Doha: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented some unique challenges for early-year educators as they move to a remote learning approach.
Two teachers at Qatar Academy Al Khor (QAK), speaking to The Peninsula, shared some practical ways to overcome these obstacles and embrace teaching and learning opportunities in the new environment.
According to Tamar Awadikian and Fedaa Al Shoufi, teachers at Qatar Academy Al Khor (QAK), part of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education, the best way for the distance learning process is for parents and teachers to cooperate and interact, particularly in the early stages of a child’s education.
An Early Years English Teacher at QAK, Awadikian said, “One of the challenges we have faced through distance learning is accessing students. It is challenging for parents to convince children to sit in front of a laptop or other devices and interact with us as we used to. We use many different strategies and activities, and we are doing our best to encourage them to participate. The family plays a big role in this, but some students still feel shy and do not participate in interactive activities confidently in front of their peers.”
“We are always keen to communicate with parents; we share our observations freely with them and encourage them to encourage their children to attend lessons and participate in the weekly lessons that we offer online. However, sometimes we hear them whispering to their child with the correct answer, and we advise them not to do this but rather allow them to think and answer on their own, even if their answers prove to be incorrect.”
Awadikian believes that early years children can only focus on direct or recorded lessons for between three and five minutes. So it is normal for their attention not to be held by a long video.
Al Shoufi, an Early Years Arabic Teacher at QAK, said that teachers always contact parents to discuss remote learning’s daily challenges. She also mentioned ‘SEESAW’ a digital learning programme used extensively at QAK to communicate between teachers and parents. In addition to the activities and assignments provided through the SEESAW program, QAK offers online lessons that seek to maintain direct communication between the teacher and the student, so there is no learning gap when students return to school.
“We appreciate the challenges that parents face. We are keen to encourage them to follow lessons and ensure their children’s commitment to do homework, and we always assure them that we are here to cooperate with them to achieve the goal that we all aspire to, which is student learning,” said Al Shoufi.
“In direct education, the teacher can cover any gaps with activities and exercises, but remote learning is different. We send parents models that they can apply at home to engage the child, not only with recorded lessons. We receive many creative ideas from parents, and they do not only use the examples that we share, but they also share new and creative ideas with us,” she said.
Al Shoufi said it is understandable if parents are sometimes wary or uncertain of the new learning methods instigated as a response to COVID-19. She encourages parents to allow their children to have the opportunity to interact with the teacher spontaneously, as it helps to identify their strengths and areas for improvement and supports their personal development.
