How the pandemic changed the role of teachers?

The pandemic Covid-19 resulted in an unimagined situation of the world and it introduced an unprecedented use of technology in the education system, teaching and learning process. Schools and colleges stopped running regular classes and there came the time of online classes which brought both students and teachers on online platforms for teaching and learning. It makes the need of learning technology for smooth flow of education necessary and now teachers’ role has been changed. In this article, we will learn how the pandemic changed the role of teachers.

Online teaching was not everyone’s cup of tea as teachers have been practicing the classroom pedagogical method to teach students since the centuries. With the introduction of online teaching, teachers had to learn technical sources, operating technical mediums to conduct online classes, take exams, provide assignments, and even provide score cards. Teaching system and learning system today is what it could look like in the years to come or in the near future.

Pandemic has changed the process of teaching, hence the role of the teacher has been transformed. The basic requirement of a teacher essentially remains the same which is the facilitator of learning but other than that let’s learn how has the pandemic changed the role of teachers?

The changed role of teachers

The consequences of pandemic Covid-19 are heartbreaking for everyone and it affected even the education system badly. The global crisis changed the pedagogical method of learning and it triggered the need to learn how to teach online for teachers. The focus shifted on teachers to teach them to operate online classes and the urge to quickly establish human connections and interactions to facilitate learning online became stronger. Teachers’ roles are rapidly evolving.

There are two important factors that arise due to the Covid pandemic. The first one is adopting the new pedagogical method to teach children in a virtual environment of teaching through an online medium. In-person learning and teaching has become the thing of old time keeping new scenarios in mind.

No matter which channel the teacher is using, they need to be creative to keep the students interacting with the classes. Unlike the classroom, where students enter the class and leave once the class is over but in online teaching, teachers have to face the disconnection from students. They need to be more active and dedicate their time to students while teaching.

The second factor is time management. It has recalibrated the teachers to divide their time between administrative tasks, teaching, and engaging with students.

According to a survey by the Instituto Peninsula, about 83% of teachers were not prepared to teach online in virtual setup, 67% teachers were anxious, 38% teachers felt tired, and only less than 10% teachers were satisfied and had no problem in teaching.

Due to online teaching setup, the need for more student-teacher interactions arose and also the need for flexibility was felt. The education system is helping teachers by sharing guidelines of how to provide feedback to students, maintain constant communication, and report local education departments for keeping the track of learning.

New scenario of education

Due to the pandemic, the situation is not quite ideal and it is giving challenges every now and then. It has also been offering opportunities of online learning in a virtual class where teachers are teaching students online.

Things are not similar in the online learning dynamics as compared to the school teaching system. There are challenges in new approaches but with technology, every individual’s life has become easier.

Teaching is not only a profession in which an educator has a job of teaching but it requires them to expand their horizons for shaping the future of students.

Now with remote teaching, they have an opportunity to show their creativity and innovation. With creativity, teachers can establish the teacher-student relationship in a better way.

Students might face problems in coping up with remote learning and as they are having no opportunity to meet their friends, they face challenges in it as well. To deal with all these situations, teachers help students and guide students to focus on their academics.

The situation is not difficult only for students but is equally challenging for teachers equally. They are facing challenges in managing time tables with students and fellow teachers. With a virtual teaching system, fellow teachers are also able to coordinate with each other and discuss ways and other important things.

Virtual meetings on zoom and other apps of video are helping students in their academics. Remote learning has made students more empathetic and flexible.

Now, teachers have gone beyond the traditional pedagogical method of teaching to teach students and make them understand concepts. These new methods are better to teach students.