Teachers, COVID-19, and Challenges Galore
It is said that learning never ends. So, even though the pandemic has brought many a business to a complete standstill, the education industry has somehow managed to sustain itself. No doubt there are challenges, and the challenges are many. But instead of brooding over them, wouldn’t it be utile if we discussed how they could be overcome with ease? This post, therefore, aims not only at expounding the challenges that teachers face but also the steps that can be taken to achieve the desired goals with ease.
It is said that learning never ends. So, even though the pandemic has brought many a business to a complete standstill, the education industry has somehow managed to sustain itself. No doubt there are challenges, and the challenges are many. But instead of brooding over them, wouldn’t it be utile if we discussed how they could be overcome with ease? This post, therefore, aims not only at expounding the challenges that teachers face but also the steps that can be taken to achieve the desired goals with ease. First things first. Learners across the globe have taken to learning online today, and with that, teachers have started feeling obligated to learn to manage online sessions effectively. Network issues notwithstanding, it has become essential for a teacher today to know how to employ platforms such as Zoom, Skype, and the like to conduct efficacious online sessions. A teacher based out of Noida who did not wish to be named says that with online teaching methods some students don’t feel the urge to ask questions which they otherwise would have asked if the sessions were held in a classroom. ‘There is a lack of enthusiasm now, and that is one of the main challenges. It is upon the teachers to make the sessions enlivening,’ says she.
SobanaBashyam, an assistant professor, says she was not well-versed with the technical aspects that she now feels necessitated to get acquainted with. ‘It’s an ongoing process,’ she says, letting us know that she had never used online platforms like Zoom before. ‘I found it hard to conduct sessions initially, but now I’m able to deliver great sessions,’ she states. So, how did she manage to do so? ‘I came to realise that to make the maximum use of the time in a session, a teacher must assume control, but at the same time allow the student to ask as many questions as possible. Moreover, I make sure that there are no network issues or technical glitches from my end before I hold a session,’ she explains.
With the class size shrinking and with a majority of sessions becoming one-to-one, a few teachers say they are spending more time teaching now than ever before. A school teacher based out of Delhi says, ‘Before the lockdown, a forty-minute session benefitted fifty-odd students. Furthermore, a face-to-face interaction facilitated both the teaching and learning processes. But the same forty minutes are now used to teach just four to five students.’
So, is there a way forward? ‘Yes,’ says MamtaBasoiya, a special educator. ‘Training trainers has become as important as training students, and that can be a viable way forward,’ she opines. ‘Well-planned sessions, building a personal rapport with the students, and tackling unavoidable challenges with a calm state of mind can do wonders,’ she adds.
It is said that learning never ends. So, even though the pandemic has brought many a business to a complete standstill, the education industry has somehow managed to sustain itself. No doubt there are challenges, and the challenges are many. But instead of brooding over them, wouldn’t it be utile if we discussed how they could be overcome with ease? This post, therefore, aims not only at expounding the challenges that teachers face but also the steps that can be taken to achieve the desired goals with ease. First things first. Learners across the globe have taken to learning online today, and with that, teachers have started feeling obligated to learn to manage online sessions effectively. Network issues notwithstanding, it has become essential for a teacher today to know how to employ platforms such as Zoom, Skype, and the like to conduct efficacious online sessions. A teacher based out of Noida who did not wish to be named says that with online teaching methods some students don’t feel the urge to ask questions which they otherwise would have asked if the sessions were held in a classroom. ‘There is a lack of enthusiasm now, and that is one of the main challenges. It is upon the teachers to make the sessions enlivening,’ says she.
SobanaBashyam, an assistant professor, says she was not well-versed with the technical aspects that she now feels necessitated to get acquainted with. ‘It’s an ongoing process,’ she says, letting us know that she had never used online platforms like Zoom before. ‘I found it hard to conduct sessions initially, but now I’m able to deliver great sessions,’ she states. So, how did she manage to do so? ‘I came to realise that to make the maximum use of the time in a session, a teacher must assume control, but at the same time allow the student to ask as many questions as possible. Moreover, I make sure that there are no network issues or technical glitches from my end before I hold a session,’ she explains.
With the class size shrinking and with a majority of sessions becoming one-to-one, a few teachers say they are spending more time teaching now than ever before. A school teacher based out of Delhi says, ‘Before the lockdown, a forty-minute session benefitted fifty-odd students. Furthermore, a face-to-face interaction facilitated both the teaching and learning processes. But the same forty minutes are now used to teach just four to five students.’
So, is there a way forward? ‘Yes,’ says MamtaBasoiya, a special educator. ‘Training trainers has become as important as training students, and that can be a viable way forward,’ she opines. ‘Well-planned sessions, building a personal rapport with the students, and tackling unavoidable challenges with a calm state of mind can do wonders,’ she adds.