Video-Conferencing Across the Grade-Levels
Attending class in your pajamas? Muting yourself to answer a phone call?
Commenting in the chat to avoid "voicing" your opinion?
These relatable experiences are common now, but what direction will video-conferencing take in the future of education?
The way I see it, post-pandemic educational changes will play out differently across the grade-levels. Likely, you can agree that it will remain a more common practice for older students, and be retained as a vital supplement in the education of younger students.
It just doesn't feel right to put young students in front of a screen all day. "Longitudinal research concerning the impacts of teacher-child relationships on children’s social, emotional, and behavioral concerns has demonstrated positive effects of a healthy teacher–child relationship on child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, academic success, social skill acquisition, self-regulation, and prosocial behavior" (Coggins & Carnes-Holt, 2021). A huge part of entering elementary school is building a trusting relationship with a nurturing teacher, who can guide the learning experience. Younger students often need the guidance and assistance of a supportive adult to understand and complete learning tasks. It is important that students experience a gradual transition in their learning from parents to teachers to peers to self-learning with the appropriate tools.
By the time a student reaches high school, it is common for their learning to be eclectic. They have developed a strong enough sense of reality to separate fact from fiction and to know what information is reliable. Beginning in jr. high, students look to the world around them for information, insight, and a variety of perspectives. By this point students are already used to learning each subject from a different teacher, so increased online learning will not disrupt their learning development. In preparation for high school and beyond, jr. high is the perfect time to increase expectations for video-conference style learning in combination with a variety of sources for each learning topic.
In taking a serious look at the needs and learning development of older students, it would make sense to continue extensive electronic learning. For one, this can be a huge money saver for schools. At my local high school, the school day has been modified to eliminate lunch and allow students to be on campus for a half day. This offers teachers more time to prepare and assess assignments, since they are spending less time supervising their students in the classroom. The half-day model also fits in well with many high-schoolers' lives, as it is more flexible to be able to work after school and be involved in more extra-curricular activities.
Reference:
Coggins, K., & Carnes-Holt, K. (2021). The efficacy of child–teacher relationship training as an early childhood mental health intervention in Head Start programs. International Journal of Play Therapy, 30(2), 112–124. https://doi.org/10.1037/pla0000154
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I appreciate how you worded the way that roles that educators play in the lives of children and how schooling evolves over time. There is no doubt that teaching post-pandemic will have its own set of challenges, too. How have you/your colleagues used video conferencing to build community or interaction between students? On a separate note, I do think that the teacher-student relationship at the upper levels is also highly important (having taught at all 3 levels, I don't think there is any one level where this is more important than the other--they're just all different). At any rate, I enjoyed reading your thoughts and you articulated them well!
ReplyDeleteI think that what you said in your first couple of sentences about students hiding more is so accurate when it comes to video-conferencing because of the many features that can be abused and there is no way for teachers to turn off the feature. One thing that I liked about your presentation is the idea that teachers need to create relationships with their students and hold them at a higher standard if students are given the chance to be online. I feel as if the transition from zooming to no zoom will be very hard for students and for teachers because it is a return to normal and it will give everyone the same challenges that it did when students and teachers were transitioning into these programs.
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