“But David can’t read": the evolution of literacy experiences during the rapid shift to emergency remote teaching

Abstract

The world of K-12 public education was one area of society that was directly impacted by the introduction of COVID-19 and emergency remote teaching. Teachers and districts alike responded in the way that they determined was best for their students, and the response of teachers at Little Middle School was no different. This narrative inquiry seeks to explore the driving forces behind why specific instructional decisions were made pertaining to literacy, how teachers decided to make shifts, and the lasting impact on their professional practice. This study took place over the course of three semi-structured interviews and one artifact analysis that examined the experiences of four participants pre-COVID, during COVID, and “post-“COVID to better understand the instructional decisions that they made and the driving forces behind them. The theoretical framework used to analyze the findings collected and transcribed through the use of the three-interview series and personal artifact analysis was that of Critical theory, poststructuralism, and deconstruction; this framework allowed for consideration of the findings through a justice-centric focus with an eye toward practical applications both in practice and research. The findings were sorted into nine emergent themes, which were then categorized into the three broad themes of interactions, accessibility, and connection.