BLENDED MODE OF TEACHING DURINNG PANDEMIC

 

Covid19 has thrown unprecedented challenges before educational institutions in general and schools in particular to do seamless teaching learning practices. Now when the second wave is receding and vaccination is being rapidly done, states have been taking considered decisions to open schools partially with 50% attendance with the consent of parents. Besides this ,schools have also been instructed to adopt blended mode for curricular transactions.

Principal, being the key functionaries, in running schools have a great role to play in ensuring quality curricular transactions during prevailing pandemic situation.

It is evident that primary role of a school Principal is to ensure quality curricular transitions by becoming a torch bearer to students and  teachers. We know that in most of the schools of rural India there was interrupted online connectivity between students and teachers during the last one and a half year. There were plenty of issues which were confronted by school Principals & teachers e.g. non-availabilities of devices, internet connections, having more than one siblings in a family, lack of knowledge of teachers to start on-line teaching, lack of knowledge of parents in assisting the students especially in Primary classes during on-line classes  etc. This is quite encouraging to see that majority of teachers showed/exhibited quick adaptability to pick up online teaching from their respective homes during pandemic.

Now, when schools are being opened in a phased way for offline mode also, it has actually become rather difficult to teach in a blended mode as our classrooms do not support online teaching. Most of the teachers connect with students through their mobile phones only. There are issues with regard to the visibility of blackboard, audibility of teacher’s voice besides having interrupted internet connectivity in class rooms. Now, those students  who don’t attend offline school are experiencing difficulty in getting properly connected with their teachers due to above said issues.

Principals may have to find ways & means to ensure  curricular  brilliance through blended mode of teaching learning practices. The following ideas might help:

The attendance of students in offline classes is not very encouraging as on date. The timetable needs to be made flexible in such a way that separate classes are conducted for offline and online modes. As an example: If there are three sections of a class and each section has a separate subject teacher. All teachers are attending schools these days. Suppose out of 120 students, 50% turn up for off-line class. 60 students who report in school may be divided into two sections for off line teaching and the remaining 60 may be engaged through online mode. This is just an illustration-each school may decide the timetable as per their own convenience to segregate online teaching from offline teaching as sailing in 2 boats at a time will result into inconvenience to teacher and taught both.

In order to contain corona virus,I am of the opinion that only those students need to be called to schools now-a-days for offline teaching who have been deprived of online classes due to their poor economic and other conditions. The others may be continued to be engaged from their homes because adoption of blended mode is proving to be counter productive