Purpose This paper aims to share responses from current literature, a small case study about perceptions and practices of the school of education faculty toward multicultural and educational issues concerning the rapid rise in online environments during coronavirus (COVID-19) experiences and just-in-time strategies for addressing digital equity and educational inclusion in K-16 online educational settings. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that emerged from an action research case study. The study included four faculty in an urban school of education. The faculty participants were asked to provide examples of educational inclusion strategies used during transitioning their courses and advising to online environments in a Research I university. Faculty included one educational leadership, one sports management, one special education and one teacher education professor. Central issues explored practices related to language, technology access, curriculum design and technological competencies and assessment. A driving question was: How do institutions, schools or educators provide learning opportunities to support digital equity and inclusive education practice to maintain and strengthen relationships and core practices of multicultural education during a time of physical distancing during COVID-19? And what are the experiences, barriers, successes? Findings Research-based transformative knowledge, real situations and practical resources for considering inclusive education curriculum concepts were found that are connecting educators, teachers, learners and communities during this time of crisis. Research limitations/implications Methodological limitations that influenced the research design include conducting research in a totally virtual environment, small sample size, lack of diversity in curriculum content and one research site. The data collection was limited to written responses from the faculty participants. This action research study took place in a time frame limited by COVID-19 conditions during a four-month period. Practical implications In theory and practice, this new online movement suggests learners, teachers, educators and leaders are gaining experience and knowledge about resources and strategies for using new technologies, assessments and flexible curriculum as powerful tools for building language, curriculum and social-cultural communication bonds across generations and including special needs populations. Such new and emerging strategies could be used to bridge gaps in a time of distancing to support inclusive and equitable learning environments in education to minimize the effects of an emergent COVID-19 digital divide. Social learning culture as constructed, performed and captured in patterns of cooperation among faculties shows the world becoming more open and less restricted by borders. In conclusion, an emerging new conceptual framework is presented in Figure 2 to support action planning to bridge the digital equity access and learning gaps created by COVID-19. Social implications It is in times of strife and difficulty that problems and issues become exacerbated. While some educators easily adapted and took on the challenges of online learning, others needed time for learning and mourning (literally and figuratively). The issues of equity and access have become even more apparent as this paper takes inventory of intersections between multicultural education, special education, sports education and K-16 education overall. This is an excellent time to reflect on how education can address the cultural, economic and social barriers that impact student learning globally for all learners. Originality/value The brief collective case study reports educational experiences during a time of crisis that stimulates creative and innovative approaches to creating inclusive and equitable online learning environments to address diverse learning needs. The various and often contrasting educator responses from faculty facing digital and educational challenges present ideas that might be applicable in the global learning environment beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

A student's reading skill is essential to learning. Assessing reading skills, specifically comprehension, is difficult. In the middle grades, students read to learn; and their teachers need a quick, easy assessment that provides immediate data on reading comprehension skill. This study explores the holistic validation approach of one eighth-grade informational text with comprehension questions currently included in the Adolescent Comprehension Evaluation (ACE). Thirty-three eighthgrade students from four different schools participated in the study. Multiple forms of validity evidence were used including test content, response process, internal structure, relationship to other variables, and consequences of testing. These multiple forms of validity evidence provided the researchers with insights into comprehension questions that would not have been uncovered using psychometric means of validation alone. The results of this study support ACE as a direct measure of middle grades students' reading comprehension.

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This chapter will discuss a study that set out to determine if knowledge of the structure of language and self-efficacy of pre-service and in-service teachers was impacted by whether the course was taken in a face to face or online format. Results of the study showed there was a statistically significant change in the Teacher Knowledge Assessment: Structure of Language (TKA: SL) for participants in the online courses, but not for students taking the course face to face. To determine whether or not self-efficacy increased, the Teacher Efficacy Scale: short form (TES) was used, The TES includes two subscales: teacher efficacy and personal efficacy. Results showed no statistical significance on the overall TES score between participants; however, on the personal efficacy score, there was a statistically significant change in pre and post test scores of participants who took the course face to face.

The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly shut down schools in an urban based school district in the Spring of 2020. As the closures persisted over months, an immediate educational need arose for online curricula that could help alleviate the learning gaps caused by the shutdown. The purpose of this study was to create a process and model for the development of a fully asynchronous online learning environment for prekindergarten through 2nd grade students that could help other districts implement similar projects. Since the turnaround time for development and implementation was a matter of weeks the project team used an iterative process to solve a “wicked problem” and identified solutions to create an improved user experience. A modified design thinking model approach was developed through the process of developing this six-week, theme based virtual curriculum that included interactivities in early literacy, writing, reading comprehension, science and math. This adjusted model includes 6 stages: discover, interpretation, ideation, experimentation, implementation, and evolution. This research focuses on the processes involved during each of the stages and the resulting use by the intended audience. The curriculum was used by over 5,800 prekindergarten through second grade students during the 6-week period of the summer of 2020. The online platform continues to be used by students presently.

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