During the broadcast, Irene Prins identifies a number of problems caused by the school closures:
- Motivation problems, because students have fallen ‘out of learning mode’.
- Students with depressive thoughts and eating disorders or obesity.
- Gaming or watching YouTube videos alongside or instead of the lesson.
These are all things that happen behind the scenes and over which, as a teacher, you have no control.
Gezina Topper points out that young people particularly miss clarity, predictability and structure in their day. She calls on schools to work together – teachers and support staff – to consider what is really needed to address this. “Looking at and analyzing it together creates a sense of connection and also means that we can sometimes use simple measures to help young people learn effectively in the classroom again.” Topper often hears from teachers that the classroom remains noisy for a long time, meaning they cannot get through their material. At the same time, teachers feel the pressure to meet educational objectives (exams, moving on to the next year) and to make up for learning delays. Prins also points to the importance of building a relationship between the teacher and the group: “Without a relationship, there can be no achievement.”
According to Topper, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to two types of learning delay in education: a gap in knowledge, particularly in subjects such as mathematics and science, which are often difficult to teach online, and what she considers the even more important delay in social-emotional development. She also has an important piece of advice for schools: think before you act. “First find out what the problem is at your school before introducing a particular intervention. That intervention must be a good fit for the class, the subject, the child and family, and yourself. If you do that, you can also sustain it. Because changing behavior requires time, perseverance and creativity.”
Listen to the full broadcast here