We might wait for another year, but years don’t wait for them
- 9 September 2021
They say consistency is the key to success. This holds true for sports, creative learning, and especially in studies. To keep progressing in academics it is imperative to be focused and keep learning every day. The COVID lockdown had changed our way of living. While the adults struggle to adjust their personal and professional lives amidst the work from home setup, we can’t imagine how difficult it must be for the young ones to adapt to all these changes.
Online classes are part of the new normal now. Though it is the only way the kids can keep learning, but it surely is depriving them of the learnings and experiences of face-to-face interactions. Interestingly enough, many parents did not choose to let their kids be transferred to this online mode of learning.
Some kids, mostly the pre-schoolers, even had to miss a grade. Many of these parents were expecting, for things to be normal soon so that their kids will resume their normal school days. While that does not seem to be happening in the immediate future, the gap in learning that this COVID period bought might have long-term implications. Academic curriculums at International Schools are mostly designed to educate the kids in a way that ensures a smooth transition from one grade. The gap in the learning period will set back the kid in his learning journey and transitioning to the next grade will feel like a bump rather than a smooth cross-over.
Additionally, the pressure of keeping up with the class after a gap period is yet another factor that the parents and the kid will have to face. For example, kids who missed a year during the lockdown and had a gap in learning are now facing situations where they are not able to concentrate and focus on classes.
Moreover, for few kids who did attend online classes, are easily transitioning to their next grades. Here, the parents need to ensure that the kid is not lagging behind in understanding the concepts. While it is extremely difficult for the teacher to give specific attention to each kid through the tiny windows on laptops, the parents will need to step up and help the kid with virtual learning.
At Oakridge, the full school day is packed with blended learning, which includes online and offline classes or we called it a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous learning. In synchronous, the teachers stay online so as the students. Teachers use a video conferencing platform to create a virtual classroom where students can interact with their teachers and classmates. They get an opportunity to practice and collaborate in small groups and individually. In this, discussions happen in real-time and over time, in writing and via video.
In asynchronous, teachers have crafted learning experiences that students can access at their own time and pace. Students get access to materials and clear instructions to follow. This curriculum is structured to balance the screen time and ease the learning for young children especially as it is an important part of the VSE. The school also provides extra classes for our students to clear their doubts and concepts while on the go. Not only this, but we also provide feedback and improvement facilities, which makes us one of the top International Schools in India. Teachers give individual feedback by leaving voice notes on work, sending little ‘how to’ videos when children are finding things tricky, or arranging small calls to talk through their work.
The way a broken link can’t hold together a chain, a substantial gap in the learning period will most likely hamper the learning process in a kid.
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