One giant reason students seem to be learning less
Over half of SHA students feel they’re learning less in online schooling. One apparent reason: less than half feel their physical environment helps them focus on schoolwork.
Some 52 percent of students say they are learning a little less, or much less, during virtual school. Meanwhile, 17 percent of students report their environment inhibits their learning while another 35 percent are neutral on the topic, according to a November poll of SHA students.
“Being around the bed makes it difficult because I just want to keep being in the bed,” said junior Delia Cancel. Also being at home, in general, keeps me in a relaxed mode.” Your classroom is your bed. That’s going to shake everything up. — Principal H-D
The survey of 200 Springfield Honors Academy strongly suggests that the environment of the students may influence how much they feel they’re learning.
“You’re in your homes…everything is homework now,” said Principal H-D. “We’re all faced with having to do everything at home and everything in this space of our home where there is this distraction of things where typically school doesn’t invade that space. Now your classroom is your bed, that’s going to shake everything up.”
Across all four grade levels, 30 percent of the students responded feeling ‘very unmotivated or unmotivated” to attend classes. In follow-up questions, students said that stress and workload were two main factors.
But as Principal H-D and students reported, not having the classroom environment seems to add to that stress because everything feels like homework. Parents had a similar take.
While the students shared their reasoning behind feeling unmotivated amongst other things, parents were also asked what they felt about the environment and online learning.
“As a parent of two children doing online schooling, I can see why they feel as if they’re learning less,” said parent Joyce Oliver. “Before the pandemic, children knew they had to get up to physically go to the learning setting but as of right now the environment that they’re in allows them to stay in that mindset of being at rest.”
