“Online lessons are a waste of time”: Lessons from student peer-to-peer reflections towards optimizing continuity of learning during future crises

• In Event: Experiences and lessons learned in response to COVID-19 restrictions

Proposal

“Online lessons are a waste of time”: Lessons from student peer-to-peer reflections in the aftermath of COVID-19 school closures towards optimizing continuity of learning during future crises

Introduction: Online learning became a panacea for continuity of education particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. Governments established interventions to ensure continuity of learning, with a majority of high income countries taking up online learning. However, many learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially within Africa were disadvantaged, given financial constraints to support continuity of learning, threatening strides in access to education for all.
Context of the Study: This study was conducted in Uganda, which had the longest COVID-19 school closures, affecting more than 15,100,000 learners, with effects including defilement, child marriages, teenage pregnancies and child labour. The Ministry of Education and Sports’ response to ensure continuity of learning included digital, television, radio lessons and self-learning materials. However, the National IT Survey 2017/2018 found that approximately 80% of Uganda’s school-age children and youth live in rural areas devoid of basic living resources or adequate educational infrastructure to support learning technologies. This digital inequality notwithstanding, some Ugandan schools conducted online lessons to support continuity of learning during the pandemic.
Purpose of the Study: The study elicited experiences of students regarding online learning in Uganda during COVID-19, to provide lessons for inbuilding education system resilience through optimizing technology to support learning continuity especially during future crises.
Research Question: What lessons can we learn from learners’ reflections in the aftermath of COVID-19 school closures towards the optimization of online learning to support learning continuity especially during future crises?
Theoretical Framework: The study was informed by constructivist pedagogues which emphasize the imperative of attending to perspectives of students as most directly affected by, but often least consulted about educational policy and practice. Constructivists position students as active creators of their knowledge, arguing that teachers can improve their practice by listening closely to students’ perspectives about their learning process. Indeed, students are well positioned to understand their learning needs within a changing world given their saturation in information technology, youth cultural media, and political currents like globalization.
Research methodology: In taking up a qualitative research approach, we conducted 15 in-depth interviews with girls and boys from one primary and two secondary schools. The three interviewers, (a female primary school pupil, a female secondary school student, and a male secondary school student), who are also co-authors of this paper, purposefully recruited and interviewed a convenient sample from their respective schools given the social distancing requirements of COVID-19. It was upon receiving explicit audio and written consent (from parents) and assent (from student participants) that the interviews, which took approximately 40 minutes, were conducted telephonically and audio-recorded. Thematic data analysis was conducted through transcribing, followed by coding to produce themes as guided by a comprehensive codebook addressing the research question of the study. The quality control of the study was ensured through use of a thick rich description, piloting the tools, member checking, intercoder agreement to ensure credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the study findings.
Findings of the study: First, students’ perspectives towards online learning were reflected through its disavowal which was largely attributed to the failure to comprehend subject content; paucity of experiments for science subjects; absence of face-to-face interactions with teachers and other learners; large class sizes which hampered classroom participation coupled with limited supervision and monitoring of learning which promoted inattention, distraction and indiscipline—including disrupting lessons and disrespecting teachers. Moreover, cheating on online examinations was rampant, with students copying directly from books, using Google to search for answers or texting the answers to each other. Parental supervision as required during examinations was inadequate. Moreover some parents were complicit in their children’s cheating on exams, casting doubt on the efficacy of online assessment. Second, student experiences included challenges such as the high cost of Internet data, poor internet connectivity, frequent electricity outages, faulty devices, and, lack of personal devices as several students shared these with their parents thereby missing lessons when the parents were away. Further, inconducive home-learning environments particularly for vulnerable groups including girls who were expected to attend to domestic chores, as well as learners from low social-economic status whose learning happened in noisy crowded spaces also interfered with learning. This notwithstanding, some students applauded the online lessons given the manageable content taught at a time; comfort of learning in a non-restrictive environment devoid of fear as well as opportunities for more in depth research given access to a myriad of online resources. Finally, in making recommendations to the government for optimizing online learning, students recommended the incentivization of online learning for the least privileged through provision of tools like computers, subsidized Internet connectivity, and reliable electricity at least during class time. Governments should also make online learning compulsory for those who can afford it, and organize offline resources and catch-up lessons for those who cannot afford online learning. For parents, students recommended sensitization towards provision of adequate Internet data and tools dedicated to online learning; conducive work spaces; supervision of learning and uninterrupted time free of domestic chores especially for girls. In regard to teachers, students appealed for the use of technology to make classes inclusive (e.g. through differentiated pacing, interactive lessons, timely feedback, progress updates to parents/guardians, use of diverse tools, monitoring and supervision of learning) to ensure that no one was left behind ,especially for vulnerable learners. Lastly, in advising developers of online learning platforms such as Zoom and Google Classroom, the students recommended continuous feedback from education stakeholders particularly learners and teachers, to inform updates towards continuous improvement of online learning platforms.
Conclusions: Overall, this study provided a platform for student voice, through sharing their perspectives, experiences and recommendations, thereby providing lessons to support continuity of learning as a measure towards education system resilience during future crises.

Authors

• Lydia Namatende-Sakwa, African Population and Health Reserach Center, Nairobi

• George Masibo, Kabojja International School

• Gabriella Buteme

• Gail Watera