Taking the temperature on home learning

“Some parents are very pleased with the pace and flow of material that we’re supporting the students with, and some are saying it’s not enough, some are saying its too much,” she said.

A learning process for everyone

Trumier added teachers themselves are also in a state of learning as they have not delivered lessons through these channels before. She explained teachers have also been working together to try to develop new ways of doing things.

When it comes to the number of hours being put in by teachers, Trumier believes they are putting in more time due to the new situation. She added they are also learning about their student’s threshold for distance learning.

“Students can’t be at the computer all day long,” she said.

The education director said there have been some issues that they have had to work through. Overall, she said parents who she has spoken to personally have been pleased to have programming back.

In regards to any possible changes, Trumier said the flow and pace of work could be adjusted along with other changes. She said they have learned and developed new ways to deliver lessons remotely, this has included developing video lessons. She said students could make use of these when schools open up.

“Students who are away because of high-level athletics, our Mintos players, they’ll be able to watch those videos,” she said.

Public schools getting positive feedback

Robert Bratvold, director of education for the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division said since they started delivering supplemental learning, he has been receiving positive feedback from parents.

In terms of whether kids are getting enough education time, Bratvold said no concerns have been brought to his attention.

“There might be those kind of concerns that are coming back to a teacher or to a principal,” he said.

Bratvold said supplemental learning opportunities delivered by online portals and take-home assignments do provide good possibilities for students. However, he said they understand there are limits to what can be done outside of a traditional classroom setting.

“We’re not trying to recreate a classroom at your living room table,” he said.

The director of education said they recognize this could be a difficult time for many of their families as there are those which only have one parent in the home to help kids.

In terms of day to day routine, Bratvold said it is the expectation teachers put in the same hours they would during a school day. This can involve them doing a range of work, from reaching out to parents, to doing professional development.

Bratvold said hours of work may also be scattered as many parents may not be available during the day.

“The day is far less structured,” he said.

In terms of possible changes, Bratvold said teachers have some flexibility on that front and the division will be monitoring the number of students participating.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn

by Michael Joel-Hansen

Taking the temperature on home learning

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