Classroom learning vs. Online Learning

“Why do I have to go to class today?”

“Can’t the class just come to me?”

“Can I learn in my pyjamas?”

These are questions almost all (really all, but let’s give some benefit of the doubt) students have asked at one point or other. Whether silently to themselves or to other students, and the boldest even to their instructors. Well last year that wish came true and surprisingly almost unanimously, students found it Faustian as it wasn’t what they expected it to be.

               The most common complaint that continues to persist as classes transition back is the lack of contact with instructors and their peers, which seems to be the important link between having a fulfilling learning experience and having information thrown at you.

Workspace

               For a learning experience that gives the learner autonomy and control the learner in turn needs to possess immense self discipline to keep on top of the material before, during, and after the class. Given the fact that a school/classroom is a designated location for learning it is designed with minimal external stimulus and distraction which most students find their homes not to be.

This workspace must be a secluded area ideally away from home with a reliable internet connection, or at the very least a quiet part of the home where no one will pop in for the duration of the virtual school day. This is easier planned than executed and a lot of people found out the hard way.

Work-mind

               An important part of getting tasks done is building momentum. To do that effectively there need to be minimal distractions so a significant amount of work can be covered in a specified timeframe. When working from home it is hard to control distractions as they can take the form of things in your home, other people within the home, disruptions in internet connection and software/hardware glitches just to name a few.

               The best chance a student has of achieving this is to share their timetable with their family and emphasize the importance of not being accessible during those specific times which also means people can not invade the workspace unless it is an absolute emergency.

Workload

               There is also the factor of condensation of workload to fit the restrictions which meant students had little breathing room and made it very easy to fall behind. Once fallen behind with the limited interaction with instructors it wouldn’t be long before a student got overwhelmed. Several sources indicated a drop in students’ performance when the virtual learning came into effect in more than one school subject. ¹

The general take away is that despite how they felt before they got their wish granted to stay home, students are glad to finally be back in physical classes and the physical walls of a school. The teachers are also happy to have the interaction with their students as the situation was also pretty trying for them as well.

1. Key Findings from the American Educator Panels Fall 2020 COVID-19 Surveys https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA168-4.html

New Data from Curriculum Associates Quantifies Impact of COVID Learning Losshttps://www.curriculumassociates.com/about/press-releases/2020/10/covid-learning-loss

This post was written by Abdulhakeem Yusuf. Abdulhakeem is the content writer at Southern Ontario Collegiate. He has over 6 years of professional writing experience.

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