> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.europeans.today/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lockdown schooling: Research from across the world shows reasons to be hopeful. - URL: https://www.europeans.today/2022/01/25/lockdown-schooling-research-from-across-the-world-shows-reasons-to-be-hopeful/ - Published: 2022-01-25T08:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2022-01-25T11:11:36.000Z - Description: Despite the major challenges lockdown-induced remote learning has presented, teachers, pupils and parents alike have reaped certain benefits. Can school learn from these changes? - Author: Contribee - Tags: COVID-19 & Schools, Analysis, COVID-19 & Children, COVID-19 & Parents, Education, Lockdown, Remote Learning, Remote Teaching ### Despite the major challenges lockdown-induced remote learning has presented, teachers, pupils and parents alike have reaped certain benefits. Can school learn from these changes? ###### First published: January 2022. --- When [COVID shuttered schools](https://theconversation.com/5-ways-to-support-online-homeschooling-through-the-coronavirus-pandemic-144147?ref=europeans.today) across the world in 2020, the way teachers delivered their lessons and students did their classwork changed overnight. As one Boston-based secondary school student wrote in [a recent case study](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbe2.236?ref=europeans.today), *“bedrooms turned into school classrooms, living rooms turned into science laboratories and backyards turned into workout gyms.”* Two years on, this shift to [remote](https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning?ref=europeans.today) and, subsequently, [hybrid](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58805054?ref=europeans.today) learning has presented [many challenges](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58805054?ref=europeans.today). It has caused [stress and confusion](https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3878572?ref=europeans.today) for teaching staff and pupils alike. But it has brought surprising benefits too. A recent [report](https://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=3847&ref=europeans.today) drawing together the results of 81 studies of secondary schools from 38 countries has highlighted how [complementary](https://covidandsociety.com/future-of-school-learning-in-wake-covid-19-ask-biology-teacher-paul-downie/?ref=europeans.today) these digital learning methods can be to traditional methods of schooling. Pupils have found working at their own pace, and without the social pressures of the classroom, beneficial. Even as we face the prospect of [continued disruption](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-59945062?ref=europeans.today) in 2022, these are reasons to be hopeful. ### Get **TODAY IN COVID** in your inbox every day to better understand what happens next with the pandemic. [Become a PMP member today](https://www.europeans.today/todayincovidoffer) ### Digital skills During the pandemic, many schools had to make greater use of learning management systems and apps, in order to improve communication between school and home. It might seem obvious, but having to work remotely has encouraged [teachers](https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11040177?ref=europeans.today) and [students](https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/20.19.1043?ref=europeans.today) to revisit and enhance their digital skills. This has stimulated [innovation and creative thinking](https://theconversation.com/how-creative-use-of-technology-may-have-helped-save-schooling-during-the-pandemic-146488?ref=europeans.today), and prompted students to develop skills in using multiple digital tools and resources effectively for learning, such as those reported in a [US study](https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.236?ref=europeans.today). Many students have shown an increased ability to study and to problem-solve independently. Teachers in [Hong Kong](https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1926289?ref=europeans.today) reported that students had developed problem-solving methods that their teachers hadn’t taught them. Of the 2,824 secondary school pupils who responded to a survey in [Slovakia](https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM94-40?ref=europeans.today), meanwhile, most said they’d found learning at their own pace to be invaluable. Having the ability to re-watch instructional videos helped them gain deeper understanding of their subjects and maintain a connection to their teachers. In England, Sweden and the US, several students who, pre-pandemic, were [reluctant](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10110311?ref=europeans.today) to take part in lessons or [go to class at all](https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120988530?ref=europeans.today), reported becoming more involved and engaged with their schoolwork during lockdown because they felt less [social pressure](https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10060165?ref=europeans.today). Instrumental music students in [Australia](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.624717/full?ref=europeans.today) also showed improvement in their social skills, including communication, negotiation and active listening. Students in Austria, the US and Portugal also benefited from interacting with their peers – remote learning gave them new methods of collaboration, including developing [interactive ePortfolios](https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1912423?ref=europeans.today), using [discussion boards](https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.583963?ref=europeans.today) to share ideas and conduct school work with peers, as well as collaborating on authentic tasks such as [co-creating](https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/20.19.1043?ref=europeans.today) digital posters and videos, and distributing them via social media. One [US study](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbe2.236?ref=europeans.today) reported that using the chat function in *Google Meet* during live lessons, combined with editing work and writing comments in *Google Docs*, was particularly helpful for students to collaborate and stay in touch with their peers. *For more stories like this, sign up to our [FREE Briefings](https://pmpmagazine.substack.com/subscribe) today.