COVID-19 has caused a tremendous amount of change in all aspects of life and education is no
exception. While almost more than 1.2 billion
children in 186 countries are affected by school closures
due to the pandemic, we are indeed lucky that Singapore is not one of those
countries that had to go on a complete lockdown and we named the pause to our
work as a “circuit breaker”.
This has also, become the time when online learning in Singapore through online tuition has raised in prominence and students are seeking further ways to compensate for what they think is a loss because of a lack of a traditional classroom setting.
Online learning has become the primary way of education for students today and this way of learning has become one that everyone has got to get used to. Students have their own way of studying and revising now that they attend lesson online and the learning trends vary between each and every one of them.
So, how do students handle online learning their own way during this pandemic?
AT YOUR OWN PACE
The biggest advantage that students seem to have is being able to revisit topics,
review the lecture material again and again at their own time and be able to
clarify doubts with their online tutors
at their discretion.
With
traditional classroom learning, it is inevitable that the teachers go through the topic at a standardized pace; not too slow, nor too fast (though sometimes they
may speed past some topics if it's not too significant or if they are in a race
against time to finish off the syllabus before examinations).
In
schools, for fast-paced learners, teachers’ pace of teaching may seem slow and
they get bored out which may give them a laid-back attitude that will bite
their backs one way or another because with little attention, they may miss out
on the nitty-gritty details or important pieces of information. A sense of
complacency never does any good in learning.
On the other hand, for slow-paced learners, if the tutor’s speed in teaching seems too
fast for them to follow, they may feel lagged behind, and moreover, when they
see their peers being able to keep up, it takes a huge toll on self-confidence.
This adversely affects their entire learning process.
With online learning, students are given the liberty to learn at their own pace and it benefits them all!
BEYOND TEXTBOOKS
A
transition in learning style is imperative and perhaps this pandemic has made
it happens. Students have always been stuck in a cycle of highlighting keywords
in textbooks and answering questions in exam papers according to what answer
keys expect (each keyword is allocated ½ marks).
Learning
is not about answering questions in exam papers; it's about gaining knowledge in a meaningful way. Education should widen a student’s horizon and
provoke his thoughts; it should not encourage him to bury his head in the books
all day.
With
online learning, there is a myriad of resources in the digital space and access
to them is not a difficult task. It is also convenient for tutors to
cross-reference to other sources and expand their scope of teaching by giving
various perspectives to students as well as introducing other theories or
concepts related to what they are learning.
It is indeed a great way to learn holistically as opposed to being stuck in the wordings and examples given in the textbooks.
ONLINE TUITION
Online tuition has gained significant attention since
the beginning of the pandemic and many students can now vouch for the
effectiveness of online tuition in boosting exam grades. Apart from the fact
that online tutors are getting new tuition assignments (so it is a great time
to become an online tutor), students are also discovering the benefits of
online tuition during this challenging time.
Online tutors are indeed saviours at this point in
time as since education is shifted into a digital platform, students may seem a
little lost and helpless as they may be a little unaware of how to handle the
change.
Though there isn't the physical presence of the tutor, this is not a huge factor that could possibly compromise the quality of teaching. The same amount of discipline is expected of students and the same amount of hard work needs to be put in, in order to excel in studies.
BOTTOM LINE
There is
no fixed way of learning and there is no right or wrong. There is no need to
draw a line around us and fix ourselves in a circle; it is the right time now
to explore more ways to learn innovatively.
With
various educators shifting to the digital platform (ex. Dr.Najeeb’s lectures,
Armando Hasudungan’s YouTube channel, Ninja Nerds, etc.), students have more
ways to learn and the pandemic isn't necessarily a bane; it is indeed a boon
that has opened our eyes to a whole lot of possibilities.
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