What do you think of your classroom? Is it a place where learning takes place, connections are made, students are interacting, a warm community of learning is fostered?
It sure is! All of us teachers who love our jobs and realize the power of enriching young minds, shaping personalities and empowering them with hard and soft skills, value our classrooms, we thrive in them and expect our students to feel the same way.
That would be the ideal condition, or it has been until recently. But things have changed in the last five years and we are all facing a shift towards a more personalized education. Is it because of COVID and the sudden shift to online learning? Is it AI? Is it the new Gen Z soft parenting that has made our students more particular in their learning needs?
From the stance of an active FL teacher in the private sector for some decades, my approach to the shift we are experiencing in education it certainly does not stem from one reason only.
The COVID Era and its impact on learning
Covid indeed sat us all down in front of our screens. Some of us managed to continue our teaching all right, learnt to use all kinds of online tools. Others didn’t do very well especially younger students who lost the chance to socialize and feel part of the group in a structured classroom environment. Motivation, social interaction and social skills plummeted. The ability to collaborate, communicate and make friends dropped abruptly. At the same time the screen became the centre of attention. Everything happened through a screen. Education, entertainment, communication, shopping.
Then we returned to our classrooms. The students that we had in front of us though, were not the same. Younger or older, children or adolescents or adults, they had gained a new perspective on their learning. They could now use basic tools, learn to live in the online world and even acknowledged the practicality of this. Online education had altered the way they interacted with school, peers, and learning itself. Significant changes were observed by all of us.
Some of our students found it hard to adapt to the bustling classroom environment. The screen was a quieter place, with instant results.
Attention span became shorter. *
Some students developed independent learning skills, finding information on their own, managing different online tools.
The AI Era
And then the Era of AI dawned on all of us. Just when we had returned in our classrooms and were willing to start again where we had stopped, the cataclysmic power of AI came to confirm that our classrooms were never going to be the same again.
Students learnt to seek help from AI 24/7 with instant results.
Vocabulary, grammar, writing, even speaking can be practiced with an AI model.
There is no need to memorize data like dates, names even historical events. Everything is accessible at the tips of our fingernails.
Gamification, Immersion, augmented reality: new words , new trends show that the education game has changed.
The biggest game changer? The flexibility it offers students. They can now learn anytime, at their own pace, and in a way that best suits their individual needs.
Don’t get me wrong. Change is a good thing. We, in the ELT community, have always embraced the game changers! Sometimes we even brought them about.
Soft Parenting: Millenials and GenZ parenting
Millennial parents (born roughly 1981–1996) were the first generation to grow up with the internet, so they’re comfortable using technology but also wary of screen time for their kids.
They have developed a parenting style that emphasizes gentle parenting. This focuses on emotional intelligence, communication, and understanding rather than strict discipline. Being digital natives they are comfortable using online communities to get parenting advice. They prefer positive reinforcement to authoritarian punishments. They encourage kids to express opinions, make choices, and develop independence while still providing structure.
They are the parents that are involved in their children’s school and extra-curriculum activities, the parents that for so many times have been criticized of not leaving an empty hour in their children’s timetable. Having flexible working hours- some still work from home- are able to spend more time with their children and enriching their extra-curricular activities.
On the other hand
Financial struggling families, where parents work a lot, have limited the time to spend with their children, who may experience some serious consequences.
Lack of communication
Lack of everyday routines
Weak emotional support
Feeling of loneliness
Higher risk of behavioral problems- aggression, inability to follow rules, defiance.
Increased screen time
Extending our classroom walls
Everything considered, we have realized that we have a very different version of students in our classrooms. We, who have been teaching for some decades, find the new GenZ of students challenging. We need indeed to shift our focus from the teacher- centered practices to that of acknowledging that our learners are getting information from everywhere else- the cloud, the internet, social media, platforms. Since today's students have access to endless information, teaching needs to shift from just delivering knowledge to guiding students in how to find it effectively.
To teach digital natives we need to use their own tools. In simple words “If you can’t beat them, join them”!
The new version of students are used to personalized learning experiences- they can learn everything by watching a You tube video- they seek instant gratification in their efforts, can use a variety of tech tools and apps for almost any of their needs.
This is the part where our classrooms need to extend and go beyond the four walls that include it. We need to move learning to where our students are: that is to the cloud. This is the part where we, as teachers, also need to move to where our students are.
Educational Platforms can help us do that. Our lessons need to be digital too. Accessible to students from their home, their mobile phone, their tablet. We need to have lessons:
Accessible online
Have accessible material & assignments online
Include multiple presentation methods in our online lessons (videos/ short films/ talks)
Providing lesson (teacher only) recordings so that students can access the lesson again online.
Providing practice online tests & Exam prep.
Have gamified and interactive online lessons.
Materials we design can cater for personalization
Moving materials to where our students are – in the digital world- we can foster autonomy that leads to personalized learning. Personalization is a key element in the future of education and one of the most important desiderata of this generation and the generations to come. Some features of personalized/customized learning are:
Reduced time pressure as Ss can work/ study at their own pace
Enable multiple attempts to exercises with immediate results and freedom to fail.
Lack of teacher’s physical presence enhances autonomy and responsibility
Availability of material 24/7 gives students the chance to monitor their learning
In the classroom walls
But what about the classroom and the role of the teacher? If we deliver everything online is there space for us in the classroom walls?Personalized learning is transforming education, and the teacher’s role is shifting from a traditional knowledge provider to a facilitator, mentor, and coach. Instead of simply delivering content, teachers now guide students through individualized learning experiences, helping them develop critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence. Elements that can not be taught online.
AI provides facts, but teachers help students develop critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and emotional intelligence.
Conclusion
Personalized Education is going to be the key element in years to come making our classroom walls transparent, extended, unlimited. Teachers have a new role in this new reality, that of a mentor, facilitator, coach, ethical guide and emotional supporter – things that cannot be provided by online models and AI.
Bibliography
*Edutopia: Covid changed student behavior –July 2023
** Millennials are the best parents- Here’s why. New Your Post Nov 11 2024
***How to Gen Z: Adapting Teaching Methods for the Learning Style of Digital Natives
EIM
Joanna Scarligou is an EFL teacher and Language School Owner based in Athens – Patissia.
She holds an Msc Degree in Sociology and a degree in Teaching Methodology for EFL.
Her school, Byron Language School, is a member school of QLS (Quality Language Schools). Joanna has been a dedicated Board member of QLS (Quality Language Schools) for five consecutive terms.
Currently she serves as the QLS Content Team Leader. In this role, she and her team have developed original, award-winning educational content for the association.
She is also a certified Moodle Educator and has created numerous online courses for the QLS Moodle platform.
