Lessons for the future

While the pandemic has altered all our lives, the sudden transition to online platforms, has everybody concerned about its impact on the growth of children.

Studies have shown that effective development of cognitive skills like reasoning, critical thinking and memory functions help young children become well-rounded adults. Daily activities that children do in schools and in other social settings with their friends and classmates play a crucial role in the development of independent thinking.

Simple things like conversing with a friend, role-playing with classmates etc., are all techniques that help children develop their cognitive abilities, as well as their reasoning and critical thinking skills.

Teachers, parents and students must be aware that the switch from physical classrooms to cyber classrooms can potentially eliminate this crucial aspect of cognitive development, which can have long-term impact on students' overall growth. They need to adopt specific strategies to compensate for this lack of experiential learning in virtual classrooms. Some strategies include:

Flipped classroom model: In this model, teachers can share the lecture in advance with students, giving them a chance to be prepared for the session. Students are required to spend more time on discussions, debates and critical thinking, rather than just listening to the teacher. Flipped classrooms have shown great potential in increasing the quality of interaction among students in a virtual classroom.

Discussion-oriented classrooms: If a student doesn’t understand a topic, teachers must encourage them to form a hypothesis about the topic, even if it's a wrong one. Let students discuss their views and debate their ideas. In a controlled environment, give students the ability to defend their views in front of their classmates. This will help build up their reasoning abilities.

Go beyond the syllabus: The power of technology can be easily used to encourage students to learn even outside the classroom. Going beyond the textbook and giving students access to augmented reality modules, virtual simulations and various immersive technologies can help them explore problems from different perspectives and make them adaptable thinkers.

To ensure that this transition from real classrooms to virtual classrooms is handled smoothly, schools must also choose the right online teaching platform, which allows them to provide students with an engaging and immersive classroom experience.

It is important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all, right or wrong approach to teaching children to think critically. The role of a teacher is to guide children to develop their critical thinking abilities and improve their problem-solving skills. With the right approach, and right teaching platform, teachers can continue to motivate and steer their students towards the right path.

(The author is with Practically)