The nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced educators to face the most jarring and rapid change in perhaps any profession in history. Within days of notice, teachers were asked to adapt to a teaching environment that was 100 percent virtual. So, how did this change their teaching style, was it for better or for worse? Not just the teaching style, how has a teacher’s role changed over the last six months in a rapidly evolving age of online classrooms?
Earlier a teacher acted as the provider of knowledge and the primary goal was to deliver all the facts and information to their students. Whereas now, when a student has more information than the textbooks on his/her fingertips, a teacher has to act more like a guidance provider to orient and direct the child to the knowledge which is relevant and useful for them. A teacher’s role of being a guide and showing children the right ways to go has become even more relevant since classrooms and learning have shifted to a complete virtual setup. With this transformation to a virtual environment, teachers have become answerable, to one another set of audience, the parents.
There was a time when parents met teachers once every two or three months and the topic of meeting revolved around student’s performance. But now, during online classrooms, parents are more focused and concerned about the way teachers teach, and their knowledge and methodology is under constant check and scrutiny. This has not only created immense pressure on teachers to perform well and constantly polish their own teaching skills but is also toying around with their confidence. Online platforms therefore need a more comfortable environment for interactive classes where every tool is used to create an atmosphere where teachers are as confident and active as ever.
With the shift to online classrooms, teachers have been using their innovation and creativity for the most critical assessments while highlighting the importance of teacher-student relationship. Collaborating with colleagues in a remote world has become challenging but the goal still remains to work together and collectively help students to succeed. Some teachers have also stated that the entire virtual curriculum have given them more opportunities to meet students who are struggling one-on-one without the distractions that naturally occurs in a traditional classroom.
Six months ago, it seemed impossible to conduct online classes and teach a conventional class of thirty or more students over a video conferencing tool. Not surprisingly, everyone has faced loopholes in the process, but the way teachers have adapted to new ways of teaching and sharing their knowledge is commendable. For a generation born with smart phones and the internet it is easy to miss out on acknowledging the effort teachers have put in to learn new ways of teaching and flexibly adapt to the technology. For students, these challenging times are an opportunity, where teachers are as adaptive and flexible as never before and to acknowledge teachers’ commitment to their professions and to the students they serve.
