Gerry is one of our fantastic teachers. She teaches English and History as well as heading up our school entrance exams. We asked her some questions to find out WHY…!
Why did you start teaching online?
I find online teaching helps to focus the student very quickly on the lesson’s content and learning outcomes. In some ways I have also found it to be more personal and friendlier, it’s easier to get to know the student, and I like that too.
How does it differ from teaching in a traditional school environment? Many people think it must be more difficult, especially for younger children. What do you think?
In a school environment you often need to settle into a class and this takes time. Also, there are always distractions which are unavoidable. With online there’s naturally much more concentration, such as looking at a text or sharing a piece of writing. It also helps that we can look at questions, comments or corrections immediately so the amount of work covered can be a lot more online than face to face.
Any particular frustrations?
My only frustration is that people still don’t understand what a useful and productive way of learning online is. Nevertheless, I qualified myself as an online teacher trainer 9 years ago, at that time there was a lot of resistance to studying this way especially for children. I think now that has improved a lot, and people can see the benefits so that’s great but I think for parents like myself, we should be more open to our children learning this way.
Anything you think I should have asked but haven’t?
I think people might want to know at what age can children start studying online. I would say it’s a case by case basis for each child, my own son who is 8 is doing Maths and Science and absolutely loves it and manages very well. I have also found that he concentrates more successfully and the teacher caters his learning to his own style and needs
And here’s what Rachel thinks…Rachel teaches French and heads up our younger learners + SEN …she’s pretty special too! We asked her …
What do you like best about teaching online?
I love being able to tailor learning to the individual needs of students so they progress successfully. We are able to work at their pace; embedding learning and challenging them to successfully reach the next level.
How would you describe the teaching & learning in just a few words?
We have a very communicative style of teaching; students are encouraged to ask questions and to make links across the curriculum. It’s great to be able to build personal interests into learning to develop a really objective view of the world.
Anything you didn’t expect?
It always amazes me how quickly everyone starts to learn independently and to be able to communicate their ideas very effectively online. It’s fantastic to see young people learning to express themselves using a broad and mature vocabulary as well as becoming so adept at using the technology.
And, final word…
Well …we all really enjoy the successes our pupils achieve, it’s so rewarding all round.
