Online Learning

In a virtual Board Meeting the other night, my district’s superintendent, assistant superintendents, and many board members discussed the several possibilities of what the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year may look like. During this discussion, parents, students, teachers, and community members were allowed to type in comments, and the meeting host would read some comments randomly in hopes that someone from the meeting may be able to address a question and provide an explanation. Unfortunately, many issues remain unknown due to the county health offices, however one thing seemed very certain; parents were unhappy with Distance Learning during the COVID_19 school closures. I began to question why? Why would parents have this much anger toward learning online? And how can we improve it?

Why are parents so upset about Distance Learning?

I would first like to point out that there is a very big difference between Distance and Remote Learning (although both are online). Distance Learning was a response to a pandemic. There was not enough time to ensure equity of devices, internet, and materials. Nevertheless, our district did the best they could, even though this meant some of these students joined Distance Learning late.

Distance Learning: it is not mandatory, it does not hurt a grade, it only enhances a grade, it is an opportunity for growth.

Remote Learning: is mandatory, it replaces classroom learning, it may enhance or hurt a grade depending on student performance, it is an opportunity for growth.

As I was listening to comments, I questioned whether parents and students realized we would NOT have Distance Learning in the 2020-2021 school year, but rather Remote Learning. Teachers are better prepared for remote learning now, and the district is more prepared on the equity end.

There were some comments stating that teaching is not the parent’s responsibility, when concerning core content. I do understand this frustration because research shows, “Parents of online students must be active to support the students’ academic success” (Welch, 2015, p. 34).) This is not to say that parents are not active supporters, but perhaps they were unprepared for the support students would require while learning from home. After all, teachers were unprepared to teach completely online. Furthermore, students are kids. It is no surprise that they may take advantage of a situation and the studies show, “It is recommended that students take ownership of their own learning and know appropriate times to seek assistance or guidance” (Borup, 2019, p. 98). Nevertheless, the lack of preparation from schools, the unawareness of constant need and support required of parents, and the absence of some student’s responsibility may all add up to “this system just did not work”. While I disagree, because no one could have possibly prepared for this abrupt pandemic properly, I do sympathize and see where the anger may stem from.

How can we improve Online Learning?

Because no decision has been made as to whether we will be beginning the new school year online, hybrid, or in the classroom, we can prepare for improvement. There is no knowing if another wave of CoronaVirus may hit, but if it did, I want to be confident that Remote Learning can satisfy all stakeholders. Borup (2019) states, “we predict that parents’ inexperience with being or supporting an online student will impact how they perceive their roles and the self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills that are required to successfully engage in their children’s online learning” (p. 104). Parents are a bit more experienced in this area, now that they have dealt with Distance Learning. However, communication is key and could be even better. Tim (2019) explains, “While secondary parents were significantly more likely to agree that their children use a computer to complete their homework at home, elementary parents were significantly more likely than secondary parents to communicate more often with the classroom teacher on their children’s work, whether face-to-face or written, relative to both online and other assignments” (p. 117).  Expectation should be made clear. This goes for all grade levels, from TK to 12th. Because online learning does require parental support, each school (or teacher) might consider writing out what that looks like. They might give suggestions (i.e.  requiring certain subjects to be worked on while the parent is home, or scheduling a different subject each day). Expectations should be clear for the students (i.e. when they can contact teachers, ask questions, look at grades, what might group work look like, examples of “good” online assignments). Last but not least, there should also be teacher/ administrator expectations. These may look more like promises (i.e. how long will it take for them to communicate back to you, dates grades will be in, what certain feedback means, what the norms are for meetings). I truly believe that lucidity and clarity are the key factors in this situation. If this can be accomplished, then all parties may be happy and successful when it comes to public education behind a screen.



References:

Borup, J., Walters, S., & Call-Cummings, M. (2019). Examining the Complexities of Parental
Engagement at an Online Charter High School: A Narrative Analysis Approach.
International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 20(1), 94–110.
https://doi-org.cui.idm.oclc.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i1.3605

Tim Chen, Wanberg, R. C., Gouioa, E. T., Brown, M. J. S., Chen, J. C.-Y., & Kraiger, J. J. K.
(2019). Engaging Parents Involvement in K - 12 Online Learning Settings: Are We
Meeting the Needs of Underserved Students? Journal of E-Learning & Knowledge
Society, 15(2), 113–120. https://doi-org.cui.idm.oclc.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1563

Welch, A. (2015). The Role of Primary Students and Parents in Virtual Schools. Distance
Learning, 12(2), 33–37.