Teaching during a Pandemic: Learn, Unlearn and Relearn

To become a good teacher, one has to be a good learner. Today's situation has fast-forwarded the slowly evolving education sector. Most of the skilled professions have transitioned into the digital era in the last decade. But most of our teachers are getting accustomed to this because of and during a pandemic.

Teachers are dealing with the fear of the pandemic, salary cuts, and household chores while having jumped into a possibly alien world of digital education. The worst part is that it did not come with a learner's permit. Even a simple software comes with a tutorial and trial days to run. But the teachers have been expected to deliver quality right away.

Regular classes have been suspended. Every teacher is trying out new ways to contact their students. Teachers in for-profit schools are using digital platforms like Google Classrooms, Zoom Class, Meet, etc. Many teachers with students belonging to humble backgrounds contact them through simple apps like Whatsapp or even calls.

These teachers are wearing multiple hats. Other than the classes, they counsel students and help them stay strong during the pandemic. Even the students look forward to these classes as an opportunity to connect with their teacher and fellow classmates.

 Ural Sharma, Executive Director, CKS Foundation when asked about her current teaching experiences gets nostalgic and says, "I really miss my children - their laughter, their tantrums, their jokes, their whims, their fights, their naughty antics and surprisingly, even their complaints!".

 Her priority is to take care of the mental and emotional wellbeing of the students during the current crisis. In an attempt to reassure the children that she’s always there for them, and to uplift their spirits, she shot a video of herself reciting a self-composed poem and sent it to her students. This was highly enjoyed by the children and "the excitement in their voices was so palpable when they called to tell how they had been listening to it on loop”

 While Ural had started taking live classes via Zoom and audio conferencing, she wanted to ensure that the element of joy doesn’t go missing in the lessons, by virtue of the classes going online now. Thus, she came up with the idea of recording fun and engaging story read alouds for them and sharing the links with them over WhatsApp to watch at a time of their convenience (i.e. when they are able to get access to their parents’ phones).

These story videos are followed by a live class online, to build on their listening comprehension, imagination, values, critical thinking, speaking and writing skills. Each story is also followed by a fun activity which the children are encouraged to try at home. The children have been enthusiastically participating in all the activities and are thoroughly enjoying this new format of learning.

You can enjoy her recitation of the stories ‘Geet ka Kamaal’ and ‘Monkey Puzzle’.

Although these ideas did not come smoothly to any teacher. They have been facing many obstacles. The biggest challenge is to maintain the quality of virtual classes. While some teachers get it right in the first go, many are learning, unlearning and relearning techniques to adjust to the new normal.

Adapting to digital classes is a lot like learning to drive a car. A person who knows how to ride a bike knows the clutch. But the clutch in a car works differently. So, the first step to driving a car is not learning something new but unlearning what you already know.

In the first phase of the lockdown, a lot of teachers began to record their lectures. Some uploaded written lectures, or sent audio notes along with the page number of the textbook . But the results were not as expected. Some students did not have enough resources to download videos daily, for different subjects. This method could not confirm if students understood the concepts.

These were taken as feedback and many teachers re-evaluated their methods. They 'unlearned' their traditional methods of teaching or the methods that did not work.

Teachers are now exploring new ideas and trying effective methods. Keeping in mind their learning from the initial phase, they can engage students and find a balance between teacher-led learning and student-led learning. They have also adapted to the needs of their students.

Karamveer Singh, a social worker turned Youtube teacher talks about his own learn, unlearn and relearn journey. Talking to his student, Manisha, he realized how most of the online classes on Youtube in English language were not addressing the learning challenges as many students prefer to learn in vernacular languages.

So, he took to himself to solve the problem of many children across the country by making his own Youtube channel, It’s my Physics- KaramVeer. With his intention to help, he learned the techniques of recording videos on a mobile phone, video editing, and creating and managing a YouTube channel. He unlearned the traditional methods of teaching. Re-learned the method of lesson planning and teaching on youtube which is very different from what he was used to.

A teacher's profession comes with great responsibility. That duty has now increased multifold. Most of them are revamping their teaching style and have come a long way in this journey. All we need to do is support and appreciate their hard work.

 ----------------------

Follow ConveGenius to read more such stories in education.