[Vol.86] Vivid Stories about The Educational Gap

A. Elementary school teacher B. Middle school teacher C. High school teacher (They are all teachers who graduated from KNUE.)

1. What were the limitations of students' learning management when conducting online classes?

A. It was difficult to immediately check whether the students were concentrating on the class, and it was difficult to conduct feedback and supplementary guidance on the active process.
B. Since it was not a face-to-face situation, it was difficult to immediately grasp the state of learning defects or difficulties of the learning environment if students did not actively participate in learning. C. Rather, feedback was better than face-to-face classes. This is because Google Class's comment function was well utilized, peer learners gave good feedback, and I was able to secure more time than face-to-face classes.

2. How was life guidance for students online?

A. Life guidance was focused on online etiquette among friends. And the homeroom teacher regularly consulted the student on the phone.
B. I used KakaoTalk, phone, and Zoom.
C. Counseling using phone calls or zoom was mainly conducted.

3. Is it possible to overcome the difficulties of life guidance in non-face-to-face situations?

A. Teaching rules in school communities and life guidance on how to solve problems in conflict situations are difficult in non-face-to-face situations.
B. When it was difficult to guide students in online situations, I prepared alternatives by visiting their homes or calling them to participate in online classes, but it was still difficult to completely overcome the problem of not focusing on attendance or class.
C. I think it is a problem related to the learner's will, and in order for life guidance to be provided, there must be cooperation from parents.

4. Did you feel the educational gap and lack of learning due to COVID-19 in the actual field? (when taking face-to-face classes after online classes), If you felt it, please explain it.

A. As I reviewed what I learned through online classes in face-to-face classes, I felt the educational gap widening as I saw children who seemed to have no idea.
B. Even learners who seemed to have participated well in online classes could see that they did
not understand properly when they checked in face-to-face classes, and the gap widened greatly depending on their individual learning management skills.

C. The more difficult the subjects were for students, such as math, the more pronounced the gap felt.

5. There are many reasons for the educational gap. Among them, how much do you think personal management skills (life side, learning side, situation side) have affected the educational gap?

A. In the case of lower grades, most of them get help from their parents, so the impact of the personal management ability seems to be small, and higher grades often have to do it on their own, so the educational gap according to the personal management ability seems to widen.
B. I think it has a great influence. Younger students complained of difficulties in learning when

they were in an environment where they needed help from parents or teachers due to poor personal management.
C. I think it is the most decisive factor in the education gap. If you don't have the ability to manage yourself, you can't learn at all, so the educational gap widens.

6. Were you able to grasp the difference in learning management skills between students even in non-face-to-face situations? Or were you able to better figure it out through face-to-face classes?

A. Non-face-to-face situations were easier to grasp. This is because there were many tasks done by themselves in non-face-to-face classes and teachers could not watch and help.
B. There was no particular difference between the two.
C. Since there was no help from the teacher at all, I was able to better grasp it in a non-face-to-face situation.

7. How much influence do you think the difference in learning management ability (meaning i student's individual learning management ability; e.g. self-directed learning skills.) among students has on the educational gap?

A. It has a great influence because the importance of learning management ability increases in non- face-to-face classes.
B. It is thought that the difference in learning management ability makes a difference in the educational background.

C. I think that having a self-directed learning ability is based on a student's willingness to study. Once a student does not have the will to study, I think that learning will never be done properly and there will be differences in learning achievement between students.

8. What are schools currently implementing as a way to narrow the educational gap?

A. During vacation, math camps and supplementary guidance after school are being implemented for students who have difficulty in math.
B. In addition to the curriculum, they operated a TAP learning program(teacher advancement program) for students with poor basic learning, after-school support, college student mentoring system, career consulting through counseling, online class device rental, and remote supplementary learning for students who do not attend online classes.

C. There are supports to prevent the home environment from leading to learning deficits. For example, there is support for digital devices and special supplements for each level in face-to-face classes. I think more school support is needed.

9. After face-to-face classes are held, as a teacher, what are you working hard on to fill the gap in online classes, students' learning and life management? And what do you think should be supplemented to solve educational gaps and learning deficits?

A. Several supplementary classes are provided for class students.
B. In many cases, supplementary learning and counseling on individual difficulties or careers that have not been made during online classes are provided. What needs to be improved was reducing
the learning burden on the students. They had a hard time following the class because they had to
do many things that they had not been able to do in non-face-to-face situations (ex. performance evaluation).
C. I am trying to motivate them with a willingness to learn. It is important to know that students’ will and self-esteem are important for learning, for growth and true learning to take place.

10. We don't think it would have been easy to form a rapport with students in face-to-face classes. Did you find it difficult to form a rapport? What kind of effort did you make?

A. In the area where our school is located, there are few confirmed cases, so face-to-face classes were mainly held this year and online classes were conducted in-between, so it was not so difficult to form a rapport.
B. When taking face-to-face classes after a long online learning period, it was especially difficult to form intimacy because the facial expression was not revealed even when wearing a mask. We tried to form intimacy through counseling or life guidance with KakaoTalk or text messages that students feel familiar with.
C. There was no time to spare due to the delay in starting school. Through the Zoom small meeting room, intimacy was formed by providing a place for communication between students, counseling.

11. If there was any effort from the Ministry of Education in terms of life management, did the actual support work? If you had, what was the most effective support?

A. I don't know in detail what kind of support there was.
B. There was practical support for students to follow the quarantine rules and live in school through the recruitment of assistants for quarantine management. However, there were difficulties because students did not follow the guidance of non-teachers.
C. Rather than being led by one department, I think various measures for life guidance by school and class have been implemented, and the effects vary depending on the situation.

12. From the perspective of teachers, what do you think should be supplemented in the future to resolve learning deficits and educational gaps?

A. Like the various programs currently in progress, I hope that various support programs will be operated and budgeted for students in need.
B. The processing of learning results was conducted collectively in face-to-face classes. So,the burden on students for the test has increased very much. I hope the evaluation process will be improved so that students can learn more easily.

C. When approaching the issue of the educational gap, the focus is on the difference in private education between students and the ‘comparison’ between students in the non-metropolitan area and students in the metropolitan area. However, in order to resolve the educational gap, I think it is necessary to pay more attention to the problem of learning deficits.

13. What do you think is the best way as a teacher to resolve the educational gap?

A. It is a good idea to identify difficulties through regular counseling with students, provide appropriate help and provide one-on-one personal guidance after school.
B. Individual customized learning support and counseling are most needed. Students tend to feel more comfortable with non-face-to-face counseling, so I think it's okay to contact them through media that students are familiar with.
C. I think the best way is to cooperate for smooth communication with schools, parents and students and strive for appropriate support suitable for each school's situation.