Photo by Annie Spratt (https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt)
The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously impacted almost every aspect of our lives including school. It has turned our world upside down and brought drastic changes to our education system. Online learning was adapted all over the world so swift that it became a ubiquitous part of our world. Due to this method of learning, students were chained to their devices more than ever before and were unable to connect with the outside world, but they were not the only ones impacted. Teachers also had a lot to say about the online learning model and how it impacted their day-to-day lives.
After thoroughly interviewing a couple of teachers from Central Peel, it was evident that they collectively agree that online learning is certainly not ideal for them. Compared to students, they face a different set of hurdles they need to overcome in order to provide a successful learning experience for students. They have to modify their usual curriculum plans and reconstruct them to adapt to online learning. As a result, they end up with less time for other tasks, such as marking and planning. The long classes make it difficult for students to focus, since their attention spans start to dissipate after the 75-minute mark. Needless to say, focusing during online school is a daunting challenge, since it is easy to hide behind a screen and not listen to a word being said, especially with the plethora of distractions available to students.
Additionally, numerous teachers did not have enough experience with online platforms, such as Google Classroom and D2L, to meet the pressures of online learning. For example, many teachers had difficulty with breakout rooms and found them hindering the classroom and group activities compared to in-person group learning. It is also “one more headache to think about” in order to teach a lesson through hybrid/online learning. This is also a contributing factor to learning gaps that teachers will have to deal with in the near future.
Subjects like math, science and French require students to build up past knowledge in order to learn new concepts. Since the new learning models are posing immense learning gaps, teachers are negatively impacted since they would have to spend more time teaching concepts that should have been taught years ago. Regardless of their strenuous efforts to make online learning easier for students, many students still lack self-discipline and take advantage of online learning by doing the bare minimum. Considering all of this, we as students can do better when it comes to supporting our teachers through these difficult times. A little bit of initiative can go a long way.
By Jannya Bahra
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