ByPuja Gupta
January 5, 2021 (IANSlife) Teachers prefer in-class teaching over online classes as an effective method to teach students, according to a survey.
Conducted digitally by Sampark Foundation, the survey included teachers in rural government schools across six states and aimed at better understanding the needs of government school teachers who are using remote learning tools to teach students during the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey covered over 4,000 teachers from government schools in sub-urban and rural areas of Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
The key highlights of the findings are:
The survey also highlighted that majority of teachers have access to broadcasting medium such as television (50 percent) followed with other infrastructure such as smartphones (40 percent), feature phones (32 percent) and radio (24 percent).
44 percent teachers emphasised the need for textbooks and notes to be handed over directly to students for effective learning. The survey also reported that 33 percent teachers leverage videos shared on YouTube, Baithak, Diksha and other apps, to teach students. Teachers also agreed that broadcasting educational programs on television or radio might be an effective education method, provided the content is simple, interesting and impactful for students. Over 28 percent teachers also stressed upon the importance of weekly visits to children’s homes and teaching in a group of 3-5 students in one session.
The survey found that children in government schools in rural areas find directly calling teachers over phone, an effective medium to solve doubts and queries, which in turn improves learning outcomes. However, 59 percent respondents also considered students discussing their queries and doubts with elder siblings, relatives, other educated people in their neighborhood.
Close to 60 percent of the teachers surveyed, are in favour of live video classes conducted by them on WhatsApp and over 40 percent prefer to resolving student’s queries once a week in person. The survey also highlighted peer-to-peer doubt resolution on a digital discussion forum, as an effective medium to solve student queries.
Addressing impactful methods of learning assessment, 54 percent teachers voted for online quiz while 52 percent were in favour of questions asked during live online classes. 48 percent found printed assessments as effective means of learning assessment and 25 percent requested for an assessment app or an online platform for students.
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Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in