Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

COVID-19

Remote learning proves challenging for some students, beneficial for others

Apr 30, 2020 | 4:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the closure of schools in B.C., teachers and students were forced to adapt to a new form of education.

Classes moved online for most, with teachers reaching out to their students via Zoom, Google Classroom, or another platform.

It has been a month since students began learning remotely, and it hasn’t been without its challenges.

“Naturally, the first week or two there was quite a curve, both ends, from a teaching perspective for many who have not worked in this environment before and for our students to get adjusted to it,” said Walt Kirschner, principal of South Kamloops Secondary School.

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One of the early challenges was connecting teachers to students and their families.

“I think we took that whole first week to really focus on connecting,” said A.E. Perry Principal Deanna Brady. “It took teachers, in some cases, up to a full week to try to connect to people. Emails maybe not being the correct email, phone numbers out of service, really having to get creative with how to connect with people.”

Teachers have had to adapt lesson plans based on individual students, their learning styles and access to technology and devices.

“That’s where you’ll see some of those communications around paper-based materials, communicating to the teacher through phone, using a multitude of our support staff to help with that and expediting that as well,” Kirschner said.

While students have been connected one way or another, many teachers are missing in class instruction.

“I haven’t met a teacher yet that’s saying, ‘Oh, I love this way of teaching and I like the remote,'” said Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Association President Laurel Macpherson. “Every teacher has said to me, ‘I just miss being around the kids.'”

Brady says the teachers at A.E. Perry have been reaching out to families feeling overwhelmed or need extra support during this time.

“Our staff has been so incredibly responsive to the needs of our students and our families,” she said. “They’re adapting to what our families are saying, and listening to them. If they’re feeling overwhelmed, no problem, we’re going to back off and we’re going to check in with you in about a week and see how you’re feeling then and what can I do to help you?”

For some students, this remote method of education has proven beneficial.

“We have a lot of students that suffer with anxiety and other issues that really make school hard for them,” Brady said. “What we’re noticing is some students are thriving. Now they’re in the comfort of their own homes and they’re using things like Flipgrid to be able to show they’re learning, when we wouldn’t have necessarily seen that if they were here in school.”

Every child learns differently, and School District 73 teachers are working to make sure every student has the tools they need to succeed.

“There are no students who are sprinting ahead because of this and there are none that are falling way behind,” Kirschner said, “but rather, we’re all in this together and just really looking at what are those individual needs are to make sure that each student is successful and engaged with what their learning plan is.”