The Covid pandemic has been a defining event for the educational sector on multiple counts. The restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic acted as a catalyst in fast-tracking the adoption of technology. However, the suddenness of changes allowed minimal time to adapt, creating numerous challenges for all stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Alpana Baveja
Principal,
Manav Rachna International
School, Gurgaon
Challenges
Learning gaps, loss in interest towards studies, increase in distractions and even drop outs from school emerged as major implications due to closure of school and migration to online mode of learning. Dispersion in test scores within a class has seen an increase. The digital divide accentuated the learninggaps between the privileged and unprivileged children.
Health and well-being of students also emerged as a key concern area. A significant percentage of students have been suffering from various types of behavioural changes to include anxiety, social withdrawal, tendency for self-isolation, lethargy as well as irrational fears. Reduction in time spent studying, tendency to leave the learning gaps and unwillingness to make the most of the time available at hand are tangible effects in many cases. Social and emotional development has also taken a back seat, potentially with long term implications. The buzz wordzoom fatigue – had its impact on students too!
Factors such as agility of schools and ability/ willingness of teachers to modify the curriculum and adopt suitable teaching pedagogies for online teaching-learning emerged as key differentiators from an organisational perspective. As schools limp back to normalcy, hybrid mode of teachinglearning seems likely to emerge as a long-term trend that may end up shaping the educational ecosystem, necessitating even further changes!
Focus areas to address gaps
The magnitude of challenges is truly diverse and phenomenal. This necessitates a need to identify focus areas for improvement. Certain key result areas are enumerated:
High-intensity remedial classes followed by regular checks and recalibration are the need of the hour.
- Reopening schools, re-engaging students and disincentivizing online mode of education emerges as a priority.
- Identification of learning gaps (at individual & group levels) and focussed remedial learning need to be executed on priority. Moving on to the next level without focussing on the building blocks of previous level will have adverse, long term implications. Highintensity remedial classes followed by regular checks and recalibration are the need of the hour.
- An integrated curriculum with an increased focus on social and emotional learning as well as skill development has emerged as the need of the hour.
- Devising pedagogies to improve communication skills and elevating confidence levels of the students would go a long way in developing skills, behaviour and mind-set to succeed in their future lives.
- Innovative techniques like partner activities, and problem solving with peer mediation would go a long way in fostering relationships among students and address many behavioural challenges.
- Promoting sports and physical activities
A holistic approach would be way more useful than a piecemeal one!
