Teaching and Learning During COVID and Beyond
Dublin Core
Title
Teaching and Learning During COVID and Beyond
Subject
Teaching and Learning During COVID and Beyond
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic is significantly impacting families, both in terms of their physical and mental well-being, as well as their financial
stability. According to recent data from the American Psychological Association, parents are experiencing significantly high levels of stress.
i
As schooling has shifted online, children—many of whom have spent months in social isolation, while families experienced both economic
hardship and health distress—are also being affected. High numbers of parents are reporting that their children are facing social and
emotional health challenges, including loneliness, anxiety, and depression.ii Many children are being exposed to varying levels of trauma that
may undermine their sense of safety and stability, and have long term impacts on their daily lives, including their ability to engage in learning.
Distance education has not met the challenge of addressing present educational needs, even under the best of circumstances.iii In many
cases, students are without devices or internet access; teachers lack experience with remote learning; parents do not have the additional
time to devote towards their children’s studies; or students simply did not show up online.iv Significant disparities exist in access to
technology and broadband connectivity, which are further exacerbated across the urban-rural divide. This is particularly evident among the
most vulnerable students, many of whom required accommodations in ordinary times, including those with disabilities, in foster-care, or
living in poverty. Furthermore, instructional capacity is an additional barrier impeding the transition to online learning, both in terms of
teacher preparation programs and as many school districts struggle to provide adequate guidance to teachers on instructional delivery and
tracking participation and progress.
v
These factors contribute to learning loss and further increase the risk that millions of students will have large gaps in educational attainment,
impacting their preparation for a lifetime of learning and employment. Preliminary research is already bearing this out. The average student
could begin the next academic year having fallen behind academically by as much as of seven months.vi These losses are expected to be
greater for minority and low-income children, further widening racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.vii Black and Latinx students could
experience learning losses up to an equivalent of 10 months.
As schools look to reopen in the fall and work to transition students back into the classroom, they will face numerous challenges, including
preparing school buildings to meet new state and federal health saftey guidelines, ensuring smaller class sizes, temperature checks,
increased access to disinfectants, and personal protective equipment. At the same time, administrators and teachers will need to catch
students up, perhaps through reviewing skills and content that would have normally been covered during the previous academic year,
investing in summer instructional programs, and opening early for students with special needs. Additionally, the social, emotional, and
behavioral needs of many students will be greatly increased. Moreover, with schools not reopening uniformly and some parents
uncomfortable with sending their children back to school before a vaccine is available, remote instruction will need to be strengthened. These
new requirements will have to be addressed at a time of significantly shrinking budgets.
Large majorities of parents, across all demographic groups, believe that schools should rethink how students learn, by developing innovative
ways to teach children due to COVID-19.ii This crisis provides an opportunity for educators, communities, states, school districts, and the
federal government to reexamine how students are educated and address all dynamics of learning by integrating academic achievement with
social and emotional learning; trauma-informed practices; and principles of motivation and engagement. Isolation, disrupted routines, and
ongoing uncertainty are highlighting the importance of emotional management, relationship building, and problem-solving. These critical
skills can help students learn and cope with stress, instability, and trauma—both while distance learning and in a school setting.
stability. According to recent data from the American Psychological Association, parents are experiencing significantly high levels of stress.
i
As schooling has shifted online, children—many of whom have spent months in social isolation, while families experienced both economic
hardship and health distress—are also being affected. High numbers of parents are reporting that their children are facing social and
emotional health challenges, including loneliness, anxiety, and depression.ii Many children are being exposed to varying levels of trauma that
may undermine their sense of safety and stability, and have long term impacts on their daily lives, including their ability to engage in learning.
Distance education has not met the challenge of addressing present educational needs, even under the best of circumstances.iii In many
cases, students are without devices or internet access; teachers lack experience with remote learning; parents do not have the additional
time to devote towards their children’s studies; or students simply did not show up online.iv Significant disparities exist in access to
technology and broadband connectivity, which are further exacerbated across the urban-rural divide. This is particularly evident among the
most vulnerable students, many of whom required accommodations in ordinary times, including those with disabilities, in foster-care, or
living in poverty. Furthermore, instructional capacity is an additional barrier impeding the transition to online learning, both in terms of
teacher preparation programs and as many school districts struggle to provide adequate guidance to teachers on instructional delivery and
tracking participation and progress.
v
These factors contribute to learning loss and further increase the risk that millions of students will have large gaps in educational attainment,
impacting their preparation for a lifetime of learning and employment. Preliminary research is already bearing this out. The average student
could begin the next academic year having fallen behind academically by as much as of seven months.vi These losses are expected to be
greater for minority and low-income children, further widening racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.vii Black and Latinx students could
experience learning losses up to an equivalent of 10 months.
As schools look to reopen in the fall and work to transition students back into the classroom, they will face numerous challenges, including
preparing school buildings to meet new state and federal health saftey guidelines, ensuring smaller class sizes, temperature checks,
increased access to disinfectants, and personal protective equipment. At the same time, administrators and teachers will need to catch
students up, perhaps through reviewing skills and content that would have normally been covered during the previous academic year,
investing in summer instructional programs, and opening early for students with special needs. Additionally, the social, emotional, and
behavioral needs of many students will be greatly increased. Moreover, with schools not reopening uniformly and some parents
uncomfortable with sending their children back to school before a vaccine is available, remote instruction will need to be strengthened. These
new requirements will have to be addressed at a time of significantly shrinking budgets.
Large majorities of parents, across all demographic groups, believe that schools should rethink how students learn, by developing innovative
ways to teach children due to COVID-19.ii This crisis provides an opportunity for educators, communities, states, school districts, and the
federal government to reexamine how students are educated and address all dynamics of learning by integrating academic achievement with
social and emotional learning; trauma-informed practices; and principles of motivation and engagement. Isolation, disrupted routines, and
ongoing uncertainty are highlighting the importance of emotional management, relationship building, and problem-solving. These critical
skills can help students learn and cope with stress, instability, and trauma—both while distance learning and in a school setting.
Creator
American Psychological Association
Source
https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/teaching-learning/dynamics-learning/covid-19-beyond.pdf
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Contributor
Kenneth Polishchuk
Rights
Open access
Format
hyperlink
Language
English
Type
hyperlink
Collection
Citation
American Psychological Association, “Teaching and Learning During COVID and Beyond,” Teaching & Learning in COVID-19 times study, accessed May 8, 2024, https://omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/teaching-and-learning-in-a-pandemic/items/show/133.