It’s no secret that educators around the world are facing a myriad of challenges when it comes to effective blended learning. As part of ongoing Catalyst SessionTM gatherings, we often get to bring educators and leaders from around the world together to connect, discuss daily challenges, and collaborate to develop real solutions to these challenges.
Here Are The Top Challenges We Are Hearing From Educators Across Around The World And 3 Strategies To Solve For Them
Blended Learning Challenges Faced By Educators Around The World
Is blended learning effective? How do I engage students remotely? How can I develop and maintain relationships with students during remote learning? Educators and leaders have identified challenges across a variety of categories, with blended learning and teacher support being the most significant categories.
Top Challenges: Fluidity, Pedagogy, And Social And Emotional Support
Fluidity of the situation teachers face every day can lead to less confidence, more hours worked, AND limited insight to student learning can cause a perfect storm of frustrating challenges.
Pedagogical challenges related to blended learning like engagement, pacing of instruction, content that is appropriate for remote delivery, and how to differentiate or personalize learning during remote instruction.
Social and emotional challenges that come with blended learning are amplifying the pedagogy specific challenges. Whether it’s not having appropriate resources or the time to focus on their own wellbeing, we heard loud at clear during this conversations – and others – that taking care of educators in every way possible is more important than ever.
3 Strategies to solve for them
Here Are The Top 3 Strategies To Solve For The Blended Learning Challenges:
Encourage and provide opportunities for teachers to collaborate – with their immediate colleagues and with a global PLN. Encourage and build time for them to participate in activities like Twitter chats, to seek out helpful info and content online, and to connect virtually with teacher friends. Support or create platforms that help with this collaboration.
Focus professional learning opportunities that focus on tech tools for remote teaching, but also on mindset, self-care, and relationship building with both colleagues and students.
Gather feedback, listen and take action. There are so many ways that this can look, but the key is that it is consistent and transparent. Whether it's weekly meetings (or happy hours!) where concerns are heard, an open online space where colleagues, students and parents can submit feedback, or something else entirely, listening to everyone who is part of the school community and taking action to make teaching and learning better for them is vital.
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