VALUABLE LEARNING FROM DISRUPTION As the pandemic disrupted the life of our School community in 2020, we decided that it was important to capture our story of distance learning through the lived experiences of Ruyton teachers, students and parents. During distance learning in Terms 2 and 3, we asked parents to provide feedback regarding their daughters’ experiences, and we added this to the rich feedback of our students and teaching staff. These reflections on positive and successful learning experiences tell the story of how 2020 has provided girls with the opportunity to adapt, as evident in their growth in independent learning, organisation and recognising the importance of connections. And, as we’ve undoubtedly learnt, one of the unexpected gifts of these past months has been the reminder that resilience emerges from personal challenge or hardship. The data weaves a story of growth and illustrates the capacity of our girls to adapt and change, even under the most trying of circumstances. We received 580 responses from Ruyton students and the top five skills that we observed students improving upon as a result of distance learning were: • • • • •
Connecting with Others Engagement with Teachers Independent Learning Time Management Developing Life Skills
The data further revealed a transformational learning story from our teachers’ perspective, reflected in their unique experience of distance learning. They demonstrated incredible agility to meet the learning and wellbeing needs of our students, under what must be considered an historic educational disruption. We received 50 responses from our teachers, with these being the top five
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skills they identified improving upon as a result of distance learning: • • • •
Integration of Digital Pedagogies Student Autonomy and Independence Collaborative Learning Differentiation and Personalisation of Learning • Flexible and Paced Learning Key insights on the effect of distance learning on our family’s lived experience, was also evident in the data. Our parents articulated the everyday reality of learning from home and the impact on their daughters’ learning and wellbeing. We received 61 responses from parents and the top five skills they observed their daughters’ improving upon as a result of distance learning were: • • • • •
Independent Learner Organisation and Time Management Importance of Teacher Relationships Wellbeing Breaks/Activities Technology Proficiency
This exercise has enabled us as a community of learners to reflect on the positive and successful learning and teaching experiences that have been derived from distance learning. As we continue to reflect and research, we consider how to best utilise this knowledge to positively influence our practice and approach in 2021 and beyond. the ruyton reporter
