Each learner is unique, and brings to the learning situation his or her own different learning style, knowledge set, pool of past experiences, and motivation. In learner-centered instruction, it is important for instructors to consider the level of knowledge and skill development attained by the learners prior to instruction (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2004).

In the current context, it is also important that teachers and school leaders recognise the recent experiences of parents. Not only are they a vital source of information that can help us to promote effective learning, but they also need our support and reassurance that their children will be ok. Talking about 'catch up' is not helpful. Instead it is most helpful for us to frame our communication with parents with the needs of the pupils and assurances that everything we do will be to support the sound development of the children, academically, socially and emotionally. To do this we need to fully understand the needs of the children and how they can be met.

Understanding the needs of learners

How do the needs of my learners differ in the current context from normal teaching?

The best way to get this information is by asking the learners themselves. Many schools have already done this through pupil and parent surveys to establish what went well and where the main difficulties lay for pupils during the period of school closure from March to June 2020. The aspects of school that pupils and parents have most frequently cited in surveys are not solely around the formal learning and the lessons that have been missed, but around relationships and connectedness, so these are probably the areas that we need to prioritise during academic year 2020/21, not least because the evidence shows that sound relationships are the mainstay of classroom learning. Without sound teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil relationships, the learning interventions that have been identified as most impactful cannot be achieved.

Learners' needs can be classified into different domains of learning and these needs are never one-dimensional.

The three domains that there is general agreement about are:

the cognitive (thinking),
the affective (social/emotional/feeling), and
the psychomotor (physical/kinesthetic) domain

The affective is often subdivided into affective (feeling/emotion) and social.

Vicky Minderhout (Chemistry, Seattle University) has identified learner needs across these domains, subdividing affective, and uses this table to classify the ways needs in different domains can be met:

Examples of Learner Needs.docx

During school closure, the important ways in which schools meet non-cognitive needs became evident to everyone. In planning for this academic year, it is important that planning prioritises these needs, as unmet affective and psychomotor needs can inhibit progress in the cognitive domain:

Different children will have very different experiences of school closure. Just as some children will be craving social interaction and physical proximity to their peers, others will be anxious at the prospect of being back to school.

Michael Fullan writes, "Learners will not learn when they are uncomfortable or contribute when they are self-conscious. As we know, 'emotion is the gatekeeper of motivation, cognition and attention' ... In short, wellbeing and quality learning are intimately related." (Education Reimagined, 13)

In this short video, Dylan Wiliam explains why it is important for teachers to engage with the emotional responses to the learning environment so that the learners can access the cognitive domain of learning.

Action points

Talk and listen to parents and guardians. They are experts about their own children and can support you in developing positive relationships with them.
Reassure them that through effective and regular communication and partnership working, we can help every child to overcome the barriers to learning they may be experiencing because of the pandemic and the measures around it.
Take care to communicate about children as individuals; revisit the communication section and consider ways that you and your colleagues can demonstrate that your priority is the wellbeing of your pupils. Remember this is not just communicated in words, but through every decision you make in your school.
Take time to talk to and listen to the children in your care. Any time spent in building solid and caring relationships can only contribute positively to the development of every child as an individual, as a contributor to society and as a contributor to the economy and the environment. These are the objectives of the NI curriculum and can only be met in community and through an understanding of the interdependency of all our lives.
Have your walls, both physical and virtual, talk to the children when you are not able to - what are the messages that your classroom promotes?
Don't be afraid to seek support if a child's needs are more complex than you feel you can support alone.
Remember that you are an important part of every relationship in your classroom. Take time to look after yourself and the relationships that are important to your own wellbeing.

Stop and process

Consider the ways different needs are addressed in the table above. Think about your own pupils and consider which of these needs are the most pressing for this academic year. You may find this audit sheet helpful to organise your thinking.

Understanding Learner Needs thinking frame.docx

Links to sample surveys

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