Reverse the learning loss
The Hindu
Now that educational institutions have re-opened, how can they help students compensate for what they missed?
When education institutions moved into online learning during the pandemic-induced lockdown, no one could have predicted that this would magnify pre-existing learning inequalities and cause learning loss. What is scary is not that students have not progressed in a grade- and age-appropriate manner but that all age groups have lost skills that they already possessed.
Learning regression includes the loss of foundational abilities such as describing a picture, reading with understanding, writing simple sentences and performing basic mathematical operations. This impacts not only the acquisition of more complex skills but also has disastrous consequences for conceptual understanding across subjects. According to a study in March 2021 by the Azim Premji Foundation (APF), on average, 92% of students have lost at least one specific language ability and 82% have lost at least one specific mathematical ability from the previous year. There is a dire need for well-planned, strong intervention to help bring them back on track. Here are the top three areas that must be immediately addressed: