Possible education trajectory after COVID-19

Fr Paul Lelen Haokip *

Introduction

The culmination of 2019 marked the early detection of coronavirus disease. A decade ago, we had the H1N1 pandemic. The year 2020 has been a year of caution, social distancing, hygiene consciousness and upsurge of online classes around the world. The role of the WHO has mounted up in providing health guidance for human survival.

This plague also has once again reiterated that humans are not the masters of this universe. Perhaps, the microscopic virus has proved itself as a game-changer. In this scenario, the role of teachers remains a pivotal topic for discussion.

Whether online or offline, the role of teachers do not diminish in the teaching-learning undercurrents. Education after COVID-19 will be on recentralizing the teacher-learner dynamics. The end of a awful event could be the beginning of another significant epoch.

Annus Horribilis to Annus Mirabilis

It is not impossible to turn Annus Horribilis (a year of disaster, misfortune) into Annus Mirabilis (remarkable year). Let us remind ourselves of some positive outcomes during a historical pandemic like what we experience now.

The Great Plague of London (1665-1666) eliminated about 100,000 people from the city within 18 months. This Bubonic plague was also known as the Black death because black rats and fleas carried the plague bacillus. It was during this awful period that Issac Newton had to leave the Trinity College, Cambridge and be quarantined without any book, as books from the college were considered a possible carrier of the dreaded bacillus.

For Newton, the year 1666 became an "Annus Mirabilis" (Year of Wonders or auspicious year) for the following reasons - He developed the mathematical problems - Calculus (differential calculus and integral calculus); He came up with Optical Theories while quarantined in a room.

With a tiny hole in his window, he allowed a small beam of light inside and conducted the refraction experiments using a prism and laid the foundation of his Optical Theories; He saw an apple falling in the garden, and with much reflection, he developed the Theory of Gravitation.

All these happened during the pandemic time. The English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright, John Dryden, in 1667 published a poem titled "Annus Mirabilis" to remember the year 1665-1666, as the "year of miracles" of London. He titled so, despite the great plague and the London fire to suggest that the events of the year could have been worse. This is a spark of positivity in a grave situation.

The above two people could inspire us to turn horrifying time into miraculous time. Our mental state is important for these to happen. Teachers can and should motivate students for positive mental vibes. This explains the role of teachers.

Cues from NEP 2020

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has rolled out National Education Policy 2020 with lofty ideals. The focuses are on Early Childhood Care, Equitable and Inclusive Education, Interdisciplinarity of subjects, Optimal Learning Environments and Support Systems, Teacher Education, Life Long Learning, etc.

All these have been envisioned to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" (NEP, 2020) at the local as well as to meet the Sustainable Development Goals at the global setting.

The scientific awareness that "over 85% of a child's cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of 6, indicating the critical importance of appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in the early years in order to ensure healthy brain development and growth" (NEP, 2020) is a good indicator for teachers at the primary section.

The assurance and insistence that "teachers will undergo rigorous training in learner-centric pedagogy and on how to become high-quality online content creators themselves using online teaching platforms and tools" (NEP, 2020) motivate the teaching community for professional preparedness.

Teachers Preparedness

Some may opine that online classes suffice. But the fact is, there is no substitute for the interactive teaching-learning process. Whether online or offline, teachers will have to continue to exist, perhaps more prepared than past days. Teachers are needed to prepare online modules or offline one-on-one interactive classes. The need for preparedness rises everyday while pursuing the vocation of teaching.

The educational psychologist, Dr Benjamin Bloom, along with his collaborators created "Bloom's taxonomy of leaning" in 1956. These six steps are a helpful tool -
( 1) Knowledge (remembering),
(2) Comprehension (understanding),
(3) Application (applying),
(4) Analysis (analysing),
(5) Evaluation (evaluating) and
(6) Creating.

The collaborators identified three domains of educational activities or learning (Bloom, et al. 1956) namely -
(1) Cognitive: mental skills (knowledge and the development of intellectual skills),
(2) Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (attitude or self),
(3) Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (skills).

Patricia Armstrong (2011) further elaborates the revised taxonomy into
(1) Remember - recognizing, recalling
(2) Understand - interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, explaining
(3) Apply - executing, implementing
(4) Analyze - differentiating, organizing, attributing
(5) Evaluate - checking, critiquing
(6) Create - generating, planning, producing.

This taxonomy is to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analysing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures and principles, not just oriented towards remembering facts (rote learning).

Teachers are highly recommended to use this principle when designing educational, training, and learning processes. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) modules can support teachers with the latest innovations in their professional career.

Conclusion

While the irreplaceable reality of teachers is underpinned, it is not a cover to remain scientifically unprepared. As we expect a rise in pay-scale, so also each teacher is expected to rise in knowledge and application of knowledge. There is a way of turning around a pandemic into a time for research, and preparation to be better.

The unprecedented upsurge in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage during the COVID-19 pandemic has caught many teachers unawares. The present "quality of teacher education, recruitment, deployment, service conditions, and empowerment of teachers" (NEP, 2020) fall below the world standard. This challenge has accelerated learning and coping mechanisms of teachers as well.

An important role of teachers is to keep ourselves updated with various relevant principles of the teaching-learning process. The pandemic time can be engineered for professional preparation to rise as equipped and informed teachers. What the teachers will become after COVID-19 entirely depend on the quality preparations during the pandemic. This would define the new education trajectory.