The Pandemic Affected Schools
Mask wearing. Vaccines. Lines for toilet paper. We’ve all been affected by the pandemic, no one more than our kids who were shut out of schools. Their routine was disrupted, our routines were disrupted. Kids thrive within structured environments. Decreasing stressors helps everyone learns better! Schools are set up to help kids in many ways. They provide snacks so kids aren’t hungry when teachers teach. Schools strive to include creative, fun decorations to inspire kids to connect with new content. Teachers work their butts off to arrange group activities so kids can learn and share skills with their peers. And then suddenly with the pandemic kids were yanked out of their schools. We’ve seen all kinds of side-effects – increased depression and anxiety, social isolation, weight-gain, political polarization, etc.
Lets Talk About Instructional Time
So with all the ways the pandemic affected kids (and all of us) – where can we look to take steps to recover? One common affect of worldwide school shutdown is a decrease in instructional time. And most likely a decrease in new school content for most children around the world. We have to look critically at the information we have on decreased instructional time to prepare for what information will probably arise as studies come out analyzing the pandemic’s effect on school achievement.
Students haven’t had a regular amount of time with a teacher in front of them. A teacher teaching them new information. Enough time for them to learn, master, absorb and use new information. We’re here to encourage you. Parents – you can supplement instructional time! You already have managed instruction yourselves! With schools back open you can supplement instruction with quality practice at home together. It’s important! Why do we know this? Pre-Covid research on instructional time ties it to gains and losses in achievement.
Pre-Covid Research
One study from an economist, Paul Thompson, analyzed test scores and data from 2007 to 2015 as schools in Oregon moved towards four day school weeks, earlier start times and an average loss of 3 ½ hrs of instruction per week. His data showed that the decreased instructional time was the main factor contributing to both lower reading and math test scores, with even lower scores among boys in both areas and lower reading scores in low-income students. What kind of effect has a larger loss of instructional time had on your kids?
Research on literacy in low-income schools done by Figlio, Holden, and Ozek concludes that an increase in instruction by adding an hour to the school day significantly benefits achievement. So from this pre-covid research, we can extrapolate that if our kids lose a small amount of instructional time, there’s a small loss in learning and achievement. We can also extrapolate that if we add an hour of instructional time, there will be small gains in achievement. That’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Heading back to school is going to be great for our kids learning, but we can support our kids learning gains by practicing a little more with them at home.
Covid-19 made parents become teachers.
Parents are now teachers suddenly (and with no preparation). Schools canceled new content, delayed new content, and adjusted new content in ways that led to a decrease in instruction for kids. So this one big way that the pandemic affected kids can also affect how they recover learning as they get back to normal school routines. Parents – you don’t have to stop being teachers just because school is back. You can add to your kids learning gains, and increase their achievement at school, by keeping them practicing new skills and new content at home.