With a goal of giving their children a good education from the early years, international schools have become an ideal choice for many parents. Because of Covid 19 epidemic, online learning has become the optimal solution for students in Vietnam. However, many parents are still quite unfamiliar with and do not fully understand this kind of learning. So should parents let their children participate in online learning at international primary schools during the pandemic? To answer this question, please read the article below written by International Primary School Saigon Pearl (ISSP).
Some disadvantages and concerns of parents about letting primary school children study online during the pandemic
Currently, many public schools and international schools choose online learning as the main learning form during the pandemic. However, a lot of parents have faced many issues and felt worried when letting their primary school children study online. These problems are listed out below.
- Because of the lack of necessary equipment, the online teaching and learning activities at many localities are not effective. According to statistics of the Ministry of Education and Training, in Ho Chi Minh City, there is a shortage of 77,000 devices used for online learning. In addition, in many difficult areas, 50 to 70% of students do not have any devices to study online.
- After implementing online learning during the pandemic, many parents worry that staying at home for a long time will increase stress, anxiety and depression in children.
- In addition, because of the characteristics of online learning, it is difficult for teachers to manage the discipline, train students’ consciousness and manage whether students really understand the lesson and can put it into practice effectively following the instructions or not.
Read more: TOP 10 best international schools in Vietnam
How do international primary schools implement online learning during the pandemic?
Many international primary schools implement online teaching and learning to ensure that the learning process of students will not be interrupted. In the online class, teachers apply many creative teaching methods along with the preparation of applications and devices (phones, laptops, tablets, projectors) for online teaching and learning. At international schools, many activities are taken to engage students in online learning. For example, the schools can create friendly relationships between teachers, parents and students; asking interesting questions; giving lessons with guidance and suggestions in a way that is suitable for each student, or integrating many practical exercises, funny activities and games into lessons, etc.
Online teaching and learning activities at International Primary School Saigon Pearl (ISSP)
International School Saigon Pearl (ISSP) is the high quality Saigon international school for students from 18 months to 11 years old. ISSP is one of 85 school members of the Cognita, a long-standing international education group in the UK. ISSP is proud of being the only international preschool and primary school in Ho Chi Minh City that is fully accredited by two well-known international organizations, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). Since 2023, ISSP has been officially authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) to offer the IB PYP curriculum, known for its high academic standards.
Ways to maximize the effectiveness of online learning for primary school students at ISSP
Increasing the initiative and interest for students
In order to arouse children’s interest in learning, ISSP has applied many educational methods and practical experiences to help students acquire knowledge in many different ways. In the online class of Ms. Shelly Hosler, primary school students will participate in a variety of interesting activities such as listening to music, singing karaoke, Q&A section with the online platform “wonder wall”, etc. In addition, ISSP also applies an inquiry-based learning method in online learning to help students be more active in learning. At this time, teachers will play a role as a companion to guide students to study and research themselves. Thereby, students will develop essential skills such as research skills, problem solving, and how to memorize information quickly, etc. The inquiry-based learning method also nurtures students’ curiosity as active learners in their lifelong learning.
Maintaining learning routine for students
For increasing the effectiveness of online learning for primary school students, it is important to maintain the same routine as when they study at school. This will make it easier for students to catch up on learning and integrate better with teachers and friends when they return to school.
At International Primary School Saigon Pearl, teachers always provide students with a specific learning schedule including lunchtime, exercise and home learning activities arranged appropriately. Students are not only taught academic lessons but also informatics, physical education, art, etc.
Read more: TOP 5 best IB schools in Vietnam
Maintaining the relationship with parents
Some ISSP teachers shared that maintaining the relationship between parents and teachers will increase family-school interactions effectively. Therefore, ISSP encourages parents to take part in online learning together with their children. Parents can promptly support children when there is a problem with learning equipment and discuss with teachers about the difficulties that children are facing. During recess or lunch break, the ISSP counselors will always be available to chat with students and parents to support health and psychological issues. After that, ISSP will work with parents to come up with specific solutions to support children when learning online during the pandemic.
For more information, parents can book a school tour or contact the Admissions Office via telephone and email below:
- Phone number: +84 (028) 2222 7788.
- Email: admissions@issp.edu.vn.
During the Covid 19 pandemic, online learning is considered as the optimal solution for students. With this learning form, the efforts of teachers, the attitude of students and the cooperation of parents are very important. International School Saigon Pearl and many other international schools apply ways to maximize the effectiveness of online learning for primary school students. Hopefully, this article provides enough information as to whether parents should let their children participate in online home-based learning at international primary schools during the pandemic.
