The ongoing pandemic has created huge learning gaps in children’s learning. It’s the first time in history that student learning has been disrupted for so long, impacting their future forever. Though schools worldwide tried to mitigate the severe impact of the crisis with online learning, it was not enough. Though learning kept on going, quality learning was missing, and students could not make a difference in their academic year or achieve great results. Parents and teachers were perplexed to find a solution to this dire problem.

A report published by UNESCO, World Bank and UNICEF says, “This generation of students now risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value, or about 14 per cent of today’s global GDP, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures.”

 

To combat this grave situation, bridge courses in schools got launched. It’s an approach where schools bridge the learning gap in students’ learning curve created due to the pandemic via ample practice through a simple, easy-to-execute curriculum that includes videos, worksheets, quizzes and group activities.

Traditional schools need to look beyond their redundant framework to achieve excellent results for students in all circumstances. For example, when the schools got shut, the shutdown duration was unknown. Now that things have started getting vivid, it is safe to say that a hybrid learning model can be a way of learning for schools across the globe and hence schools must adopt technology to make their systems resilient.

Integrated academic solutions providers are the ones who offer bridge courses to their partner school. When a school collaborates with them, the solution provider, through their innovative technology, helps schools in various ways. For example, they help the administration run smoothly via various tools, they help children learn better with the help of a dedicated app and various audio-video resources, and teachers get ample material to conduct their classes and make their remote lectures engaging.

In addition, a few progressive integrated academic solution providers help schools with bridge courses where the purpose is to:

  •   To develop foundational skills and enable the transition of students into the next academic year
  •   To enable teachers to deliver effective remediation through a rigorous and easy-to-execute curriculum

 

Learning from home has not been easy for students, teachers or parents. Everyone involved in the student learning journey has had a difficult time. However, With the current situation, schools will function in a hybrid model that can impact student learning. To help students and everyone involved make the learning journey smooth, integrated solution providers with a dedicated student app help students make the most of their learning from home. In order to keep up, they can go through the recorded lectures as many times as they wish; they can ask the teachers if they have any doubt instantly and can schedule remedial classes for any confusion. This helps students brush up their concepts clearly before moving on to the next.

 

The amount of learning loss that children have witnessed over the last two years remains unacceptable. Schools must keep up with the modern technological trends to stay relevant. Gone are the days when technology was a concept of bigger cities. Now technology has reached the nook and corner of the country, making it convenient for children even in smaller cities to have access to quality learning without any interruption. Reopening schools again when everything gets better might not reverse the learning gaps created. Hence, schools need to prevent the learning crisis from worsening. Bridge courses have been a saviour for many schools for their senior secondary students where right from the beginning of their session where through a ‘Bridge Course Unit’, their understanding of previously taught subjects is checked and if there are any gaps, are fixed by teachers through remedial sessions.

Educational institutes must make sure that children’s learning loss remains minimal. Schools in order to ensure this, do not have to make monumental changes in their system; instead, all they have to do is adopt the right software to put things in order and help students become the best versions of themselves.