National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) partnered with the Chang Yung-fa Foundation to provide elementary schools in rural areas with online learning materials to ensure students’ learning was not interrupted amid a local COVID-19 outbreak, the university said yesterday.
As the summer break coincided with a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert, the education of students in rural areas was affected, the university said.
To ensure that the students’ studies remain uninterrupted, a team of educators at the university — calling themselves “Passion” — introduced an innovative set of online learning modules at rural schools that they developed, it said.
Photo: CNA
The summer distance-learning courses covered the subjects of English, Mandarin and mathematics, it said.
The Passion team organized online workshops to help local teachers quickly master the techniques involved in moving from in-person to online instruction, it said.
It also arranged for experienced teachers to observe lessons to provide local teachers with professional advice, as well as feedback on their instruction in a timely manner, it said.
At the end of the summer courses, each class held online presentations to showcase its students’ achievements, it added.
Huanan Elementary School principal Chen Chi-cheng (陳啟政) said that suggestions offered by the team were a particularly successful part of the program.
Teachers at rural schools lack peer interaction and communication, which might sap their enthusiasm, Shueiduei Elementary School principal Chiao Chi (喬祺) said.
The support and positive feedback teachers received through the program helped reignite their passion, he added.
NTNU vice president Sung Yao-ting (宋曜廷) serves as coordinator of the Passion team, while NTNU professor Hu Tsui-chun (胡翠君) helps with its planning and execution, the university said.
Since early this year, the Passion team and the foundation have worked together on the project to improve teaching at rural elementary schools, the university said.
To date, 1,334 students have benefited from the program and received tutoring totaling 2,593 hours, it said.
A total of 146 teachers have also been served by the program, it said, adding that they received support for 347 class-hours.
The schools, all of which are in Yunlin County’s Gukeng Township (古坑), are: Shueiduei Elementary School, Yong Guang Elementary School, Huanan Elementary School and the Zhanghu Junior and Elementary School of Ecology, it said.
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