Megan O'Connell Consulting

Note – this was drafted at the end of 2020, but getting around to posting has taken a while

This year I’ve had the joy of balancing work across a number of areas, lifelong learning, and the care industry from young to old and all between.

I’ve also, like many parents, balanced the challenges of working from home, supervising home schooling and keeping the family functioning during extensive periods of lockdown in Victoria.

Now slowly winding down for the year, I’ve had a chance to start reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and what changes are needed for the future.

Education changes – needed more than ever

The shift to online learning was dramatic. Schools within a few days shifted their entire curriculum and delivery online.

As a mum of a grade 6 and a year 7 boy I can reflect upon the different experiences of online learning.

Case study 1 – changed curriculum and pedagogy

In grade 6 the curriculum and manner of delivery shifted overnight. Students were given tasks to do within the day – they could manage their time, attend optional meetings for support and finish early if they worked quickly. Time in class served a dual purpose – explaining work for the day, but also importantly connecting the children – mornings quizzes, joint morning teas and the like helped try and build a social bridge. Teachers checked in with parents by phone on occasion to capture insights and share any issues.

Wow – what a change! Remote learning in this manner was a huge developmental learning curve. Some days my son was finished by midday – on others he didn’t finished till 5 and more than once needed to ban himself from Youtube as he was losing time and focus. I’m not sure how much knowledge absorption occurred, motivation and focus was a challenge, but the period served an immense purpose in building organisational skills and self regulation.

Cast study 2 – business as usual online

My eldest son started high school this year – COVID-19 has undone what was a smooth transition.

Again learning moved online almost overnight. But unlike in primary school the online school in many ways looked quite similar to the regular system – 50 minute periods and the usual school timetable. Whilst some teachers adapted to online learning and held conferences with students regularly, or co-ordinated groupwork to keep them engaged with their peers, for others it seemed far more set and forget. 5 minutes of grouptime at the start of a class to discuss the work then students completed it in the remainder of the lesson. The result, for my n of 1, is a year of trying to learn on his own, and despite immense (followed by waning) effort going backwards.

So we’ve ended the first year of high school having gone backwards on multiple levels – having never mastered key skills of learning independently –  including basic things like using textbooks and revising for tests.

More fundamentally, the back to basics approach in some subjects has caused my son to question why he goes to school. He is not buying the idea that absorbing facts for another 5 years is a good use of his time. A year of maths without real world context has seen him growing in dislike for this subject. We will try over summer to rekindle this love, perhaps through some real world experiments that make it come alive.

He is a brilliant kid, super smart – yet his report made me despair, showing a kid struggling at best, disengaging at worst.

I know it is not just him, and not just COVID related. For years I’ve talked about the need for a broader curriculum that develops and recognises a range of skills.

We need an education system to that supports all young people to grow and recognise their talents, that is capable of adapting learning to meet student needs, that makes learning real so students want to learn and can see the relevance of it.

Some teachers do this well, despite a narrow senior secondary system. But some isn’t enough. In 2021 I’m hoping to see progress on this – the Shergold Pathways review shone a light on the need for change, the VCAL review in Victoria provides hope of a more integrated curriculum.

In 2021 I hope we can start recognise a greater breadth of learning – the Learning Creates work I am proud to be part of provides our best chance yet!