Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the need for limiting physical contact while enabling children to continue getting an education has brought about a concept called blended or hybrid learning – the new educational strategy for the school year of 2020-2021.
This type of blended/hybrid learning means students and parents can no longer depend on the schools for education and brings many challenges with learning at home.
Here are seven challenges and solutions to help you and your kids in the current education landscape:
1. Attention
In the classroom, teachers can easily spot when students have stopped paying attention – but with online learning, they can’t sense when a student has lost focus, is completely lost, or just doesn’t care.
Solution: Create a workspace free of distractions to increase sustained attention.
Reduce surrounding noise as much as possible; provide headsets to block out any surrounding noise. Make sure they have enough water or another liquid to keep them hydrated without needing to step away from the learning.
Incorporate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic clues to help your child remain focused. And, as much as possible, remain in physical proximity to your children to help refocus their attention.
2. Technology
Not everyone is tech savvy, and online learning relies heavily on technology. Many teachers and students have experienced frustration with online connection, accessing certain online tools, etc.
Solution: While not everyone can invest in better technology, many educators as well as students say that using the right technology makes all the difference. See if you can get a higher speed internet, a newer hardware, and get a tech savvy person to show your kid (and you) some tips that can make digital life easier.
3. Boredom
Many children will feel bored and start to lose motivation.
Solution: Offer fun challenges to keep young students motivated and actively involved while learning remotely. Positive reinforcement and rewards for staying on task can go a long way.
4. Lack of Social Interaction
Learning at home can be hard on students, who may miss out on important social interactions with their classmates and teachers.
Solution: Make sure your kid is a part of online gatherings or events. If there are any in person celebrations or opportunities to connect, see how your kid can participate without putting her or him at risk.
5. Feeling Constricted
Children, especially teenagers, can feel trapped at home during the pandemic.
Solution: Create a personal sanctuary – redecorate your kid’s bedroom into a space he or she loves and can do the schoolwork in. Kids will feel better and more comfortable doing online school from their bedrooms once their personal surrounding is calming as well as inspiring, and to their liking.
Also, get the kids to go outside, every day. Screen time is at an all-time high as kids not only engage in learning remotely, but also try to stay connected with their peers and have some kind of social life.
It’s as important for them to take a break and get some fresh air every day they are at home. Whether it’s walking the dog, a bike ride, doing an errand for you, or another way for them to move their bodies and connect with nature – encourage breaks, they can lift their mood, help them refocus and find the energy to finish their schoolwork.
6. Confusion
Some kids feel disoriented, and confused in this new education landscape.
Solution: It’s important for teachers and for parents to clarify directions and check that children understand and are able to follow. It helps if assignments are broken down into manageable components for easier completion.
With all these challenges, do remain patient.
7. Parents and Their Work
Now, with hybrid/blending learning being a new norm, parents must balance work with overseeing their children’s education. This can be challenging for many reasons – if they work from home, they can get very distracted from their work; if they need to go to work outside of home, they face a challenge of who will oversee their child’s online schooling.
While there is no easy and uniform solution for working parents, hybrid schooling can hopefully alleviate some of these challenges to a degree. Some employers have allowed for a more flexible working hours for their employees with teenage and younger children. Also, some parents have united in collaboration and support each other by taking turns in helping all their children during home schooling days.
If your child is doing vision therapy, which helps with easier learning and better overall quality of life, stay focused on ensuring your child continues to incorporate it during these unique times.
At Vision Development Center of Lancaster, we offer programs designed to address very specific sets of vision disorders displayed by an individual patient.
Looking for vision therapy techniques, therapy for ADHD, or ADD therapists in Lancaster PA?
We invite you to contact us today – call our office at (717) 656-0534 today to make an appointment, or take our free symptoms survey to see if you may benefit from the vision therapy.