How to Improve Your Studies After Pandemic

Almost two years, schools were closed. Many schools took online classes to continue the studies of students. That was a good effort to somehow continue the studies. But almost nowhere that was sufficient or effective. Teachers and students struggled a lot to cope up with technology use and infrastructure issues. But due to minimal transition time and lack of relevant computer and internet skill training, the online classes often used to be much less effective than expected. 

And all these took a heavy toll on young students’ present  studies and future academic career. Junior class students and also many senior class students lagged in their studies to an extent which is extremely worrisome. Some students may find ways to cope up easily, but many students will face a very tough time to cope up with their performance. And not all subjects are equally easy for any student. 

Subjects like Science and Mathematics usually require special care due to their logical as well as memorizing complexities. All students, including the intelligent ones as well as the average ones, need to devote considerable time and effort to prepare well in Mathematics and Science subjects. 

Mathematics is such a subject that cannot be memorized except the formulae and theorems. Hence doing Mathematics requires more logical and analytical faculties beside the memory functions, much more than all the other subjects of a standard school curriculum. So any gap or lag in the studies of Mathematics can cause enough worry and headache for the students. It can take huge effort and time to gear up the performance in Mathematics. 

Almost similar issues can be faced with the subject of computer programming. Computer programming has almost similar features like Mathematics, may be only a little less perhaps. These two subjects need continual emphasis and care for keeping up the learning and exam performances.

In the era of pandemic, both these subjects went to lower priorities, so low that most students got almost at the extent of discontinuity. Schools used to run online classes in an effort to keep the studies on. But carrying out online classes in Science subjects and especially in Mathematics are not an easy task for both the teachers as well as students. 

Why Online Class on Mathematics Is Not Easy

Passive learning is almost not possible in Mathematics and there seems to be no other option than absolute active learning. This is one of the most prominent differences between Mathematics and other subjects in the school curriculum.

Another important difference is cramming is not an option for the case of exam preparation in Mathematics or any relevant subject, like Statistics. Many subjects are often totally memorization based, which makes them easy for quick learning and cramming the information stuff in the memory for delivery on the exam paper. But in Mathematics, active skills of problem solving have to be grown for solving the exam paper. Even if the exam question paper comes with all the familiar or previously done problems, still memorizing all the steps of a problem perfectly and writing it on the answer sheet is usually not an easy task for any student. Very likely some steps or some points will be forgotten and thus will compromise the examination. 

Thus memorizing and cramming is not a practical solution for a good performance in the Mathematics examination. Many of you will naturally ask then does memory not have any significant role to play when doing Mathematics? My answer will be absolutely yes. 

Actually doing Mathematics needs much more memory than any other subject and that memory is also of varied type, and not only textual ones. You have to remember symbols and notations, equations and formulae, theorems and proofs, diagrams and figures, and even many solved problems and their pattern of solution for future reference in the process of finding the solution of any new problem. In no other subject, one needs to remember so many varied types of things, and that also in perfect detail. Because there is no scope of error or missing out in Mathematics. This is a really tough and challenging aspect for any student, however good and intelligent he may be. 

So we can see that just seeing the teacher doing Mathematics, or listening to the theories and methods cannot make a student effectively good at it. The student needs to actively learn the subject by doing it all from scratch. And after then also he would need a lot of practice and revisions to retain the knowledge he or she has gained by solving problems, a lot of them indeed. 

For the teacher it is also to be actively taught by using a blackboard or whiteboard. Home tutors usually use exercise books or notebooks in place of a whiteboard. Whatever, a good writing medium is essential to teach and learn Mathematics. But in the case of online learning, either a mobile phone is used or a computer is used. And both have a keyboard (either physical or virtual) is used. And these keyboards are not a good choice to write Mathematical symbols and equations. 

The solution can be a dedicated writing device like a writing tablet pad. Or a studio setup where the whiteboard can be used with a camera suitably placed to shoot it at realtime. Both the devices will require infrastructural investment beside the usual mobile phone or computer. And these devices are required at both sides, i.e. the teacher as well as the student. Because both have to do the Mathematics class actively. 

But such infrastructure is not always available either for the student or even for the teacher. And the consequence is the compromise of the studies of Mathematics. The development of Mathematical ability and aptitude among students suffered a major setback. Such setbacks can take considerable time to overcome and in some cases are almost extremely difficult.

How To Pick Up Your Studies After Pandemic Fall Down

The fall down was inevitable. And the pickup has to be made inevitable by your choice. Your choice of giving more effort and doing all that with proper planning. 

