Ontario Public Education System is still dealing with the aftermath of educational policies that were adapted to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic

BY PAUL JUNOR

In order to determine the effects of the Peel District School Board’s plans to adopt hybrid learning and modified semesters/quadmesters in the fall of 2021, the District 19 Teachers’ Bargaining Unit (TBU) initiated a public relations campaign to resist these changes.

There are discussions about the pros and cons of hybrid learning, in which educators teach both an in-person class and an online class at the same time. On the basis of feedback from Peel educators, their news was anonymously released on the TBU social media platforms with the full cooperation of these educators.

In a report by Ryan Harper, President of the District 19 Peel TBU posted on June 16^th, 2022 (website: ossupdate.ca), results were presented regarding the analysis of data collected by TBU and analyzed by Dr Carol Campbell, a Professor of Leadership, Higher, and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Dr Campbell went further and engaged in a research study titled, “Secondary School Teachers’ Experiences of Implementing Hybrid Learning and Quadmester Schedules,” in Peel.

The key findings of the report are:

• It is an ineffective and inefficient approach to teaching and learning
• It is challenging to conduct appropriate online student assessments
• There has been increased workload and lack of adequate support to effectively implement the hybrid model
• There were differences in student engagement between in-person and online learners (with online learners being more negatively impacted)
• There has been a loss of shared student community
• There has been increasing inequities in students’ experiences and in meeting their learning needs
• There were inequities in students’ access to, and use of, technology

There was additional information gleaned from the study with respect to the impact of the quadmesters schedule on teachers and students such as:

• Challenges of class time length and quadmester schedule for students’ learning experiences
• Difficulties of two and a half hour classes for teachers’ work
• Difficulties of one-week on, one-week off schedule for teachers’ relationships and support for students
• It has exacerbated student inequities and undermined high quality funded education
• The proposal that quadmesters protect students in cohorting is a myth and has had implications for health and safety

There were more significant results revealed from the study with respect to the health concerns that resulted from disruption in the nature of schooling such as:

• Deteriorating mental health for students and educators
• Negative physical health impacts for teachers’ having to teach from front of class during hybrid learning and over two and a half hour classes
• Feeling unsafe at school
• Increasing sick leave with implications for covering classes

In addition, there were other deleterious effects noted, such as the influence on the professional and personal lives of educators as well as a dramatic jump in teachers deciding to leave the profession. Hopefully, the Ministry of Education will take note of the findings of this report as it plans for the future.