Online Learning For Different Ages

Oct 21, 2020

Between primary school and high school, students from junior school and up have more developed brains therefore a better concentration span, so they are able to absorb a lot more information which makes it is easy to prepare for their online lessons using an online meeting platform, power point presentations, etc. 

Primary school students on the other hand need a bit more effort, teachers need to be active and engaging to make lessons interesting using props, flash cards, puppets and objects in their surroundings. For example, when teaching about solids, liquids and gases, teachers need to show students the objects and not just text, as well as during topics like nouns, it’s important to provide visuals. 

Another important factor is to be very expressive at primary level; using facial expressions and voice modulation e.g. during story time, when a teacher is talking about a lion roaring it would be important for the teacher to demonstrate, because these are the kinds of elements that will add excitement. Primary school students also need to take one concept at a time so the teachers need to avoid throwing too much at them, because learning/studying from home is outside their normal learning environment. It is vital to include fun activities; for example, if the lesson is on Adjectives make them stand, jump, and kick around. The screen should not restrict both teacher and leaners to sit in one place for 30 – 40 minutes, because children definitely miss regular activities they used to do at school.

For high school and universities, the best way teachers/professors can go about transitioning to online classes is to start by giving students reading assignments. A challenge that may still arise here is that not all students may have access to the textbook they’re being assigned to read, so to counter this, the teacher can prepare a PowerPoint presentation and make it available online. To make it easier for the students, a teacher can also share YouTube videos that are related to the topic to cut down on the reading, or teachers can take it a step further by creating their own videos and posting them online, that way the content is tailor made for this class.

Lastly, every student (preschool – high school) needs something to do outside of their screen time, so teachers need to assign an out-of-class project, be it learning how to plant seeds, taking measurements, creating a simple lab, etc. This not only keeps students busy at home but it develops their problem solving skills as well as critical thinking skills, which are essential at all educational levels.

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By Gaborone International School 03 May, 2024
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By Gaborone International School 06 Mar, 2024
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