Shifting Spaces: The Impact of Instructional Continuity Disruptions and Emergency Remote Learning on Writing Instruction in Secondary Classrooms

The teaching of writing required many shifts during a period of instructional disruption and emergency remote and hybrid instructional approaches as teachers abruptly transformed their instructional practices. In this study, three high school special education and seven English language arts teachers from across the United States were interviewed about their writing instructional practices within in-person instructional settings and via distance instruction during periods of instructional disruption and remote teaching. Interviews were transcribed and coded using inductive thematic analysis and resulted in an iteratively developed hierarchal coding structure. Teachers’ responses centered around a content focus for instruction, writing supports, asynchronous and synchronous instruction, feelings and beliefs, challenges, opportunities, and instructional settings. Intercoder reliability and member checking were conducted to foster credibility and trustworthiness. Findings suggest that research is needed to explore sustainable models for teaching writing across in-person, remote, and hybrid instructional modalities within instructional continuity frameworks.