Proper planning is very important in any human endeavor, and in this case it is an emergency. Have you seen a patient in a hospital ICU, where everyone is trying hard to defeat the disease and to survive the patient by meticulous planning and enormous effort ? Somewhat similar approach has to be taken on studies after pandemic downfall. Then only a rapid comeback is possible, otherwise it can become very difficult and time taking. 

Meticulous planning is required to back up the studies. One such important planning is taking the help of a home tutor beside usual school classes. A suitable home tutor can help the student fight back in studies much faster and better. Also the student will get more confidence to deal with all the weaknesses and shortcomings by studying with a home tutor better than by studying alone. 

The student, parent and the tutor all have to understand the crisis situation of the student’s education that is caused by the two year span of pandemic lockdown. Nothing like any miracle is going to work in the rational grounds of education. It will take a lot of effort and quite an amount of time to get things even. Patience and hard work has to be the objective. 

There will be a few subjects where recovery will be faster and better, also somewhat easier. And there will be some other subjects where recovery will take more effort and time. Mathematics and Science are among those subjects that are supposed to take maximum effort and time to get recovered. Parents should pay the utmost care on these subjects first. If the budget is restrained, and if the tutor is not available for all the subjects, then at least Mathematics and preferably the Science subjects are to be provided with home tutors. 

As per my experience of teaching, I saw Mathematics to be the highest loser in the pandemic. The mathematical concepts and abilities of students are most highly compromised during this period. Mathematics can’t be learnt by memorization only or crammed as many other subjects can be done. It needs a lot of practice and conception development. 

Actually if we see it neurologically, then Mathematics needs the maximum growth of brain and nerve connections. Due to non-practice of Mathematics, the Mathematical brain development of most students took a backseat and did not happen as it should have in normal class schedules. This is recoverable, but with a lot of effort and time. Both the student and the home tutor have to put in a lot of effort for the purpose. 

The first point of effort on Mathematics starts from daily practice. The habit of daily practice is not only important but inevitable for growing the understanding and performance in Mathematics. It is hard to acquire knowledge and skill in Mathematics, and it is even harder to retain the acquired knowledge and skill. Mathematics is always so very easy to forget. 

Last two years of pandemic induced many negligence and avoidance of Mathematical learning and practices in even many of the best students. This has to be reversed. Naturally much more effort and seriousness will be required. 

The first job of the student as well as the teacher is to re-establish the Mathematical culture within the students. This is not the time of high performance but it is time for high perseverance. 

Daily discipline of doing Mathematics at least àn hour or two can reverse the damage at a considerable level within a rational time frame. 

Other Science subjects also will require almost similar effort and discipline. Though maybe a student would not do and study Science religiously daily still they need to do it as frequently as possible. 

The discipline of Mathematics as I discussed above, will help to cope and cover up all the other subjects more easily including all the other Science subjects. So if initially a little more time is spent on Mathematics then at the end that would not make much trouble, instead may prove to be a benefit. 

To sum up, students need to work a little harder and a little smarter to make up for all the losses and damages of studies that happened due to the pandemic and resulting lockdown. This may be a little troublesome or inconvenient or even unpleasant to some students, but it will also pay huge benefits in the studies and career of the student. 

A Few Words to the Parents

This is a very sensitive era specially regarding education and was beyond all our planning and expectations. The total event of the pandemic was totally unpredictable and never expected. 

The resultant time of now is sensitive and critical, and it can continue for some more time like a couple of years depending on the performance of the student. And this being an individual trait of a student, it will also vary from student to student. 

Parents need to understand the real situation and keep their cool to cooperate with their students. This is not the time of pressure and performance. This is just the time for resetting study schedules and basic routines. If the system is efficient then the outcome has to be good.

A Few Words to the Teachers

With students, teachers will also often need to work hard. Teachers have to patiently deal with the conditions with an expectation of getting better performance from the students. 

Beside the direct session of a home tuition class, it is necessary that the student study a lot many hours at home. Home tutors need to guide that to students and give suitable assignments. A track of student practice and assignments can be kept by the tutor. 

It is important that teachers need to have patience to let the student get back into track. Sometimes it can be more tough, but any kind of rude approach would not do much good. Light scolding and counseling can be used as per requirements. Going beyond will not be any intelligent choice. Constructive criticism has to be used intelligently. 

Ultimately if none of the process works then the tutor should go for a meeting with the parents or guardian whichever applicable. The student may need a different teacher. It will be intelligent to inform the parents about considering changing the home tutor. 

Ultimately all students need to understand that they have the responsibility of their studies, and that only he or she can do it. Teachers can only help them to achieve that. And he or she has to understand that it is all about their career and education. They have to do that good for their better living.