Photo courtesy of sophomore Erika Spargo

  Computer science teacher Steven Crow instructs perhaps one of the many hands-on classes on San Luis Obispo High School’s campus. His first year teaching at our school was almost completely online, which posed some obvious obstacles. 

  Expressions talked to Crow about his experiences during the 2020-2021 school year.

Expressions: Because you teach such an interactive class, how has this school year been different from last year?

Computer Science teacher Steven Crow: We get to do a lot of the interactive things that we missed last year. Even at the end of last year, when some students returned to campus, it was still half and half. There was a bit of an equity issue between what we did in person versus what we did virtually. 

Expressions: Are there any similarities in the way you taught last year and this year?

Crow: We kept everything very similar through the end of last year, and I found that even at the beginning of this year, I’m still doing a lot of things the way I would have done them last year. I’m having to consciously refocus my efforts and get back to teaching techniques and strategies that I would use when students are in front of me, versus the ones that I would use on Zoom.

Expressions: Are there any specific experiences from last year that you missed but are bringing back this year?

Crow: A little bit. I focused a lot of our units last year on more projects that could be completed independently. We’re sticking with that. A lot more projects and a lot more labs and a lot less lectures when possible.