Top 5 Teacher Opinions on Remote, Hybrid and On-site Learning

The survey says….

The ‘20–’21 school year will be long remembered but hopefully will soon become a distant memory. Almost no school in the United States – or globally —  went unaffected. Some districts started late but were able to have mostly on-site learning. Most districts had blends of remote and hybrid or even all remote instruction. Even by May, some schools were not completely back in the classroom.

ESGI and ThinkFives surveyed hundreds of teachers to determine their opinion on various ’20-‘21 learning situations. Here’s what they have found.

Preferred: On-site Learning (Not Even Close)

This may be the least surprising result in the survey. 82% of all teachers said that on-site learning had a positive effect on their students and only 7% said it was negative when they returned back to the classroom. Teaching is a contact sport and teachers prize that interaction. Many made the best of it this year but the return to the classroom was truly welcomed.

Difference of Opinion: Hybrid Learning

The subject of hybrid learning showed a strong difference of opinion. While the majority of teachers, 61%, believed hybrid learning had a negative impact on students, 31% said it had a positive effect. Almost no teacher said that it had no difference or a mixed impact.

For many, hybrid learning caused the most teacher stress. Preparing lessons to be delivered in different formats was quite challenging. Some schools had specific teachers doing the online learning and other teachers doing just the in-class learning. For those teachers, it was a more positive experience. Teachers who have to teach some students in class and other students online on the same day had the most negative reactions to hybrids.

Negative Concerns: Remote Learning

Remote learning was identified by more than half of the teachers as having a negative impact (54%). While teachers gave it their best effort, many believe students still fell behind and that remote learning was not effective for others. But this wasn’t the case for all teachers. 14% of the teachers said there was no difference between remote and on-site learning and 16% of the teachers said it had a positive impact on their students.

Inequitable Results for Students: Remote Learning

Teachers were definitive about onsite and hybrid learning having a similar positive or negative effect on all students.  But in regards to remote learning, 16% of teachers said remote learning had a mixed impact on students. These teachers felt it worked for some students and not others. Many reasons cited included technology access, bandwidth, parent support, and their at-home environment. As one teacher said: “In the same classroom, some students thrived while other students fell far behind.”

Worst Choice: No Classes

While we didn’t specifically ask this question, a number of teachers shared that despite the challenges and despite the imperfections of remote and hybrid, it was important to continue to teach and challenge students.

And while teachers don’t agree on many things, we’re sure if we had asked this question, they would agree that imperfect modalities were better than none.

Source: ESGI-think five survey

What style of teaching did you incorporate within the past year?