Written by: Mersiha Kovačević, learning designer, Tako Lako

A child sits in front of a laptop wearing headphones. Every now and then, they look around, desperately searching for something more interesting. On the other side of the screen, the teacher is going through slides and speaking tirelessly. Occasionally, they pause: “Any questions?” Silence. They continue.

If you are a parent of a school-aged child, this scene is surely familiar to you. And you may have wondered: Does this make any sense? Will they learn anything? You might think that digital teaching is just a “necessary evil” – something to patiently endure until it is time for children to return to physical classrooms. But what if the same kind of teaching happens in the classroom as well? The child may be just as bored, we are simply not there to see it.

For online learning to be effective and to achieve educational goals, digital teaching needs to be designed with several principles in mind.

1. Learner-Centered Teaching

First, just like in the classroom, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the child’s language needs. Does the child mostly understand the Bosnian language but struggle to express themselves properly in speech? Or perhaps they speak the language fairly fluently but lack vocabulary when speaking? Answers to these and similar questions can be obtained more quickly and efficiently in an online environment than in a classroom, and they are crucial for choosing the appropriate teaching approach.

Putting the learner at the center also means giving them the opportunity to actively use the target language during the lesson. In an online environment, this can be achieved by implementing the so-called flipped classroom. For example, the child listens at home to a conversation between two children who are getting to know each other. Then, they watch a short video explaining grammar. When they come to the lesson, they practice speaking with other children in the group, with feedback from the teacher. There is no boring, direct instruction.

2. What Does The Brain “Want”?

The brain prefers information presented in context, because children learn that way in real life. For example, if you are at the beach, a child will likely learn new vocabulary related to the beach. This means there needs to be a “story” that connects all new words or grammar into one whole, from the beginning to the end of the lesson, including homework. For example, the story might be about going to a supermarket. Children watch a video about a supermarket at home and complete a visual quiz related to fruits and vegetables from the conversation. When they come to class, they talk about what food they buy in the supermarket.

The brain also likes when new content is connected to prior experiences. Most children have at least once in their life had the opportunity to go to a supermarket with their parents, so why not ask them to share that experience in homework after the lesson?

Also, numerous studies have shown that teaching should be planned in accordance with knowledge of how the brain works and what affects the acquisition of new content. For example, it has been scientifically proven that working memory can hold 3 to 7 items at the same time (the 5 ± 2 rule). This means that some children may learn 3 new words in a lesson, while others may learn more, but no more than 7, so vocabulary lessons must be planned accordingly.

These are just some of the principles that should be considered when planning (digital) lessons.

3. No Routine, Please

There are many reasons why children should have different types of routines, but imagine a world where a child always knows what will happen in class. Imagine always knowing what will happen next at work. It is not very motivating, is it?

Our brain is programmed to enjoy variety (maybe that’s why all children love Kinder eggs?), so this should also be incorporated into online teaching. For example, instead of reading texts, why not have audio versions of the same stories, or animated video stories, or conversations, or interactive games? The brain absorbs new content better when the same material is presented in different ways, so why not provide as many ways as possible to present information? This also enables inclusive teaching, so that children with different learning needs have access to lessons, which is often difficult in a classroom.

4. Emotional Connection

In addition to meaningful content connections, in preparing for online teaching we often forget that we are, in fact, social beings. In schools, children and teaching staff have many opportunities to emotionally connect and build a relationship of trust through everyday interactions.

In an online environment, emotional connection is also possible, but since there are no spontaneous daily interactions, it is necessary to intentionally plan activities that enable the building of a positive relationship. For example, calling a child to see how they are doing, sending a message or a digital greeting card wishing them a speedy recovery, recording a weekly greeting video for the whole group, having introductory activities at the beginning of the course, sharing some interesting personal information, and so on.

When children have the opportunity to get to know each other through games and classroom activities, they are more likely to be able to express themselves in class without fear of being mocked.

And Finally…

While in a classroom it is enough to say “Do exercise 5.” or “Talk about the supermarket with your classmate,” in digital teaching it is sometimes necessary to give very detailed instructions, check understanding of instructions, and even sometimes record instructions for using specific digital tools. What is important to remember is that digital teaching can be of higher quality than classroom teaching, but only if it is conducted with the learner at the center of attention, in line with neuroscience principles, using diverse content, and building emotional connections with children.