Crisis and Opportunity: Transforming Teachers From Curriculum Deliverers to Designers of Learning

Abstract

Since the Covid-19 pandemic spread around the world, many educational institutions have been shut down temporarily to contain the virus. Home-based learning initiatives have been put in place by many countries to make sure that the learning goes undisrupted among students of various ages. Nevertheless, there are many challenges regarding the implementation of online learning in a crisis context, such as the dearth of technological devices, poor internet access, teachers’ levels of readiness and experiences in online teaching, students’ levels of focus and motivation, and so forth. By shifting from face-to-face teaching to online teaching, the role of the teachers needs to shift from that of curriculum delivery to include that of designers of learning. To design online instruction, the teachers have to bring to bear several considerations including lesson structure, content presentation, collaboration and interaction, timely feedback, motivation, relationships, and mental health. Since the effectiveness of online teaching is contingent on teachers’ abilities and experience, it is crucial to execute professional development programmes to promote teachers’ competencies in delivering online instruction.