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1. What are the emerging challenges in the flexible teaching and learning modality
during the time of pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound and sudden impact on many
areas of life; work, leisure time and family alike. These changes have also
affected educational processes in formal and informal learning environments.
Public institutions such as childcare settings, schools, universities and further
education providers ceased onsite teaching and moved to distance learning - or
closed down completely. In the same way, organizations offering sports and
cultural activities had to shut down. The sudden lock-down required quick
adjustments on behalf of all stakeholders and teaching and learning settings
changed substantially. Even after lock-down conditions have been lifted in many
countries, fundamental changes to the day-to-day reality of teaching and
learning, work and home life remain in the absence of a cure or vaccine.
These sudden changes have taken a toll on schools, families, and society
in general. Many parents have had to work from home while taking care of their
children and acting as home tutors. Educators for all age groups from early
childhood to further education have had to switch from traditional in-class
settings to various forms of distance education, and develop methods to stay in
touch with parents and students. Often, this has required adopting new
educational strategies for digital teaching (synchronous and asynchronous),
which is still an emerging phenomenon in many educational settings. For
students, the lack of structured in-class learning settings may have required more
self-regulation and self-motivation to learn with less support. Furthermore, as
some countries have moved to reopen education institutions while trying to
maintain social distancing, teachers and students have experienced a variety of
changes in their education settings within a short period of time.

2. What would institutions do to ensure curriculum continuity in teacher education?

Today, we face the possibility of mandatory closures due to future
pandemic outbreaks in our communities. Increasingly, school leaders are
recognizing the need to prepare their districts for remote learning in the event of
extended closures due to natural disasters, public health emergencies, or any
other extraordinary circumstances that might arise. Shifting to a remote or virtual
learning model requires thoughtful planning and coordination, and school leaders
are advised that this particular document is not intended to serve as a step-by-
step guide for rapid shifts to emergency remote instruction. Rather it should be
used to thoughtfully inform the development of an extended continuity of learning
plan to be used in the event that their schools or districts experience extended
closures in the future. Continuity of learning is the continuation of education in
 the event of a prolonged school closure or student absence. It is a critical
component of school emergency management, as it promotes the continuation of
teaching and learning despite circumstances that interrupt normal school
attendance for one or more students. However, many considerations play a role
in the development of distance learning programs, such as accessibility, type and
quality of materials, and the length of time that this type of learning must be
maintained. There are also a variety of potentially viable distance learning
methods. The following considerations, information, and resources can support
schools and districts as they make plans for continuity of learning in the event of
a school closure or student absence.

Self-Reflect

Activity 1: What Reading Materials Say About Covid 19 Pandemic

1. Read from the web and make a summary about Covid 19 Pandemic.
Read at most five references for this activity and attach to your report.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a viral infectious disease caused

by SARS-CoV-2 and is currently a World Health Organization
(WHO) declared pandemic. As of April 2021, over 140 million people had been infected
globally with over 3 million deaths.

Many people with SARS-CoV-2 infection are asymptomatic. Symptoms and signs
of COVID-19 are non-specific but in symptomatic individuals most commonly include:

 Fever (85-90%)
 Cough (65-70%) with sputum (30-35%)
 Smell and taste disturbances (50%)
 Fatigue (35-40%)
 Shortness of breath (15-20%)
The likelihood of severe illness requiring hospitalization correlates closely with
male sex, advanced age and presence of comorbidities. 

 ~5% admitted patients require ICU admission

Multiple serious sequelae have been reported including:

 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

 Coagulopathy: including PE and DIC
 Secondary Infections, e.g. bacterial pneumonia
 Myocardial Injury
  Sepsis
 Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
 Multiorgan Failure
 Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
SARS-CoV-2 is a member of the Betacoronavirus genus, one of the genera of
the Coronaviridae family of viruses. SARS-CoV-2 is indirectly zoonotic, but transmission
is now primarily interhuman. The closest animal coronavirus by genetic sequence is a
bat coronavirus. The cause of death is usually respiratory failure secondary to massive
alveolar injury.

The primary findings of COVID-19 are those of atypical or organizing pneumonia.

Up to 18% of cases demonstrate normal chest x-rays or CT when mild/early in the
disease course. Bilateral and/or multilobar involvement is common, more often with a
lower zone distribution.

There are several therapeutic approaches: some of them inhibit the replication of
the virus, others reduce the inflammatory response, still others inhibit coagulation.

Treatment is primarily supportive including ventilation for some patients.

Dexamethasone has been shown to reduce mortality in ventilated patients or those on
oxygen therapy.

Several highly-effective vaccines have now received regulatory approval in

multiple territories. 

The mortality rate is estimated to be 3.6%.

References:

1. WHO. Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease

2019 (COVID-19). Report. World Health Organization (WHO); 2020
16-24.02.2020. https://www.who.int/publications-detail/report-of-the-
who-china-joint-mission-on-coronavirus-disease-2019-(covid-19)
2. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, Zhang L, Fan G, Xu J,
Gu X, Cheng Z, Yu T, Xia J, Wei Y, Wu W, Xie X, Yin W, Li H, Liu M,
Xiao Y, Gao H, Guo L, Xie J, Wang G, Jiang R, Gao Z, Jin Q, Wang J,
Cao B. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel
coronavirus in Wuhan, China. (2020) Lancet (London, England).
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5 – Pubmed
3. Kanne JP, Little BP, Chung JH, Elicker BM, Ketai LH. Essentials for
Radiologists on COVID-19: An Update- Scientific Expert Panel. (2020)
Radiology. doi:10.1148/radiol.2020200527 - Pubmed
 4.  Wei Zhao, Zheng Zhong, Xingzhi Xie, Qizhi Yu, Jun Liu. Relation
Between Chest CT Findings and Clinical Conditions of Coronavirus
Disease (COVID-19) Pneumonia: A Multicenter Study. (2020)
American Journal of Roentgenology. doi:10.2214/AJR.20.22976 –
Pubmed
5. Yan-Rong Guo, Qing-Dong Cao, Zhong-Si Hong, Yuan-Yang Tan,
Shou-Deng Chen, Hong-Jun Jin, Kai-Sen Tan, De-Yun Wang, Yan
Yan. The origin, transmission and clinical therapies on coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak – an update on the status. (2020)
Military Medical Research. 7 (1): 1. doi:10.1186/s40779-020-00240-
0 - Pubmed

Activity 2: Planning for the Future as a Teacher During the Pandemic

1. When you become a teacher in the future which teaching delivery will you use
during a pandemic? Why?

Faced with the pandemic, combined high-tech and low-tech approaches to

help teachers better support student learning. Education leaders designed a strategy
that combines SMS, printed handouts, and continuous teacher feedback, taking
advantage of the high mobile phone penetration in the country. The approach goes
beyond providing low-tech materials: it gives information on how to access learning
programs, ensures students access paper-based learning materials, and includes
home visits to monitor distance learning activities. Teachers are also expected to
provide weekly paper-based resources to students and meet them weekly to provide
their marked worksheets and issue new ones for the week ahead. Technology
interventions should enhance teacher engagement with students, through improved
access to content, data and networks, helping teachers better support student
learning, where effective use of technology is one of the key principles to ensure
cadres of effective teachers.