Challenges of special educators

Transitioning to remote education has been challenging for special educators. Istock image

For the past year, teachers have been exploring new ways of engaging students to ensure their continued learning during the pandemic. It has been especially challenging for special education teachers, who are grappling with this overnight transition.

Providing remote but concrete learning opportunities without compromising on the quality of the experience has been a collective priority. Needless to say, they had to face several challenges.

Isolation: The absence of a ‘classroom atmosphere’ can lead to feelings of isolation among children, pushing those with special needs further into a shell, impeding learning.

How to deal: Before activating the cognitive component of the brain involved in learning, the emotional aspect needs to be prioritised. Rapport building and establishing an emotional connection is more vital than ever. Creating virtual activities with smaller groups gives students a sense of team spirit and the presence of peers they are sorely missing on the online platform. Students with attention issues can thus be provided opportunities to engage with their classmates, providing greater access, and assistance to them.

Disconnection: Online teaching can inadvertently give rise to passivity among learners, leading to a lack of interest. It is difficult for the teacher to pick up nonverbal cues in the virtual classroom and gauge student comprehension levels, thus compounding the problem. For children on the autism spectrum, communicating their needs is especially challenging, increasing the gap in learning.

How to deal: To increase student engagement, the learning process can be made more interactive. Providing concrete feedback to students regarding their level of involvement in discussions is beneficial. A range of questions can be planned ahead, keeping in mind the goals planned as well as the level of functioning of the children. Another important strategy that has been known to work is to rephrase ‘Do you have any questions?’ with ‘What is your question’? This encourages an atmosphere of curiosity.

Reduced motivation: It is increasingly challenging to remain self-motivated, and a slip in the same can be expected, particularly with students who have special learning needs. The monotony that sets in is inevitable.

How to deal: Much like a physical school setup, a system of behaviour management and rewards and reinforcement can be established and can be adapted to the online medium. Involving children in the process of choosing their rewards makes it more likely that they will want to achieve the goals set. Additionally, planning fun activities can help break the monotony. For example, children can be involved in decorating their ’study nook’, or an item they can place on their desk or pencil case, depending on the space available to help boost their motivation to study.

Overstimulation: The advice to parents and caregivers has always revolved around limiting screen time owing to the detrimental effects of the same. Ironically, the screens have been promoted to the status of ‘necessity’, having replaced physical classrooms. Now, study time, as well as leisurely activities, take place on the digital medium, effectively increasing device usage by over 300% among children across all age groups. Such extreme exposure is associated with vision problems, heightened sensory threshold, altered cerebral pathways affecting language and critical thinking.

How to deal: With the pandemic, there was little to no physical activity to expel pent-up energy. Some homes faced a lack o physical space. Activities that include physical exercise and sensory tasks help build motor skills and provide relaxation independent of gadgets. This combination of tasks will help regulate behaviour patterns as well as decrease levels of anxiety resulting from overstimulation.

Lack of attention: Children with learning and attention difficulties struggle to sustain focus. Add to this the lack of physical activity, and the result is a passive learner who will most likely ‘switch off’ mentally a few minutes into their class. It has been particularly challenging maintaining the interest level of children while achieving academic and skill-based goals.

How to deal: A combination of live classes and asynchronous content serves to balance the level of active engagement required. Tasks must be achievable and varied in nature (including written assignments, oral presentations, and use of art and craft). As far as possible, instructions need to be crisp and simple. Visual and graphic reminders for important assignments work well. Regular breaks, including movement breaks, are even more essential to redirect focus.

While the teaching might be online, learning cannot, and will never be restricted to a singular medium.

It is important to enlist as many faculties and utilise the endless learning opportunities to spark curiosity in the minds of children. The key is to take all our collective experiences as educators and adapt them to the changing times. The importance of flexibility, adaptability, and a robust collaboration between teachers and parents cannot be underscored enough. After all, we are as much learners as are our children.

(The author is Head of Junior School at an Integrated Academy)