Education, the science of learning, and the COVID-19 crisis

Thomas, Michael S.C. and Rogers, Cathy (2020) Education, the science of learning, and the COVID-19 crisis. PROSPECTS 49 , pp. 87-90. ISSN 0033-1538.

Abstract

In the COVID-19 crisis, the science of learning has two different responsibilities: first, to offer guidance about how best to deal with the impact of the current situation, including lockdown and home-schooling; and second, to consider bigger questions about what this large-scale educational experiment might mean for the future. The first part of this Viewpoint summarises advice for parents on mental health, and on becoming stand-in-teachers. The second part, taking the longer view, considers the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis in increasing inequality in education; but also the potential positive impact of driving innovations in technology use for educating children. Alongside the many new challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis is a somewhat familiar one: how to translate scientific evidence into public policy. Politicians (in the UK at least) recite the mantra “we are led by the science”, but in reality politicians, not scientists, lead. Science focuses on mechanisms, the how and the why, while politicians have the daunting job of turning that into the “so what do we do?”. On a smaller scale, the science of learning faces the same challenge. How can a scientific understanding of teaching and learning inform the much broader canvas of education policy and educational practices? More specifically, how can the slow, cumulative knowledge built up through research translate to meet classroom teachers’ immediate needs?

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