SAN ANTONIO — Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio surveyed nearly 2,000 public school students, teachers and parents in eight local districts in an effort to gather data on the challenges to online learning.
The second part of the study called Teaching and Learning in the Time of COVID-19, just released last week, found “solutions for motivating online learners.”
“It wasn’t just distance learning—it was emergency distance learning,” said Mike Villarreal, director of the UTSA Urban Education Institute.
Villarreal’s team analyzed what motivated students when learning online, and what wasn’t working.
The first part of the report focused on the challenges that teachers were facing during distance learning.
Villarreal said the study’s findings will help area districts plan and improve remote learning for the fall semester.
A key finding showed that 64% of students and parents said children learned less during the emergency distance learning, while only 11% reported learning more.
For example, they found “busy work,” like fill-in-the-blank worksheets, was not successful in motivating students.
“It's really important to have authentic learning experiences, whether it's in the classroom or online, where the content is developed by the teacher. It's not just pulled off the shelf from some publishing company,” Villarreal said.
He said the study also found that school districts have broken through the digital divide by supplying equipment, but teachers and parents were nonetheless struggling with technology issues.
Teachers said using too many online platforms was a challenge.
“One thing that we heard loud and clear from teachers is that fewer platforms with more support would be helpful," Villarreal said. "Juggling lots of different platforms is confusing; not just for the teachers, but also for the parents."
The study also found that “synchronous” or active lessons where the teacher was live interacting with students was effective during the online learning process.
He said one of the most important motivators for students, meanwhile, was interaction with their teachers.
“Human connection is really important, and it's kind of like the magical ingredient that makes the learning possible,” Villarreal added. “We're seeing school districts really embrace this idea and prioritize the time teachers spend with their students.”
Villarreal said when schools are finally able to welcome 100% of students back on campus, many districts will most likely begin to use a blended method of learning, both online and in-person.
“I think what we're going to see is this technology enhancing, enriching that in-person experience, which will remain a real fundamental piece of education,” he said. “I think what we've learned is that there is a lot that we used to take for granted being all together, and we need to really cherish that and make the most of the times we're together.
"But we also need to supplement students learning with online content, and we need to use technology as a more efficient way to make connection."
For more information on the study, you can find a link on the UTSA website.