After a first trial in the spring, when the decision was taken at short notice, expectations are higher this time. Parents and teachers alike wonder what the Ministry of Education has learned from this initial experience and whether it is aware of the problems children and young people may still face with remote learning.
No sound because of the wrong settings, a blurred picture, or a connection that keeps breaking - these are just some of the most common problems in virtual meetings. While most technical difficulties can be overcome, certain other disadvantages of online classes remain.
According to Bob Reuter, a professor at the University of Luxembourg who researches digital education, it is generally more difficult to motivate students. In a classroom, the teacher can interact with their students in a more humane and natural way. At a distance, this contact is lost. This can have severe consequences as those students who are already less motivated to go to school in the first place, are often the first ones to hide behind their screens.
Reuter explains that for digitalisation to work, it must be complementary to teaching in schools. The digital classroom is better than nothing, but face-to-face teaching cannot be replaced, says Patrick Straus, headmaster of the Lycée Wilhelm Kroll in Esch-sur-Alzette. Straus states that most people at his school hope for a return to face-to-face teaching. The headmaster explains that prior to the holidays, they had little difficulty with this, and his teachers are happier when their pupils are at school. Even if remote learning is doable, having in pupils in class cannot be replaced, Straus concludes.
In order to be as well prepared as possible, teachers at the Lycée Guillaume Kroll have been warned that the exams have to be planned over a trimester, even if the current school year has been split into semesters. This is to avoid the need to postpone all exams at the end of the semester, which could potentially mean that they cannot be written at all, if schools would have to close again at some point.
Teaching staff and school management are trying to adapt as much as possible to this exceptional situation. However, Reuter points out that this can prove difficult when teachers cannot plan ahead and when different models come into play, as for instance in the case of the A/B system. Teachers have to switch their teaching method all the time, Reuter explains. Teaching remotely via the internet requires a completely different approach and mindset compared to teaching the pupils present in class.
However, Reuter understands why the Ministry decided on such a model. Students who have no contact with teaching staff during their week at home would otherwise lose even more progress. In this way, it is at least possible for them to maintain their relationship with their respective teachers during their time at home.
Report (in Luxembourgish):
