Introduction by Chris Wright

• Necessity has called us to reimagine education. The World Economic Forum has spoken about COVID-19 as a silver lining and a catalyst for changes.

• Three prompts

  • What has been discovered about ‘where and when’ students might learn during this experience and how might it impact future schools?

  • What has been discovered about ‘how’ students learn best and how is this of use in the future?

  • What is the appropriate role of technology in pedagogy?

Prompt 1: Rob Paddock

Silver lining of COVID?

• Pandemic has fundamentally disrupted the momentum of the traditional education system.

• The new possibility of ways to engage with learning from student and parent perspectives.

• However, important to note social-economic inequality of (e.g. digital access) has had a catastrophic impact

Place and space of learning

• Spectrum: in-person brick and mortar on one end and self-paced online education on the other.

• What is the appropriate blend of the two poles for students in a particular context?

  • Examples: a combination of online learning & in-person physical activities, a co-working space for online learning, and a digital co-learning space with local mentors in challenging areas.

• Digital learning allows the student to be taught by the great teachers around the country.

• Schools in low socioeconomic brackets often important in providing a safe space for students.

• How can we take physical spaces and turn them into learning spaces?

How do students learn best?

• Learning is a fundamentally relational activity; it is far less about retaining knowledge and more about encouraging students to apply knowledge to real-life situations.

• Technology should augment the role of humans in the learning process rather than replace them entirely.

  • For example, technology can replicate part of a teachers' role, such as didactic content instructions by pre-recorded lectures and interactive notes. Teachers can focus on more important roles such as delivery and facilitation of learning.

• The role of learning design (learning engineering) is its entire own discipline.

Prompt 2: Marwa Bkairat

Education Beyond COVID-19

• Looking at education through the eyes of learners and teachers.

• Teaching and learning is always changing, and how are we going to cope with this?

Challenges for learners

• Access and use of technology are far from adequate.

• Long hours of learning and listening causes greater levels of stress and fatigue.

• Minimal interaction and a rigid curriculum lead to a lack of engagement and motivation.

Challenges for Teachers

• Lack of resources and readiness for delivering effective digital teaching.

• Inadequate skills of how to facilitate engaging and interactive learning.

• Pressure from different stakeholders and responsibility of covering the compressed curriculum.

Prompts to think of...

• What is the purpose of schools? Are we teaching the right curricula?

• What competencies do teachers need to become active facilitators?

• How to actively involve students and parents in the learning process?

• How to provide emotional and social support for students and teachers in the time of crisis?

What opportunities should we focus on?

• Reconstructing and improving current curricula.

• Ensuring accessibility and availability of digital learning for all and increasing virtual readiness.

• Providing contextualized/authentic learning and foster student’s independent learning.

• Training teachers on social and emotional learning and exemplify the best practices.

• Involving parents in the learning process and creating supportive communities.

Small group discussion

What has been discovered about ‘where and when’ students might learn during this experience and how might it impact future schools?

• Recognizing the need for socialisation as part of the learning experience.

• What if we could use different spaces for learning? Different learning models can be pursued.

• Learning is happening all the time everywhere. What do we need schools for?

What has been discovered about ‘how’ students learn best and can this be influential in the future?

• The important notion of ‘embodiment’ (the relationship between human beings), which technology may underestimate.

• Reevaluate current school assessment and how we develop critical skills.

• Re-think about the role of teachers and the involvement of students in newly emerging education.

• Education is about engagement, curiosity and courage.

What is the appropriate role of technology in pedagogy?

• Online access and information is a core public service requirement.

• Digital learning cannot replicate in-person learning.

• Finding the right equilibrium point in the spectrum of in-person and online teaching.

Overarching problems

• We need to change the current system where everyone is racing to the top of the pole.

• Establishing a new inclusive framework of education which enables everyone to be valued and part of solutions

A reminder that initiatives, resources and inspirations that are discussed are available on the Hawkwood Circle Padlet: https://padlet.com/ajew3/klq8pxj5ph7qeibq