Training teachers to fill learning gaps amongst students

Traditionally, sources of information were scarce, and a teacher had to spend a considerable amount of time conveying information to students. This placed a severe constraint on their time spent in addressing learning gaps amongst students.

The proliferation of the internet and smartphones has exponentially increased access to information over the last decade. Students and teachers alike can now find content on any topic at the click of a button. This change in the way we obtain information has the potential to dramatically shift the nature of teacher-student interaction from one of conveying information to a focus on active learning.

To ensure that teachers can harness this opportunity, their training has to go beyond subject matter expertise. Their training should include principles of neuroscience, instructional design, and data analysis. These fields of knowledge can augment a teacher's ability to understand how learning occurs at a fundamental level, identify gaps in their students' learning, curate their instruction to bridge the gap and objectively measure progress and take remedial measures. Let us take a brief look at how each of these fields can contribute to active learning in students.

Applying principles of Neuroscience to learning

Over the last decade, our understanding of neuroplasticity has progressed at a rapid pace. Teachers must be trained on the basic principles of learning and how to apply them in a classroom setting. Teachers can set a framework of instruction for every student.

Modes of learning

The basic modes of learning are visual, auditory, reading and writing, kinaesthetic. Learning is advanced by all modes, but students do have a bias towards one or two modes over the others. Teachers need to be trained on how to identify the best mode of learning for a given student. However, it is important to note that these are only approximations to help a teacher understand the student better so that they can prescribed to help a student learn faster( E.g., Motor skills can only be learnt through kinaesthetic learning, but a visual learner can benefit from watching a visual demonstration while an aural learner can benefit from listening to description of how to perform the skill). This framework is very useful while introducing a new concept to students and addresses their learning from the beginning.

Level of competence

Research on neuroplasticity points to the fact that we learn best when the concept or problem is at a slightly higher level than our current comprehension. Teachers need to be trained on how to break down topics and problems and objectively measure a student's current level of understanding. There are numerous digital tools available now which can help teachers assess the level of a student. Using them to benchmark students and then giving them challenges can address learning gaps in an engaging and effective manner.

Spaced learning

Students benefit from periodic reinforcement of concepts. Teachers need to be trained in understanding the usefulness of reinforcement and planning for the same in their schedules so that students do not forget concepts taught at the beginning of a term or year. It is another useful tool to address learning gaps.

Basics of instructional design

Instructional design is a body of knowledge that deals with creating content that is effective for learning. While teachers need not be experts in this field, they will certainly benefit by understanding its fundamental principles. Given the vast amount of information that is available now on every topic, this knowledge will help them curate content better for their students.

Data analysis and inference

Technology now affords us the ability to collect and analyse data to help inform our decisions. Teachers must be competent in analysing data and drawing insights. This can help them draw insights from a student's performance on tests and assessments. This can help them provide meaningful feedback to an individual student. It can also help teachers identify general trends about the level of understanding of an entire class or grade.

With their subject matter expertise augmented with these skill sets, teachers can gain an incisive understanding of their students' abilities and take actionable steps to address learning gaps and create engaged learners.

(The author is a Managing Director, The Narayana Group