Family & Education
Getting to grips with blended learning
A new course is helping schools to prepare for having to cater for some children in class and others quarantining at home
October 15, 2020 15:18
A new course is helping schools to prepare for having to cater for some children in class and others quarantining at home
October 15, 2020 15:18When the country went into lockdown in March, schools had to move quickly to start delivering home learning to children.
But even though schools are back, they are still having to live with the consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
Not only have they had to adjust on site to social distancing requirements, but they have also to plan for providing lessons when some children may be in class and others in self-isolation at home.
A recent survey suggested that already one in five secondary schools in England have been affected by having staff or pupils in quarantine — and rates of infection are rising.
Schools in Northern Ireland have just learned they will be closed for an extra week ahead of half-term.
“It could all happen at the drop of a hat,” said Samantha Benson, director of education at Pajes, the Jewish Leadership Council’s schools’ network.
To help Jewish schools prepare for the different eventualities, Pajes has launched a new training course, the Blended Learning Leaders’ Programme.
Blended learning refers to a combination of digital and face-to-face lessons. And schools could find themselves having to provide both at the same time to different groups of pupils.
“You can have various scenarios,” explained Nic Abery, primary school adviser to Pajes. “You might have a teacher in self-isolation at home with the kids in school with another adult who’s not their regular teacher.
“Or you might have the teacher in school with the entire class out. Or half the class in school and the other half out.”
But whatever the situation, the aim is to “try to ensure that the outcomes of lessons they are getting are the same, wherever they are receiving them”.
Over the next few months participants will have core sessions with two programme leaders and also break up into smaller groups for coaching. The initiative was made possible by an emergency grant from the Wohl Foundation.
“We asked schools to nominate one member of staff who had shown interest in the area,” Mrs Benson said. “Within days, 30 people signed up. Most are in leadership and management and 40 per cent teach Jewish studies or Ivrit. Most have good or excellent knowledge of digital tools.”
Planning involves more than making sure that children have access to computer or that teachers can use the software. There are educational issues to consider, too.
“It is important to ensure that children are not sitting in front of the screen the whole time,” Mrs Benson said.
Another area of discussion has been “the pros and cons of synchronous and asynchronous” — following a lesson in school live from a computer at home (synchronous) as opposed to (asynchronous) watching a pre-recorded video.
One thing that has struck Pajes is the spirit of co-operation among schools. “We have seen a willingness of teachers and heads to share, to support each other,” she said.
“I do think huge progress has been made but it is a steep learning curve for everybody.”
