ABSTRACT
The author offers a response to recent research focused on the responses of middle grades teachers to emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic that showed how ERT enhanced and strengthened some aspects of student-centered pedagogies and homeschool communication. Of note, ERT allowed for virtual connections that may have had positive effects on students’ and teachers’ mental health, and teachers adopted and refined pedagogical practices related to differentiation as they offered students increased choice options and more opportunities for self-paced learning. Recommendations for future research grounded in the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic are offered as well as possibilities for improved practice.
