thought we’d be dealing with a lot of kids having some really kind of emotional baggage to deal with. And that’s not been the case.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 26:09
So how can the school be prepared for integrating technology or moving back into an online model in the future?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 26:18
We learned so much last year, but we need to keep educating ourselves and understanding that we’re living in a brave new world. We need to be prepared for what lies ahead. This past year was a test. We passed it, but we are really ready for whatever is thrown at us. We’ll keep designing lessons as though it’s all virtual, so that we can step in and out of it if we need to. What do I really mean by this, we’re kind of creating resources, the have explicit step by step directions, so that it can be easily done, either way. And the benefit of this plan is that, you know, the materials can be used, regardless of the setting. And, you know, those materials, regardless will have a purpose. So that’s kind of how we’re focusing now and how we can utilize technology again. The fact that we continue to use Google Classroom to house everything. So that’s how we’re preparing at least in ECC, and we’re just keep on trucking on.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 27:23
Yeah, I think having kind of that format that can move back and forth is an advantage.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 27:30
Right? We can’t be having to plan and really struggle to move in and out. These materials have a purpose, whether we’re online or face-to-face.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 27:43
We talked a lot about technology, and it does afford us a lot of advantages as educators. But what are some of the challenges or pitfalls of using technology in early childhood education?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 27:57
It’s the personal touch, especially with this grade level. Our young children need and crave socialization, not only with their peers, but with their teachers and other trusted adults. Kindergarten should be that time where they participate and play through hands-on learning to grow and develop and giving them that opportunity to creatively express their ideas with their classmates. There does need to be a healthy combination. But I would say a huge pitfall of last year was not really having that socialization, for really any age, but especially these really early learners because that’s how they learn. They learn through socialization and play.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 28:45
I know that there’s no real substitution for some of the hands-on materials. But there are a lot of online games. So just curious what your thoughts are on gamification of learning or using online games.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 29:02
That’s what our teachers did last year, they were using a lot of resources that could engage them that would engage the kids. And, a lot of the kids did create their own pods. So they had that. I think parents were really trying to keep that socialization going, because the school couldn’t provide them that last year. But you know, we’re implementing a new math program this year, and there’s a lot of online manipulatives and resources for that, which we will be using. And it’s great. It’s nice to have a healthy combination, but we did miss out on that personal touch and face-to-face interaction last year.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 29:47
Looking at your school and how it’s done from a growth mindset lens. What learning opportunities do you think that both students and staff will have this school year?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 29:59
Relearning how to teach face-to-face. We were a year-and-a-half online. So it’s a huge learning opportunity for all of us. I think, both students and teachers were a little bit nervous coming back. But we have tools, we have new understandings, new knowledge that we can utilize to our benefit. But we also don’t want to forget what happened when we were online for a year-and-a-half. So I think really kind of focusing on what we did, where we’re going forward, how we can kind of combine those two, know that we are resilient, and we can move in and out of things if we need to. We need to continue to engage families. When they believe in us, and we’re open and transparent, they do become our champions. So that is something that we learned last year. And, let’s just not forget the importance of mental health, and that we need this to be a major focus this year with not only our students, but our teachers.
The other thing we did, I’m sorry to interrupt you. But the other thing that we did that I think we might continue to do in the future: We usually have a first day with our 350 kids, and it’s organized chaos, right? They’re coming in, some kids are crying, they don’t know their teachers, they don’t know their classmates. What we did this year because of the pandemic was start staggered. So our oldest group, which is K-3, started for a week on their own. They had already been on campus before. They are older, so it was a pretty easy transition for them. K-2 and K-1 started online with their teachers. K-2 was about two weeks, one week, sorry. And K-1 was a little bit more than that. But what happened with that is they knew their teachers, they knew their classmates. So once they came face-to-face on campus, it wasn’t a total shock. It was kind of exciting. So I think, we’ll have to talk about this. But I think we might do that in the future, because it was just a much easier transition for them, for the younger kids to start that way.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 32:17
Interesting and kind of evidence to the fact that there can be connection built even with students as young as you have in the early childhood center, virtually.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 32:28
Definitely.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 32:29
And just their familiarity of maybe it comes from their FaceTiming their families or their friends already, you know, and so they’re familiar with seeing a face on the screen.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 32:44
Exactly.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 32:45
It’s fascinating to see how the connections are built.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 32:50
They built up this excitement to come in. So, we usually have a lot of the K-1s, especially crying on their first day. They weren’t. So this is something that I think we might try to do in the future. That really worked well.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 33:04
Yeah. And so kind of going back to that same question about the growth mindset and opportunities for growth for students: When they finish in the springtime or early summer, what would you want have wanted the students to have learned over this school year? The one where you’re bringing kids back from this virtual environment, and we don’t really know what will happen from now till the end of the school year.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 33:35
I think just to appreciate being here and being at school and being with their teachers and being with their classmates. It’s such a gift to be back together right now. I’ve been in tears every time a new grade level would come on, and I’d see them getting off the bus and we’d get teary eyed. It’s just so spectacular to have them back. And I just want them to have you know, like a renewed appreciation for being in school and how lucky we are to be here together. I think that’s what I would like them to take with them this year.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 34:07
I can understand that. So what is the most meaningful part of your work?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 34:16
100% the students, especially with this age in the kindergarten. I always tell the other heads of the divisions that they need to come hang out in the ECC. I said “it’s Disneyland over here.” I mean, these kids are so accepting. They’re so happy. They’re so resilient. They’re ready to learn, and they just soak up knowledge. It’s the best part, no doubt.
But a close second, would be the relationships that I formed with my colleagues and my ECC team. I really appreciate them so much. We have a great relationship. They know that I have an open-door policy, and they can come and talk to me whenever they need to. My philosophy really is a leader is to connect first and then lead. I really feel passionate about building a foundation of trust with my staff by modeling empathy and vulnerability. And then, my feeling is that once this is established, your strength as a leader becomes a welcome reassurance. And I would say that’s a close second for me. What are my hopes for education? As we move through this? You know, I hope we can remain apathetic, open minded, ready for whatever’s thrown our way. I keep focusing on the concept of mental health, but it really has been ingrained in my mind that this is something that needs a bigger focus in education. But we also just need to keep growing, constantly assessing curriculum, redesigning assessment, igniting the joy of lifelong learning in our students and to keep growing as teaching professionals.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 36:07
At this age, it’s the foundation of igniting that lifelong learning for students, and so that’s great. Thank you so much for all of your time, today and talking with us about what it’s been like to live through teaching and learning in an early childhood center during the pandemic. If listeners wanted to contact you, or find you somewhere to connect, what’s the best way for them to do so?
Erin Trautman, M.A. 36:43
Email would be great, my last name and [email protected], or I am on LinkedIn as well, you can find me there. I would say that would be the best way to contact me.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 36:58
Thanks again so much for your time. And I certainly learned a lot about what they experienced that you went through and all of your educational expertise, so I really appreciate it.
Erin Trautman, M.A. 37:13
No, thank you for inviting me. My pleasure. Thank you.
Kelly Torres, Ph.D. 37:17
Thank you for listening to this edition of that tech hour. I’m Dr. Kelly Torres, the department chair of the Educational Psychology and Technology program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. This podcast was completed through this quarter of our dedicated faculty, staff and students. To learn more about the Educational Psychology Technology Program, or if you’re interested in being on the EdTech Hour podcast, please reach out to me at [email protected]