Giving Compass' Take:

• Organizations are garnering student perspective on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and taking note of what to improve. 

• What are the schools' most significant challenges with remote learning, and how can communities help? 

• Read about the data showing attendance rates for online learning. 

Teachers and administrators are reaching out and communicating with students about how school has changed because of closures, but what students would like is a better online classroom experience and more interaction with teachers and peers, according to survey results from Phi Delta Kappa International.

Nineteen percent of high school students responding, for example, said video chats would make them feel more connected during remote learning, but only 2% could give examples of how their teachers had done this well.

The respondents are part of PDK’s Educators Rising program for high school students who are interested in the education field, so the small sample is not representative of all students nationally. But Josh Starr, PDK International CEO, said during a webinar last week hosted by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning that he wanted student voice to “inform the conversation.”

With plans to go into teaching, the students also responded that being prepared, staying flexible and providing emotional support for students are among the lessons they are learning from this crisis.

Student Voice, a national organization, has also been capturing students’ perspectives, using focus groups to discuss the coronavirus and the shift to distance learning. In a recent conversation, students shared the recognition that they were living through something historic. But they expressed uncertainty toward how the pandemic was affecting their education.

Read the full article about student perspective on remote learning by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.