Friday 29 May 2020

TRAIN TEACHERS AND PROVIDE ADEQUATE RESOURCES


Students and teachers have no choice but to stick to online learning for the time being. 

LETTER: With the uncertainty of when schools will reopen, students and teachers have no choice but to stick to online learning for the time being.

I have three daughters learning online at the secondary and university levels.I notice that some teachers are putting a lot of preparation on the learning materials while some are adapting and moving the physical classroom to the online platform.

Children need a high level of self-discipline while attending online sessions. Many students switch off their video and no one knows if they are paying attention.

Some lessons are less interactive with little or no participation from students even though the teacher tries to ask questions.

Teachers can creatively use technology and multiple media such as online quizzes, video and chat rooms to interact with them.

Students are also encouraged to contribute to the learning process.

It is understandable the struggle that teachers need to go through as many have not had adequate training for online teaching.

The government should provide training to teachers to achieve its effectiveness. Emphasis should be given to improving the teachers' pedagogy skills so that students stay engaged virtually.

A model teacher can demonstrate on YouTube on how to deliver lessons for different subjects. Supporting lesson materials should be developed as they are different from classroom learning

The government should also invest in hardware and software to enhance the learning process.

A software portal should be created to manage the homework and online tutoring.

The Education Department must assign senior teachers to help monitor the quality of teaching. Feedback should then be given to teachers on ways to improve.

While school is suspended, the learning should continue. I hope the Education Ministry and industry players will continue to develop content and syllabus that fit the Malaysian context. After all, online learning is the new normal.

STALWART MALAYSIAN
SELANGOR


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