Guest post by Riahn Jaxyn
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have introduced massive new challenges and changes to the teaching profession. Considering the impact of these changes, many of them are bound to continue long after the pandemic is gone.
So, how will teaching in the post-pandemic world look like in the near future?
1. Optimized Remote Learning
Considering how remote learning has rapidly advanced over the course of the global health crisis, it’s no surprise that it’s at the top of the education trends listed on Education Dive. Although this pivot towards remote learning was necessary, it has also forced the teaching profession to innovate and break away from traditional practices. This has led to a bevy of online and interactive academic activities, greater familiarity with new technologies, and other creative methods of working remotely.
“Some people thrive when there’s a disruption, and I think what’s going to continue in a good way is we’re going to be able to be connected in disrupted ways,” details Michael Lubelfeld, a superintendent in the North Shore School District in Illinois. Post-pandemic, we can expect remote learning classes and modules to continue alongside face-to-face classes, particularly during emergency closures or any other instances where online instructions are more practical.
Also Read: How to Overcome the Challenges of Online Classes During Covid-19
2. Increased Involvement of Parents
The aforementioned changes have not only increased, they have improved the participation of parents in their children’s education. “Parent universities” or virtual home education training for parents has become commonplace in the new normal. This has greatly strengthened the connections between local schools and their communities – connections that will continue to persist and develop alongside the continuing evolution of post-pandemic education.
Such a change presents both new challenges as well as benefits for teachers and students alike. While community outreach entails more work for educators, administrators, and parents, it can also bridge the gaps between schools and students’ learning environments at home.
3. Greater Administrative Flexibility
With everything going online, it has changed not only how teachers do their jobs, but also how many educators now acquire their qualifications through online courses. This is as true for basic teaching positions as it is for higher education positions.
The recent launch of a fully online alternative certification program by Southern Nazarene University for instance is helping to offset the teacher shortage that’s been brought about by the sudden digital migration. As the university’s program director for Graduate Studies Stephoni Case explains, “We have developed excellent courses that support and prepare people ready to enter the teaching field. We want to empower them for success in the classroom.”
Likewise, for those training to be in higher education leadership, the goals are the same but expanded at an institutional level. Facilitating growth in the face of a fluctuating economy, increased competition, an influx of degrees in the marketplace for teaching jobs, and ever-evolving technology are just some of the key points of study for those enrolled in the online doctorate in education degree by Maryville University.
Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the university trains students in this program through cohort-based learning or smaller, more manageable classes. Maryville does this by offering 100% online coursework, and it allows faculty members to mentor doctoral degree seekers more closely. This has been a practice for the online university even before the pandemic, which has allowed it to easily adapt to the sudden changes at the collegiate level of the educational system.
Given the encompassing changes that digital migration has imposed across different education levels, these trends will definitely continue post-pandemic. In turn, this will help develop more educators and administrators who are prepared to face the new normal, embracing distance learning as they go.
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This Guest post is contributed by Riahn Jaxyn
