Pandemic Toll
keep students engaged as every household had become a classroom. The new postpandemic environment demands a shift in mindset of teachers socially and emotionally.
Free teachers from administrative tasks C
ovid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the social relationships. March 2020 will be etched in history as the schools worldwide closed due to pandemic. With this came the huge responsibility on the teachers to keep on disseminating knowledge to their students through online mode of teaching. The pandemic has not only affected the mental state of students but teachers too have undergone stress. UNESCO already identified confusion and stress among teachers as one of the adverse consequences of school closures. The role of the teacher has not been fully understood during this crisis. Uncertain how education will be affected by online teaching, teachers however, have shown remarkable spirit to keep up the education system alive through all
Surinder Kaur Principal, AGI Global School, Jalandhar their hard work by recording sessions or learning to teach on zoom platform. How has the pandemic changed the role of teachers? Two crucial factors have shifted due to the pandemic. First, pedagogical adaptations have proven to be pivotal as the traditional lecturing in-person models do not translate to a remote learning environment. No matter the type of channel used (online platforms, etc.) teachers need to adapt their practices and be creative to
www.brainfeedmagazine.com |28| January 22
A new approach is needed to teach in this altered online paradigm. In India, it is imperative that when dealing with senior students, teachers helped them to understand the importance of resilience and mental strength in order to face diseases, natural and man-made disasters and even rapid technological changes. Despite the overwhelming consequences of the pandemic, this global crisis has also been an extraordinary time for learning. We are learning how adaptable and resilient educational systems, policy makers, teachers, students and families can be with special focus on teachers and how they had to quickly regain human connections and interactions to facilitate learning. The role of teachers is rapidly evolving. In order to build back stronger education systems, teachers are applying those teaching practices that have proved to be effective during the remote learning phase and integrate them into the regular education system. It is critical to empower teachers, investing in the necessary skills development and capacity building to exploit the full capacity of the children. Equally important is to free teachers’ time from administrative tasks.
