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Virtual teaching needs to virtually change!!!

The whispers related to virtual thinking becoming an integral part of education has been doing the rounds for the last few years. The pros and cons, ifs and buts have been debated, but with COVID 19, the shift has finally been made. The regular in-person teaching process has finally taken on the on-line avatar. While the jury is still out on the positives and negatives of the new mode of education, one thing remains clear – a lot more can be done, and needs to be done to improve the quality and learning experience related to virtual teaching in its present form.

During in-person classes which we done in the past, teachers had various in-built indicators which they used to gauge the level of understanding, focus and interest of their students. The facial expressions of students, body language, discussions and interactions among classmates was quite a good indicator of whether students were able to understand what was being taught in class. In a way, this direct interaction enabled teachers to literally feel the pulse of students on a regular basis.

Online teaching has inbuilt tools to indirectly monitor the progress students are making with their classes. Completion rates and user ratings are standard tools in most learning management software. Their actual effectiveness in terms of how they increase learning is yet to be determined. Furthermore, we are still not sure if the usual techniques we are used to teaching with, will work in the on-line setting. The question that comes to mind then is, how do we measure the overall effectiveness of the online education approach?

While the initial technical challenges and glitches have been ironed out, it is an opportune time to establish a framework with indicators to monitor the effectiveness of virtual teaching. This will be a huge value add for institutions, parents and students enabling optimal use of time, talent and technology. This four piece series would cover four critical areas of virtual education and provide a simple, practical framework that can be implemented in a systematic and sustainable manner. The four critical areas that will be covered are:

  • Session-wise goals
  • Enabling behaviour processes to enhance the learning experience
  • Optimising available online learning tools
  • Keeping things simple

In this article, we will start with the basics and look at ways in which we can determine session-wise goals to make a positive impact on the entire learning experience.

It is very important to finalise a teaching goal for each session. Have a clear goal for each session and share it with the students, ideally before the session is held. Re-state the goal at the beginning of the session so that students know what to expect from each session.

A teaching plan that is in sync with the teaching goal for the session has to be worked out. Where ever possible, provide additional resources that the students can access that will give more clarity to the topic being covered. Having a specific teaching plan in place helps teachers define the scope of the topic being taught. The content being taught can be framed accordingly, ensuring that there is no overload of information provided. Part of the teaching plan should also specifically enumerate ways in which the student continues to be the main focus of the session and how the student will be kept engaged so that the learning goals of the session are achieved. It is imperative that teachers have a plan in place that keeps track of the knowledge acquisition of students and identify ways in which the new learnings imbibed can be used as a catalyst to encourage more learning.

A key aspect of the session wise goal would be to explore ways in which the emotional disconnect associated with virtual learning can be bridged to whatever extent possible. Current technologies are not able to replace the natural connect that students have between themselves and the students and teachers. It makes a big difference to students when session plans focus on developing an emotional connect with the teachers and the topics being taught.

In a nut shell, have specific session-wise goals results in a more effective and enriching virtual learning experience both for the student and the teachers.

We will explore ways in which we can take this learning experience to the next level in the next articles related to this topic.