Here’s how schools can move forward amid COVID-19 threat, experts say

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), classes have been cancelled to protect the students’ safety.

Not only has the start of school year 2020 to 2021 been moved to August, but the Department of Education has also simplified the curriculum to its “most essential” lessons to adjust to delays caused by the pandemic.

While social distancing and self-isolation will become a part of the “new normal,” the department is already thinking of different modes of learning and teaching that also prioritize the students and faculty’s safety.

In a webinar with the Philippine Business for Education on Thursday, Fr. Johnny Go SJ, Ateneo de Manila University’s Science and Art of Learning and Teaching Institute director, shared that amid these trying times, “we are asked to reinvent ourselves as educators. We are challenged to reimagine education without school.”

“We have to invent solutions as we solve problems through the night,” Fernando Reimers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education said. “We’re in for a long ride that will transform our lives in many ways that we can barely imagine.”

As teachers and administrators continue to adapt to a “new normal” for the education system, here are a few things to keep in mind according to experts:

Show empathy and inclusivity

Go said that because of the country’s limited resources, not everyone had access to the internet.

“Technology may be the primary means to education but we cannot assume that every single student, every single teacher has internet access. This is something we have to come to grips with,” Go said.

“We must be realistic that there are constraints in delivering education online and we have to face these constraints head on,” he added.

Administrators will have to ask what kind of technology will be available to their students and teachers, shared Go. He also added that answers may vary from school to school and what other areas may have, the others won’t.

Some families, he shared, share only one device among themselves.

“You know your students best. There is no one size fits all here,” Go said. “We have to show empathy to everyone, especially those with no access, and inclusive of all.”

Realize your constraints

Go shared that schools must also first identify the constraints they’ll be facing in order to decide what will be “good for the student but also challenging enough that they’ll learn.”

“Schools should identify constraints first. Only then we can talk about what’s going to happen,” he said.

Once that is addressed, Go advised schools to imagine what the structure of their classes is going to be like.

“The moment we figure out what structure you’re going to try out, we can answer other questions such as what will the essential subjects be,” he added.

Reimers also shared that in Harvard University, most programs will be teaching for the next semester online given the constraints they faced.

“We realized that until there is a vaccine, the expenditure and the logistics of testing everybody and then retesting and tracing contacts is very difficult,” Reimers said.

Although the world-renowned university would be experimenting on how to adjust, Reimers said it’s important to give their students hope, and at the same time, not endanger their lives.

Be creative, think outside the box

“Real innovation entails creativity within constraints,” Go said.

Given the need to practice social distancing, Go added, “Unless you build more classrooms, you cannot open classes with everyone there. Unless you hire more teachers, you cannot do that.”

Go suggested that one possible solution to this is to divide the class into three and meet each group only once a week so that social distancing could be observed not only in the classroom but in the campus as well.

AHA Learning Center, Go shared, was among the organizations that had begun thinking outside of the box to provide education for low-income families.

The organization would send their modules to their students using text-only content through Facebook Messenger.

Go shared that although schools may face a lot of constraints, there were still flexible modes of delivery.

Some of the examples he suggested that were both creative and inclusive was for schools to provide low bandwidth version of the curriculum to students.

He also shared that it was possible to give printouts of PDFs, thumb drives or even learning packages.

“Maybe we can also think about radio,” Go said. “Maybe direct instructions can be done through radio like what Africa did when Ebola struck.”

Don’t rush reopening of schools

“It will be a mistake to rush reopening of schools,” Reimers said.

He added, “Until we have a vaccine, what we can expect to see is flattening of the curve then spiking, then flattening again when we relax the measures.”

Exposing children to the virus becomes a more dangerous issue especially since a rare syndrome tied to COVID-19 have killed three children in New York.

Teach children independent learning

Given the constraints amid the pandemic, Go shared that it’s important to teach children how to handle independent learning and how to have great self-discipline even without the teachers there.

Go said that students who studied in school enjoyed the structure the school provides, from the teacher providing lessons, classmates offering social interaction present, to the schedule it strictly follows.

However, as schools shift to a different approach, students must learn how to study at the safety of their own home and without the traditional cues they get from teachers.

“We have to orient our students and set up structures that will reinforce agency to our students,” Go said.

He added, “For them to have structure at home, they need the help of parents.”

What becomes a further constraint, said Go, was the fact that students in the primary school will need a lot of assistance and guidance from their parents studying at home.

“We can’t expect adults to accompany children the whole day,” Go commented.

Focus on depth of topics, not breadth

Since classes cannot be taught the same way, Go suggested that the curriculum focus on depth than breadth.

“They cannot offer every single subject they used to during traditional face-to-face classes. They have to prioritize,” Go said.

He added that ever since, many people had been complaining how the curriculum was cluttered, “where we’re trying so hard to teach everything."

“Our students learn little ... because we’re so focused on breadth rather than depth,” Go added.

By focusing on depth, Go explained, schools can promote deeper learning.

Collaborate and communicate

Reimers said that leaders need a lot of communication, and collaboration must be done to foster creativity.

It’s better to have feedback loops rather than “approach this with an attitude of arrogance, as if we know everything and ignore those good collaborators.”

“The best way to do that is to work with others,” Reimers added.

Aside from working with others, it’s also best to have an informed dialogue using research to shape the education policy, said Reimers.

Engage kids in meaningful conversations

“First thing we need to do is check on the kids,” Reimers said. “This is the time to engage students with meaningful learning.”

Reimers shared that especially during the pandemic, it’s best to prioritize communication among the children.

“Questions are very important. Help students find their voice and asking them questions is a way to do that,” said Reimers.

“We are living through an extraordinary time,” Reimers shared. “Make the kids observe. It’s a great time to engage kids to ask questions, what they are observing and share that with their peers.”

Teachers, said Reimers, can put a simple set of questions on a PDF file and share it with their students. “This is about making sure that the kids are learning … learning will come with the conversations,” he said.

Since we are charting unknown territory, Go suggested that we accept that we’re still grappling with the new normal and that there would certainly be changes.

“Whatever our preparation, it will make us better teachers,” said Go. – RC, GMA News