* ### Communication and assessment For some countries, shifting to online assessment, when they had formerly adopted a heavily standardised test-based culture, was [quite difficult](https://theconversation.com/a-level-debacle-has-shattered-trust-in-educational-assessment-144640?ref=europeans.today), as this now demanded alternative assessment methods that could also secure trustworthy results. While some countries forbade assessment during lockdown, our [review](https://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default.aspx?tabid=3847&ref=europeans.today) uncovered the opposite too: no fewer than 21 online assessment strategies were identified. Thus, having to rely heavily on technology during lockdown did open new and creative modes of assessment design and delivery. The two most common strategies used were formative assessment and online quizzes – identified in 16% of the studies we looked at. While formative assessment has previously been found to [boost student learning](https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/embedding-formative-assessment?ref=europeans.today), the two strategies were employed for different reasons. Formative assessment, often conducted in real-time, was supported by video-conferencing tools. It enabled teachers to see and hear their students, which supported the assessment of literature talk and language assessment, including role-plays, online debates and drama performances. Teachers also reported that this real-time interaction supported a sense of social presence, which is important for student wellbeing. Online quizzes, meanwhile, allowed students to check their [understanding](https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220981784?ref=europeans.today) at their own pace, which helped, as reported in an [Indonesian study](https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1747/1/012018?ref=europeans.today) of Year 10 students, to stave off boredom. Being auto-corrected, quizzes also helped to decrease teachers’ workload. Lastly, this kind of digital assessment was also easily shared between teachers, which supported equality and re-usability. ### Unlimited access to fact-based analyses, thought-provoking opinions, and expert advice. [Support PMP Magazine today](http://support.pmp-magazine.com/?ref=europeans.today) ### Parent engagement Some [parents](https://www.evaluate.co.nz/key-readings/school-led-learning-voices-of-parents-of-maori-and-pasifika-students?ref=europeans.today) reported enhanced digital skills as a result of the pandemic. But the main takeaway has been parents’ increased impetus to engage more in their children’s learning. Research in [Nigeria](https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v29.2544?ref=europeans.today) found that giving parents greater access to what their children were learning helped to improve the students’ commitment to learning online. In [Vietnam](https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093819?ref=europeans.today), having parents on board in this way was found to make the whole process more effective. Being able to access meetings with teachers virtually has also reduced social barriers for some families. A [survey conducted by *ParentPing*](https://parentping.co.uk/the-future-of-parents-evening/?ref=europeans.today) in December 2020, found that both parents and teachers wanted to keep parent evenings virtual, or at least be given the option to do so. School, more broadly, can and should become more flexible. Ensuring that it does will encourage [inclusion](https://theconversation.com/mandatory-remote-teaching-could-reduce-inequality-during-the-pandemic-but-delivering-it-will-be-difficult-152651?ref=europeans.today) and accessibility. It will support lifelong learning. ![PMP Magazine](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png "PMP Magazine") **What did you think of this article?** [🤩](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Great") [😀](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Good") [🤔](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Not sure") [😴](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Boring") [😮](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Surprised") [😭](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Sad") [🤬](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Angry") [🤯](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Gobsmacked") --- | **— AUTHORS —**▫ *[Dr Nina Bergdahl](https://www.su.se/english/profiles/042ninber-1.288604?ref=europeans.today), Research associate, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University.*▫ *[Dr Melissa Bond](http://drmelissabond.weebly.com/?ref=europeans.today), Lecturer (Digital Technology Education), Education Futures, University of South Australia.* | GET THEM INVOLVED: Contact Your Politician | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | --- --- ##### Sources **Text:** This piece was originally published in [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/lockdown-schooling-research-from-across-the-world-shows-reasons-to-be-hopeful-174714?ref=europeans.today) and re-published in PMP Magazine on 24 January 2022\. | The author writes in a personal capacity. - **Cover:** Adobe Stock/[lordn](https://stock.adobe.com/uk/images/cute-boy-with-headphones-using-laptop-computer-for-online-learning-home-school-child-doing-homework-at-home-lifestyle-concept-for-home-schooling-social-distancing-and-education/379991012?asset%5Fid=379991012&ref=europeans.today). ![The Conversation](https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174714/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic)