By the second half of 2020, a school day at Meridian Primary School began like any other – with one exception: the students, like their peers in Singapore, were attending classes from their homes via Zoom.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, home-based learning (HBL) was implemented at several junctures to minimise school-based case transmissions. From the 2020 Circuit Breaker to the Phase 2 Heightened Alert in 2021, teachers and students had to quickly adjust to this new normal.
Uncertainty at the Start
Mr Clement Tham of Meridian Primary School recalls the uncertainty and sense of loss among the students at the start due to the unforeseen national COVID-19 situation then. However, he knew that despite these unknown challenges ahead, he had to remain steadfast in his belief as an educator in providing a safe environment for continuous learning, however challenging the global health situation may get.
“Students were suddenly disconnected from their classrooms, routines and communities. So it was important to provide them with a sense of familiarity to regain their confidence in learning,” he says.
To do that, he structured his online classes with familiar routines such as attendance taking, awarding of group points and the use of the Student Learning Space (SLS) – the Ministry of Education online learning portal for all school leaders, teachers and students in the national school system.
The daily sessions on Zoom were useful for teachers to track their students’ wellbeing and for students to see their friends online, which boosted their morale. The school also supported students who required the necessary technology for HBL by lending them iPads.