The Value of Face-To-Face Learning

Children have been getting used to interacting with the world through screens in this past 1 year. But, with the world finally starting to reopen, we can soon expect kids to go back to face-to-face learning.

In this blog, we talk about the benefits of face-to-face learning. Also, at the end of the blog, you will find some useful tips for helping your child make this transition, from online to offline, successfully!

The benefits of face-to-face learning for kids

Balanced Screen Time

As much as the internet and mobile and computer devices benefit us, too much time spent on them can also be detrimental for health. It is not only strenuous for the eyes and bad for the posture, but also eats out of the time that could instead be spent on physical activities and interacting with a peer group.

And that brings us to our cue for the next positive of face-to-face learning…

Interaction with a Peer Group

This last one year has been particularly hard on children, as they have been kept away from other kids their age, and have had to find alternative methods to entertain themselves. However, especially during the developing years of their life (their childhood), it is really important for kids to play and interact with other kids, as it not only helps them to pass their time in a fun way, but also forms the foundation for life-long social skills and behaviours. Some of these skills include- empathy, cooperation, negotiation and emotional intelligence.

A complete learning experience: Verbal + Non-Verbal Communication

Communication between a teacher and a student (in fact between any two or more persons for that matter) does not just happen verbally, but there are many non-verbal cues (facial expressions, body language, voice modulation and tone, etc.) that we communicate through. Doctors believe that the face alone gives at least 250,000 such additional cues. Unfortunately, many of these non-verbal cues do not get properly picked up during an online session. Therefore, we can say that an offline learning experience offers a more free and comprehensive communication, and thereby, a more thorough learning experience.

A complete learning experience: Peer Learning + Natural Communication

During online/zoom classes, students remain muted during most of the duration of the class (usually to avoid noise). This not only makes the class experience dull and monotonous, but in fact leads to many missed opportunities for more comprehensive learning. When in a physical classroom, learning takes many new and interesting diversions, through the comments and questions raised by other students. In addition, during online sessions, to manage the session more efficiently, the students have to follow various protocols (“press button to “raise hand””, “stay muted unless spoken to”, and so on). However, in an offline class, the communication flow is more natural and at ease, and allows children to more so “be themselves” and act and communicate more naturally and at ease.

We hope that you are feeling a little more relieved to let your child experience and undergo this transition, as there are quite a few significant benefits to it.

Now, as promised, we are going to give you a few tips to help your child make it through this lifestyle change without breaking a sweat!

Encouragement through simple communication and prepping-activities

Ask your child questions that inspire a positive feeling about returning back to the offline mode of learning. For example, you can ask them what they missed about face-to-face learning. You can also do small prepping exercises with them that get that excited for their next day at the offline learning centre. An example would be to pack their backpack one day before, and turn it into a fun parent-child activity.

Health-Training

Teach your child everything there is to know about the health crisis the world is going through, and how through simple safety-measures, he or she can easily glide through the day, without much inconvenience.

Provide Emotional Support

We need to remember, that this transition is not only between modes of learning, but also lifestyles and emotional stimuli. You can help your child to aptly adjust to these changes by talking to them and asking them how their day went, on a daily basis.

Foster the new study space

Because of the online learning system that had been set-up since last year, the kids now have a new corner of their house that they associate with learning. Use this as an opportunity to foster healthy associations with learning, in your child. Do this by keeping the space tidy, as well as encouraging the child to practice their learning at that spot.

We hope you enjoyed our blog. We keep coming up with new and exciting topics for helping parents to keep up with the best of their parenting practices. To read more of our content, click here.