Running Successful Live Classes

Ms. Rachna Agarwal, Director at T.I.M.E Kids preschool, Domalguda, Hyderabad, joined in for a session to explain the journey she undertook while switching over to the online mode of teaching. The transition from the year-old offline methods to the online world wasn’t easy, and Ms Rachna Agarwal shared the tips, tricks and challenges she worked with along the way. She explained how this transition affected the children, parents and teachers alike. She shared the pros and cons of the entire process.

Pros of Online class:

1. NO DISCONTINUITY IN THE LEARNING PROCESS.

Online teaching allowed the schools to continue the academic session. It is crucial to keep the young ones engaged in a way that helps them navigate their feelings and emotions effectively.

Staying in touch with the school can help alleviate anxiety to a certain extent.

“We were able to save their year without letting Covid affect it.”

2. ROUTINE

Staying home and not being able to move out is stressful and panic-inducing. As a result, the routine of both, the parent and the child gets disrupted. But the preschool continued their sessions and started the academic year on time.

Online classes helped by:

1. Keeping the household schedule in check,
2. Helped the schools carry on with their curriculum delivery.
3. Helped the children stay in touch with their course and continue their learning.

T.I.M.E Kids preschool had the teachers trained and equipped with resources to help children learn and have a routine.

“We were able to engage them constructively and give them a routine. In the morning, they had classes and in the evening, they had homework to do.”

3. NEW TECHNIQUES AND METHODOLOGIES.

Online platforms provide the teachers with multiple tools and resources that can simplify the teaching process and make it more interactive, and interesting for the children.

4. PARENTS’ INVOLVEMENT IN THE LEARNING PROCESS.

The parents utilized the teaching methods being used in the regular classes while helping their children with homework.

Ms. Rachna acknowledged this beneficial unison saying,

“The handshake between the parents and teachers was so commendable, and kids gained tremendously out of that.”

Otherwise, the teacher’s teaching in a particular manner, and when the child goes back, the parents use different learning methods, and the child gets confused in the process.

5. COMBATING SOCIAL ANXIETY IN KIDS

Several children have a hard time adjusting to the classroom environment. They benefited from the online learning system.

“Children with social anxiety bloomed in this environment.”

They were able to overcome their shyness, and according to Ms. Rachna,

“They became very interactive and successful by the end of the year.”

Cons of online class:

1. NO PERSONAL CONNECT WITH THE CHILDREN.

The personal connection with the kids was not there. The children couldn’t share their experiences in the manner they did in a regular class.

2. NO PEER-SOCIAL INTERACTION.

Children were confined to their rooms, and they missed out on the necessary social interaction required for their holistic development. Ms. Rachna pointed out:

“They need to mingle with their friends, and spend time with their friends.”

3. LIMITED TRACKING OF PROGRESS.

Parents sometimes conceal information, which leads to inaccurate tracking of the child’s academic progress. According to Ms. Rachna:

“We couldn’t verify it first hand.”

“The exact assessment of progress was a challenge.”

Challenges faced while starting online class:

Parental anxiety

Parents were anxious and insecure about the schooling and the fees they had paid.

“Kids are so young that it’s difficult to convince the parents that they can do online learning. There was also a lot of stress, panic and anxiety.”

Resistance to online learning

Online learning was a new concept, and there was a lot of resistance towards the platform.

1. The parents didn’t trust the online sources and their effectiveness.
2. The teachers lacked knowledge and confidence in using these resources.
3. Parents feared that their child wouldn’t learn but would instead engage in unproductive online activities.

“People are now open to online learning. But at the beginning of the pandemic, no one believed that the online model would work.”

Adjustment issues

New circumstances bring along new challenges and issues, and apart from dealing with the parents, the team at T.I.M.E preschool also tackled personal challenges.

“First, we had to convince ourselves, then we had to convince the parents, then we had to convince the teachers. We had to train the teachers to undo everything they knew from the offline platform and adapt to a completely new teaching methodology. We all had to learn everything from scratch.”

Spreading awareness

It is necessary to assist parents in keeping up with evolving teaching and learning trends to ensure quality education and a stronger connection with their children. T.I.M.E Kids preschool worked on improving themselves constantly during the pandemic.

“We worked throughout the Summer. First, we ran an online summer camp where every day we were connecting with the parents and giving them ideas to keep the kids engaged during the lockdown.”

Staff training

Aside from parental participation, the teachers and school staff are important actors in the educational system, and they must be prepared and guided to remain current with emerging technology.

Ms Rachna described the preschool’s strategies for assisting teachers in overcoming learning differences and technophobia.

“Then we started teacher training. First, we trained them in using technology comfortably and confidently. Then we trained them in the new methodology and techniques. We did tons and tons of internal demo sessions.”

Curricular adjustments

As Ms. Rachna explained, the curriculum followed by a school will make or break the learning quality offered, and T.I.M.E kids preschool had their plan in motion:

“The head office provided us with a new framework for the curriculum and how we were going to go about putting the entire content in one hour of online classes every day because the kid’s attention span at this age is short.”

It is difficult for children to concentrate on a computer for long periods at such a young age. The sessions held reduced the instructional time while still allowing the child to relax. But adjusting the course isn’t as easy, as Ms. Rachna expressed the problems they faced while doing so:

“Compressing 3-4 hour-long offline sessions into an hour-long online class was a big challenge.”

Tricks to make the best of online learning:

1. Sit with all the teaching material to avoid unnecessary movement during the class.
2. Plan out the content delivery. The teacher should have a detailed teaching plan ready.
3. Refresher games/energizers to bring their attention back.
4. Interact with the kids one on one regularly to build a rapport.
5. Call parents to check on children’s progress.

Finally, when asked about her plans, Ms Rachna said:

“We are beyond the stage where we should plan anything because the situation can change any moment. Live one day at a time and be prepared for anything that comes our way.”

Bringing the child up to pace:

The turbulent lockdown phase led to a lot of confusion and uncertainties. This discomfort caused the students to miss out on their academic year. But to combat that issue, Ms Rachna explained T.I.M.E Kids preschool’s strategy.

“We have started a Summer Refresher Course,  which is like a crash course for kids who missed the last academic year. In 10 weeks we’re going to take the kids through the entire year’s curriculum so that they can move to the next class, well prepared without wasting a year.”

Written by Stuti

Go Alpha provides sports and fitness classes for preschool kids – digitally. To schedule, a free demo for your kids, visit: Go Preschool