This week I’ve been pondering a lot about remote learning in all its’ various guises. Maybe it’s because of the number of children and young people locally (more than 4,000 in Liverpool) who are isolating at home because their bubble in school has burst. Perhaps it’s also the tighter local restrictions, at only the start of October, that make me suspect we could have quite a tricky winter ahead in terms of keeping our schools fully open.
The big questions I’ve been pondering are:
- How do we maximise the potential for learning if we do have groups of learners or our entire school learning at home?
- What have we learnt from the first lockdown period that can inform how we go ‘plus one’ if we find ourselves in the same position again?
- How can feedback from teachers, learners and their parents/carers about home learning during lockdown 1 support us going ‘plus one’?
- Where are the key parts in the process that we can refine or strengthen?
The research findings on the first lockdown period that I’ve used to aid my thinking are included in the links at the bottom of this email. I’ve also drawn upon my discussions with hundreds of teachers and leaders over recent months.
I hope these thoughts are useful, whether you are a teacher or a school leader.
Keeping the learning circuit connected
I’ve developed the diagram below, as it has helped my thinking about:
- The key switches in the circuit that need to have firm connections
- The potential vulnerabilities in the circuit
It is also really important to remember that this circuit needs to be a two-way, with communication able to flow freely in both directions.
This is the most important connection in the circuit. I’ve been working with schools to help them think through the following key questions:
- Has the design been optimised for learning over the lesson sequence?
- Has the teaching sequence been planned backwards from the starting points of learners?
- How has the ‘I do, We do, You do’ process been embedded so that learners have clarity, and the maximum chance of achieving success?
- How do the teaching resources which we would use F2F, need adapting for remote learning?
- Where are the structured opportunities for learners/teachers to get feedback that can be used to further enhance learning?
Without effective learning design, there is the risk that teachers get busy engaging learners in busy-ness at best, not learning. Indeed I’ve observed learners sat at the end of a fast flowing Google Classroom ‘pipe’ being kept busy completing tasks. Parents might be happy seeing this industry, but when asked, the learners cannot tell you what, if anything that they have learnt.
When learning design is flawed, the impact can be:
- Inappropriate levels of challenge
- Lack of clarity for learners
- Learners/Teachers receiving little useful feedback
- Potential disengagement in the learning process
With effective learning design, the decision about the most effective medium for home learning can be taken. This may in fact be as simple as paper and pen, but it is more likely to be some form of EdTech. However, the choice of EdTech should be made after learning design, not before. Too often when online learning is ineffective, it is because the teacher has been seduced by the platform or EdTech tool without thinking about the learning design.
Some questions to ponder:
- Has the the platform/tool fit with the learning design in mind?
- Are teachers proficient in using the platform/tools?
- Are learners proficient in using the platform/tools?
- Does the platform provide for two-way feedback flows?
- How are parents/carers patched into the process to enable them to support?
Talking to one family who had been given a Chromebook with dongle by their school, their problem was they didn’t have enough money for the electricity pre-pay meter. This is the switch in the circuit where schools may have least influence and where long-standing socio-economic equities in society loom large.
The home environment is enhanced where there is:
- A productive environment for learners to work i.e. space and time
- Parents/Carers who understand how to best support learners
- Access to the technology/equipment to engage online
Some questions to ponder:
- To what extent have we supported parents/carers to have clarity on how they can best support learners?
- What are the quick wins in terms of supporting home environments?
- What went well in lockdown 1 that we could build further in the medium term?
The following reports on this area are really good reads:
Education Endowment Foundation Covid-19 Resources: Supporting Parents to Make the Most of Home Learning. Available here
Education Policy Institute (2020). Preventing the Disadvantage Gap from Increasing During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic: Proposals from the Education Policy Institute [online]. Available here
KASH stands for Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits. For example, resilience and self-regulation. Without the right KASH, learners are unlikely to be effective in managing their own learning remotely, however well designed it has been.
I reflected, whilst supporting my daughters working at home through lockdown 1, which KASH elements they had developed. There were certain aspects they had in spades, and other areas particularly self-regulation where they needed more support and direction from us.
Developing the KASH of learners is so much more important when learner are working remotely, than if they are in the classroom where teachers are able to scaffold and support. Fundamentally for our learners, long term success beyond summative examinations, requires us to invest in developing this KASH.
Some questions to ponder:
- How have we developed the KASH of learners to thrive remotely?
- What specific aspects of KASH could we work on developing, whilst we are teaching F2F? E.g. note taking, editing skills, using online platforms, commitment to learning
- How can we scaffold for KASH gaps?
- Where will learners get feedback on their efforts to help them close KASH gaps?
The sudden announcements of school closures in back in March didn’t allow for much preparation time for schools, particularly those who hadn’t already built remote learning capacity.
- How can we use the feedback from this period to further develop the robustness of home learning circuit?
- Reflecting on the circuit above and seeking to enhance home learning. Which of the switches would benefit most from further attention?
Research based upon large scale study into learner engagement during school closure period in England.
Research by Gallup in USA on what are the key challenges for parents with regards to distance learning.
Teach First (2020). ‘Only 2% of teachers working in the most disadvantaged communities believe all their pupils have adequate access to devices for home learning’,
26 March [online]. Available here