Does Distance Learning Work? Maybe...But You Need to Consider These Three Things

by Kate Wolfe Maxlow

As COVID continues to traverse the globe, many people are asking the question: Does distance learning work? The difficulty in trying to answer this question is that "distance learning" can simply take so many forms and there are tons of other variables to consider. In this blog, let's just focus on three of those variables: the format, the type of assignments, and the grading procedures.

The Format

Let's assume for a moment that ALL students have access to wifi and a device that's easy enough to do assignments on (i.e, not just a cell phone or tablet). Most likely, the school district, county, or city will need to provide some devices and internet access to make this happen, which may or may not be feasible.  But in the event that accessibility to the appropriate technology is not an issue, distance learning can take two forms: synchronous (think, live Zoom meetings with a teacher) or asynchronous (think, posted assignments that students complete on their own) or a combination of the two.

The problems with synchronous learning are: Students (or parents for younger kids who need help with the technology) may not be available at the time of the learning; it's hard for students to sit very long, so the sessions need to be shorter; and/or technology can fail and then you're out of luck in getting the live instruction (sure, it can be recorded, but how is that different from watching a YouTube video?). This option is less intensive for parents, unless the kids are very young and need supervision on the technology.

The problems with asynchronous learning are that students frequently need instruction to complete tasks (if they can already do the tasks, then why are we having them do them?). Moreover, students may or may not have anyone at home who can help them. This option is more intensive for parents and often leads to greater achievement gaps. Some of our students end up receiving a quality at-home education and others are left entirely on their own to figure things out.

But what if our learners don't all have access to technology?

Now, if you live in a county where there isn't a lot of internet access, you have fewer things like
Zoom and more packets. These are slightly more "fair" because it doesn't separate between the technology "haves" and "have nots;" the problem is often that the packets are boring and overwhelming for students and parents. There's only so much that you can do with a packet, and frequently packets end up becoming endless supplies of worksheets, which rarely spark the love of learning in young people.

Types of Assignments

Next, we get into what kind of assignments are given during distance learning. Because teachers know that parents may or may not be able to help students at home, a lot of what is given is rote memorization or practice. In theory, this is easier for the kids to understand and complete, but of course it's boring and kids who already don't understand the concepts often find it overwhelming to complete. Frequently, they'll just give up and fail on their own terms while playing video games. (And can you blame them?)

Of course, assignments can be more project-based with creativity and collaboration; these are harder to design and grade for teachers, and may be difficult for students who aren't even sure where to start in completing them. Moreover, if the projects require supplies, we're again getting into issues of students who have access to materials and those who do not, unless the school system chooses to provide the appropriate materials. If teachers are designing lessons for multiple classes per day while trying to homeschool their own children, it's easy to dismiss any sort of project and instead go with the rote memorization simply because it's so much easier for the teacher. (And can you blame them? After homeschooling my own four year old for the last 3 months, I certainly can't.)

Grading Procedures

Next, we get into grading procedures. Again, there are many different ways that a teacher can tackle this. They can grade everything the first time it is done and then average all those grades. This tends to exacerbate achievement gaps, because the kids with parents checking everything are going to do
better.

Teachers can instead use the philosophy of giving feedback on assignments and giving them back to kids until the kids get it right. This is more like standards-based grading. Instead of giving grades like A, B, C, D, F, the kids may instead get grades like Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, Needs Practice, etc.. This is definitely harder with paper packets because there's a lag between when the students completes the work and the teacher can grade it, so students often end up practicing things incorrectly and teachers then have to "undo" the incorrect learning. It's easier with online assignments, whether synchronous or asynchronous. It still takes a tremendous amount of work on the teacher's part.

To Sum Up

When trying to determine whether to use distance learning, we need to ask questions specifically about the format, the type of assignments, and the grading methods. School systems and families need to work together in order to determine which methods will best meet the needs of our families and young people. In short, the question isn't whether to use distance learning or not...it's more about the quality of the distance learning being considered.


Kate Wolfe Maxlow is the Director of Innovation and Professional Development for Hampton City Schools. You can follow her on Twitter @LearningKate or on Linked In or email her at kmaxlow@hampton.k12.va.us.