An Analysis of Fully Synchronous Pandemic Secondary Education

Abstract

Twenty-one grades 6-12 students were interviewed to learn about their experiences participating in a fully synchronous virtual learning environment at a public charter school in California, USA. Students take seven 50-minute classes four days a week and seven 30-minute classes the fifth weekday using the Zoom platform and Google Classroom. One-third of participants were students with disabilities, one-third English language learners, and one-third possessed neither designation. This study identifies several themes regarding the benefits and drawbacks of an entirely synchronous learning experience for secondary students. The participants make recommendations for their general education, special education, and English language development teachers, including strategies to engage secondary students more effectively, assessment suggestions, curriculum design ideas, advice about organizing Google Classrooms in ways that are supportive of student needs, and exhortations about what teachers should not do when planning and implementing synchronous online learning.

Teachers’ Experiences of Emergency Remote Schooling During the Pandemic: Drivers for Student and Teacher Wellbeing

“…They felt that teachers were unaware of the many stresses that impacted their learning. Ryan (2021) concluded that content learned should be secondary to the socioemotional needs of students during a crisis such as an emergency remote schooling period, agreeing with findings from Bozkurt and Sharma (2020) and UNESCO (2020).…”

“…Analysis of the literature led Huck and Zhang to the view that sustained student participation in remote schooling required prioritisation of communication, interactive, synchronous instruction, and differentiated learning practices. Ryan (2021) reported on students’ perceptions of 12 weeks of fully synchronous online learning during a U.S. school’s closure due to COVID-19. Analysis of a series of focus groups with 21 students from grades 6–12 (three from each grade) identified that the students would have preferred a hybrid approach utilising synchronous and asynchronous modes.…”