Students in grades K-12 have experienced a giant strain in learning since early 2020. The term “learning loss” has affected student success in the short and longer terms, but what does that actually look like for your children? And, perhaps more importantly, what solutions can we look to in the future?
Below, our HLC team provides three significant ways the pandemic affected K-12 learning, and what they mean for families and students.
Shifting Schedules
Those who have experienced the rollercoaster ride of school during COVID know what an exhausting toll it has taken on everyone involved. Whether it be emergency school closures, completely remote instruction, or switching to confusing hybrid models that require an intense amount of coordination. As schools have slowly opened back up there have been more schedules to keep track of with schools alternating days of the week for in-person instruction.
No matter what your child’s specific schedule looked like, it was probably a far cry from the structure and consistency they were used to.
New Instruction Methods
As much as today’s school experience involves technology, the challenges of remote learning took everyone by surprise. In hindsight, many of these difficulties came from the initial transition, which included learning how to equip students with devices and internet access, deal with technical issues and translate a fully in-person curriculum into a digital one. Not to mention figuring out the right expectations for everyone along the way.
While very few of us would choose digital learning as a primary mode of instruction, there might be an opportunity to incorporate formats like video conferencing and online curriculum into how we’re able to support student learning.
Mental Health Challenges
Many students have experienced anxiety, depression and stress during the pandemic. The lack of in-person instruction creates scenarios where students feel like they don’t have access to support when they’re struggling. The role that educators play pertains not only to students’ academic success but their overall well-being!
Moving Forward
For all the challenges that students have faced during the pandemic, we’ve also seen how resilient they can be. They’ve learned how to resolve problems on their own, adapt to constantly changing circumstances, discover how they learn best and advocate for themselves.
Learning these lessons will not only assist us in understanding the challenges that have affected our students, but it will help us move forward with greater impact! If you are interested in learning more about HLC, don’t hesitate to reach out today.