How to Avoid Learning Loss 2021

School Year 2020-2021 is already over in some private schools. Some schools are almost finished. ‘Summer’ break for the students is fast approaching, same goes with Summer Slide or what people know as Summer Learning Loss.

What is Summer Slide or Learning Loss?

Have you heard of Learning Loss? It is a phenomena where students forget what they have learned in the previous school year. According to Forbes, children lose up to 40% of learning over summer break. This reference is Western in context but is still applicable in the Philippines.

There are long-term economic effects for this loss. According to Hanushek, A. & Woessmann, L. (2020), the two main impacts are:

1) Affected students whose schooling has been interrupted by the pandemic face long-term losses in income. Hence, they might not be equipped with the skills that they need in the future. They might be equipped but would that be enough and of high standards?

2) National economies that go forward with a less-skilled labor force face lower economic growth which subtracts from the overall welfare of society. This is the collective economic impact of summer slide or learning loss.

What can we do about it?

UNESCO-McKinsey & Company suggested ways on how to cope.

The first is to allow students more time to learn. This could be through summer classes, weekend catch-up, or adding extra time at the end of the day. A second approach involves dedicated attention through smaller breakout groups or one-to-one tutoring for the most disadvantaged learners.

As an elementary teacher, I believe that there are various ways on how to avoid or lessen the impact brought by learning loss. My suggestion is acronym LENS.

Literacy, Enjoyment, Numeracy, and Skills.

How to Avoid Learning Loss

1. Give them activities related to LITERACY. This includes reading, writing, and even journaling.
2. Enjoyment refers to the games that they can do at home. Board games are perfect examples for this.
3. Numeracy refers to activities related to Math. Students, if given enough time during summer, can always review what their Math lessons are.
4. Skills refer to new skills that students can learn over the summer break. This could be any household chores, or any entrepreneurial skills.

To do this, here is a concrete example of a student’s weekly activity.

Parents do not need to spend a lot just to avoid learning loss. By being consistent, they can manage how their children cope up with the challenges in learning specially this pandemic. Also, there are online classes that parents may consider if they would like enrichment programs for their kids.

If you are looking for fun activities this summer, check this out.

Here is the pdf version of this article. Thank you and have fun reading and learning.

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How to Give Talk or Webinar Online

Aside from being missing in action for four months, I am just your average elementary teacher teaching English to grade one students in a private school in Pasig. So, whenever somebody asks me to give a talk about a certain topic, I honestly do not know how to react. What I do is I absorb the info about the invitation, weigh whether I can commit myself fully to it or not for a few minutes. If everything is good, (if I am mentally okay, and our internet permits), I say say.

2020 has brought lots of opportunities for me. Not posting this to brag but to give you some details on how to deal with invitations for speakership.

How to Give Talk or Webinar Online

Here is what I have learned after saying YES to 10 events this year.

1. When somebody invites you for a talk, ask them the important details.
   1. objectives
   2. target audience
   3. date and time
   4. means of the seminar (online or face-to-face)
   5. length of your talk
   6. of course, the program.

You need to know these details so you can easily create an outline for your talk that would address what your audience needs. You need these details, promise. I’ve learned this the hard way. There was a time when I absent-mindedly say yes to a friend, not reading the objectives of the workshop I was assigned to. (Sorry, friend, if you are reading this.) Good thing, I was able to adjust the flow of my talk and my activities for that day.

2. Prepare ahead of time. I believe, you are given enough time to prepare for your talk. Hence, you should read, draft, and write your talk in advance. Avoid cramming.

3. Create a strong visual or Powerpoint presentation. Make sure that it follows the usual rules for presentation like the font size (big enough), font style (not more than three font styles), and even the layout. Yes, Canva has a lot of templates, but make sure to make necessary adjustments so you won’t appear the typical Canva user. hehe.

4. Make your online talk or webinar interactive. Let your audience feel that they are part of the program and not just passive listeners. They can contribute to the discussion by commenting their insights or by simply asking questions. Let them know that you are monitoring their comments in the comment section or chat box. Haha. That gives them the sense of responsibility and urgency to respond to your questions.

5. Integrating games to your talk or webinar sounds exciting! When they know that they will be rewarded, audience tend to be more motivated to participate. Most of the time, games add flavor to one’s talk, as well.

These are just some of the things I did before I give talk or webinars online. If I’ve missed anything, feel free to comment them in the comment section below.

Have a great day ahead!

-Kim

How to Conduct Online Classes

Because of COVID19, and enhanced community quarantine, most schools are planning to do online learning or distance learning with their students.

In this blog post, I will share my experience about conducting online class using Zoom to first graders.

Please take note that this is an informal online class set-up.

Before the class:

1. Decide which program should you use for this class. Make sure to maximize its features.

In my case, I used Zoom because it is free and I can invite a good number of students there. You can easily explore the other features of Zoom. Discover how these features will help you. I really like its breakout group feature.

2. Be detailed about the online class instructions.

Create a simple poster or reminder about the class. In your reminder, include the following details: a. date and time of the class, b. the app or program to be used, c. meeting ID and password, and d. materials needed (if there are any). 

Do not forget to list the materials that students need during the class. Inform them if they need notebook or papers, and coloring materials.

3. Be ready with your teaching materials (slides, videos, audios) and your equipment as well. 

Double check whether your internet connection is good thru speedtest.com. Double check whether your laptop and other computer accessories are functioning well.

When it comes to teaching materials, make sure that your slides are suited for your young audience. Review your slides. Also, your videos and audios must be new and relevant to your students. These materials must cover the skills for the day. Also, make sure that your instructions would be simple for kids.

During the class: 

1. Set your classroom rules.

The first five minutes of your online class must be about classroom rules. Be mindful of the following when setting up rules.

a. How should the student respond when she has a question? (Thumbs up, Use the Chat Box, Use the Microphone etc.

b. When should the student Mute or Unmute her microphone? Would the teacher unmute the mic for all?

c. When will the student speak? Would you call them by names? If yes, how?

Note: Always remind the students to look at their screen. Sometimes, they tend to multi-task. When your students know that you are keen about this, greater are the chances that they would really pay attention.

2. Set the objectives for the day.

Let your students know what specific skill would you teach them. For a 40-minute class, I believe one essential skill for first grader will do.

3. Inform the students about the flow of the class.

You also have to tell them the flow of the class.

Sample Online Class Flow:

1. Rules
2. Objectives
3. Energizer/Motivation
4. Lesson Proper
5. Evaluation.

For longer online classes, a five-minute break is okay.

After the Class

1. Remind the class when the next online class would be. 

It is important the students and parents know when is the next class so they would look forward to it. They would be mentally-prepared for the next class. Remind them when and how would they submit their homework if there are any.

2. Allow your students to ask questions. 

Always encourage students to ask questions. Since they are too young to type, they may use their microphone to ask questions. If there are no questions, then you may formally end the class.

3. You can ask feedback from the parents about your class. 

Evaluation surely helps you on how to plan your next activity.

 

It is really difficult to conduct online classes to younger students. But still, we should know how to adapt to this situation. At the end of the day, all we can be is to be more flexible in daily challenges when it comes to education. Naks!

I pray that you may conduct your online class well. If you have queries, let me know.