Alumna Update: Shaistha Pattiarimal
Shaistha Pattiarimal is a 2016 scholar who pursued a Master's degree in Special and Inclusive Education from the Institute of Education at University College London. At present, she works towards transforming literacy through children’s literature. She is the co-founder of Literato, a book-based literacy program for children. The program Introduces children to a plethora of age-appropriate literature by significant authors. Her experience has been instrumental in developing an inclusive literacy curriculum that caters to the learning needs of all children.
In March 2020, at the outset of the pandemic, several challenges arose for education systems worldwide. No one anticipated or was prepared for the scale of transformation which was the need of the hour.
Children were confined to their homes, parents juggled with school, work and household chores, schools struggled to provide accessible quality education in a fairly alien, online environment and everyone scrambled to answer emerging questions - COVID-19 has clearly had an undeniable and detrimental impact on the education of children across the globe. These times presented some very loaded questions for educators to answer…
How do we keep a class of students engaged in learning when they are not physically present?
How do we ensure ‘real’ learning is happening in the classroom?
How do we provide children with the hands-on experience of what they are learning?
How do we conduct authentic assessments with integrity in an online classroom?
Most importantly, how do we ensure children’s emotional and social well-being?
The quest to answer some of these questions has also acted as a guiding light. Schools rapidly adopted digital tools for engagement and trained themselves on online teaching techniques with great gusto. In retrospect, the pandemic provided us with an enormous opportunity to take a giant leap in the evolution of education, by reflecting on our teaching practices and making changes that experts and traditionalists would have mulled over for eternity.
Here are some reflections that in my opinion have left education in a better position than before.
Reflection#1: No back benches!
The most common request that teachers receive from parents at a parent-teacher meeting is to allow their child to be seated in the front so that he/she could be more attentive in class. Online classrooms have democratized the classroom settings by providing a front-row seat to all students and their parents as well. Back benches became passé by providing equal access for all, to learning material and the teacher in the class. The ‘shy’ ones who would never raise hands in physical classrooms, now have an unintimidating platform to voice their opinions and queries confidently.
Reflection#2: A stop to rote learning
E-classrooms have made it possible to take learning beyond textbooks. Technology enables students at home to learn from various E-learning platforms and collaboratively work with classmates making learning fun and interactive. Unrestricted access to the internet had made virtual exams to be conducted in a ‘traditional’ manner a nightmare for schools. This drove teachers to think of creative ways to assess children’s learning. Designing authentic assessments that require original and critical thought by students rather than testing their ability to memorize answers has benefited both students and teachers equally.
Reflection#3: E-learning is inclusive
Virtual learning environments (VLEs) for instance, Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams offer numerous possibilities to practice educational inclusivity and provide opportunities to those who otherwise may have been restricted in the traditional classroom. Online learning allows students to control the time, place, and pace of learning making the better prepared to apply themselves in the classroom and in life. Learning equity is being realised every day now.
Reflection#4: Digital Literacy
Digital literacy for both students and teachers has been a long-standing goal. The moment schools went online, most teachers must have felt like a rug had been suddenly pulled out from under them. Teachers being the indomitable being they are, came out all skills blazing by adapting their teaching pedagogy to an e-learning classroom. Teachers and students alike got a crash course in 21st-century skills. Both quickly began using technology and various online learning platforms to be a part of the best learning experience possible. The digital world had finally invaded the classroom and was an acceptable and integral component, rather than a distraction from learning. Children took pride in bringing their digital expertise to the classroom and teachers relished the unbridled acceptance of digital interaction their students had.
Reflection#5: Global Learning
The foundation of education lies in the excitement around discovery. When the virtual world was the only realm accessible to traverse freely, a virtual tour of the San Diego Zoo or leisurely stroll around the magnificent Louvre museum in Paris. The doors to the world were thrown open for learning when the doors of our cities locked down. Teachers across the globe collaborated to usher in a new era of learning.
As we emerge from our confines and embrace the ‘next’ normal, schools reopen, and children come back to school after almost two years of ‘homeschooling. This transition needs careful planning. We have to consider any learning ‘losses’. As well as choose a futuristic approach to build a more resilient system assimilating all the changes over the past few years. ‘Going back to the way things were’ might not be counter-intuitive but will certainly be counter-productive.
In my opinion, teaching through the pandemic has truly integrated technology into mainstream education, well past the display novelty of ‘computer labs’ or intermittent interactive whiteboards. Schools are now investing in the exploration of learning resources and upskilling teachers to be ‘digital educators’.
The Environment has evolved, Educators have evolved, and Education has evolved. The longevity of this evolution remains to be seen. It really excites me to think about the potential we have for learning and education with rapid developments in augmented reality, virtual reality, wearable technology, and the metaverse.
There are a million worlds out there to learn about. Are we ready?
