How many different ways has your life changed since the world stopped turning to try and contain the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic? There has been extensive reporting on school closures and the devastating impact this has had upon children’s learning – but how has it affected teachers?
Teachers learn on the job every day – what works well in their classroom and what doesn’t; who needs extra support; how to try a different strategy or a new teaching resource to use. Being away from the children they teach has left many feeling out of touch, worried about their return to the classroom and what might have changed.
During their time away from their pupils, we have seen an increase in the number of teachers embracing digital learning to connect with others and use the time to develop their knowledge and skills. Being able to access contextualised learning materials little and often has worked well for our Teach2030 community during this time. Many teachers have discovered our Teach2030 programme by searching specifically for online teacher professional development courses – registrations have increased by 600% since March 2020. Our courses focus heavily on the power of blended learning, trying practical activities in your classroom and working with your peers – which is challenging when you are not in the same location! Yet despite this, teachers have been communicating through WhatsApp about their course progress and what they will try or implement when their school opens again.
Obviously, the ideal scenario is long-term and sustained professional development support that can immediately be put into practice in the classroom. This hasn’t been possible during Covid-19, but we know that thousands of teachers have engaged with Teach2030 during these desperate times to continue learning and improving the minute they are back with their pupils again. These forward-thinking individuals have recognised one of the key roles to being a teacher is to commit to their own life-long learning and we salute them!
