Howdy folks, my first blog piece – and what a time for teaching and learning! The UK is two weeks into it’s latest lock-down during the COVID-19 pandemic and educators everywhere are breaking new ground everyday. It’s an exciting and challenging time to be at the frontier of the what feels like the biggest shift in how we deliver learning in contemporary history. I have decided to spend this term reflecting on my experiences of the impact of digital learning on all students as it’s happening.
In this reflection I consider the impact of digital learning on SEND and SEMH students and how digital learning may offer an opportunity to further support them in the future, as well as the importance of independent working in promoting resilience in all students.
For all of it’s shortcomings (of which there are many) the digital classroom environment can be of benefit to SEND learners, particularly ASC students who struggle with the sensory overload that can be part of life within a school. Whilst it is important for these students to experience some challenge in order to build their resilience and better prepare them for the world at large, the digital learning environment will no doubt serve to help those SEND students whose disabilities may severely impair their ability to integrate into a physical school environment. Offering a ‘blended’ learning experience, supported by the progress made in technology and digital pedagogy over the last year of changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect through wide school closures may serve as a solution going forward, offering a classroom experience with less physical and mental barriers to learning for students with specific SEND/SEMH needs.
Through my own digital classroom practice I have observed SEND students who display significant behavioural needs in the school flourish through remote learning. I have been particularly impressed by formative assessments gathered from students on the Autistic spectrum who have shown improvement in their recall of subject knowledge, class contribution and a significant, sometimes total decrease in disruptive episodes during lessons.
The process of planning and delivering digital lessons has also afforded my time to reflect on how much independence we can hand over to learners. Independent thought is widely considered an aim of education, rather that a mechanism of learning. Having said that I am experiencing the importance of ‘independent work’, a form of individual, self directed learning in building resilience and promoting challenge in a school day now dominated by screens and remote accountability.
The digital classroom creates a vacuum between teachers and students. Without face-to-face interactions and facing communication issues brought about by the very real limits of technology in 2020/21, building relationships with learners has become challenging. All teachers I know have had issues with access, communication and lesson flow. Registers that won’t load, clumsy, outdated management systems that don’t talk to digital learning platforms, access to equipment for the most vulnerable and of course: Internet connection issues.
The added challenges presented can lead teachers (including myself) to want to increase their control on the lessons and learning of their students – with the perfectly conscientious aim of making sure students get the most out of every second of every lesson in what feels like such an imperfect learning environment. The reality of the situation is that we as teachers must accept the limitations of the situation and seek to make them work to our benefit. We can use the time connectivity issues afford us to encourage more independence in our students.
Classroom observations of a year 7 tutor in my school and the wisdom of my in-school mentor both attest to the power of silence in a lesson. Silence can improve concentration, build class culture, help settle SEND and SEMH students and encourage all to ‘think hard’ about activities set by teachers, promoting memory. Digital students, free from the distractions of the classroom can spend more time on individual work tasks. This practice encourages resilience and promotes self esteem by allowing students the processing time they need to think hard about concepts and reducing the amount of time they need to be ‘on’ during the school day.
I have found that planning digital lessons dedicated to teacher supported individual work, off screen has helped my students to concentrate, improved recall, formative assessment, classroom culture, well-being and even attendance. Tom Sherrington recently published a fantastic blog on digital lesson structure and how Quality First Teaching is transferable to the brave new world of remote learning https://teacherhead.com/2021/01/10/remote-learning-live-or-offline-cover-the-basic-elements/
In conclusion, educators are at the coal face of the biggest seismic shift in how we support learners in living memory. Though it feels like light-years away, life and classrooms will return to some semblance of normality and the COVID-19 pandemic will, eventually be confined to the pages of history. The progress we are making through every lesson, no matter how painful it can feel will pay dividends in providing vital extra support for SEND, SEMH and LA students who need it most in the future. Like so many additions to our cultural lexicon brought on by COVID-19 such as wearing face-masks in public and the stark re-appropriation in the use of the word ‘bubble’ digital learning may well outlive the legacy of the pandemic.