The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) says they surveyed Grade seven to 12 students and got feedback on experiences with distance learning and how it could be improved in the future.
Students were surveyed from June 1st to June 8th and the school board received more than 3,100 responses from across their district. Director of Education Stephen Sliwa says student voice is valued within the UCDSB.
“Understanding what is working well with distance learning from the student perspective, and how we can help transition students back to class, is essential as we prepare for the fall.”
Findings include:
- 47-percent of students rated distance learning as “okay”, “pretty good” or “love it”
- 34-percent of students said they disliked distance learning
- 19-percent of students said they struggled with distance learning
- The biggest challenge reported by students (50.9-percent) was the ability to stay engaged while working at home
- 36-percent said a review of spring 2020 lessons would help them transition back to school in the fall, also a gradual increase in workload (22-percent)
- 36-percent would like classes to be focused more on the lesson and less on the homework
The UCDSB says the number of people who took the survey were almost equal across all grades and the data about the attitude to distance learning was also similar in all grades.
The school board says results showed that students appreciate the flexibility of distance learning, allowing them to work at their own pace (72-percent) and the majority of students say the workload is appropriate (59-percent). It also shows that students would like bi-weekly assignments, instead of weekly, and more consistency in platforms used for distance learning. The UCDSB also says most findings echo what they have heard from parents/guardians in the survey conducted with that group in mid-May.