Teachers in Uzbekistan master continuation of learning during shutdown

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Educators and parents have long voiced reservations about the effects of television on formative minds. But as Uzbekistan struggled with how to provide distance learning to students during its initial March 24-May 1 COVID-19 lockdown, the ubiquitous “idiot box” proved essential.

Now amidst a second regimen of government-imposed extreme social distancing due to a resurgence of the virus, albeit during school vacation this time, the Central Asian nation seems to be ready for a possible return to TV-based learning if necessary when the next term opens on September 2.

“The ministry is prepared for both cases,” said Ravshanjon Akhmedov of the Ministry of Education’s In-Service and Retraining Institute. It might end up being conventual classroom education. It might be distance learning. Akhmedov’s official title had once been “deputy dean of pedagogical services,” but in the post-pandemic world he has worn several hats. Among other things, he had returned to teaching.

When the government mandated the closing of educational institutions as part of its March lockdown, schools were just ending their third quarter. They were about to enter their regularly scheduled10-day end-of-quarter vacation.

Officials took advantage of the break to develop an emergency plan. At first, individual teachers were instructed to create and record video lessons and disseminate them via Telegram Messenger, a mobile application popular in Uzbekistan. “It didn't work because Telegram requires a stable Internet connection, and the Internet is not that cheap,” Akhmedov said. Not all households can afford top-notch service.

The ministry pivoted to television. “Everyone has a TV,” Akhmedov noted, almost stating the obvious.

Top teachers were recruited into studios to record master classes. Soon some 3,900 were ready to air. Three nationwide state-owned television channels were commandeered to broadcast lessons essentially non-stop, with different channels devoted to different grade levels.

Each recorded lesson included a homework assignment. If they had questions, students could ask for help from their regular teachers via Telegram, which might not be the answer for streaming but functions well enough for other kinds of communication. Completed lessons were filed via the app to those same local teachers, who graded them and provided feedback. Teachers also administered online tests. Overall grades were made available to students and parents through personal platforms on a ministry website.

As Akhmedov tells the story, teachers themselves took the initiative to use Telegram chat groups to exchange information about how to address the new reality. One positive thing for teachers: the government reduced the number of bureaucratic forms they needed to fill out, giving everyone a sigh of relief.

As young students were struggling to deal with the new reality, the ministry was trying to figure out how to adapt its regular in-service training for school principals. The program for principals went immediately online. Many old school instructors had trouble dealing with tools such as Zoom, but within a week almost everyone was up to speed.

Akhmedov has a major reservation about online learning. Participants in the principal program would sometimes mute their Zoom feed or, even when obviously online, attend to household problems while they were supposed to be paying attention. “These are the drawbacks of online teaching,” he said. “We couldn't actually see if the school directors were actually listening and learning.”

To read recent blogs on the topic and engage in the discussion:

For more information on ETF Covid19 actions https://openspace.etf.europa.eu/pages/education-during-covid-19-crisis

For more information on ETF work https://www.etf.europa.eu/en and https://www.facebook.com/etfeuropa/

Teachers in Uzbekistan master continuation of learning during shutdown

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