How Learning Continued during the COVID-19 Pandemic

27. Latvia: Your class

Reyer van der Vlies
OECD

Abstract

Type of intervention: governmental, public-private partnership

Website: https://www.tavaklase.lv

General description

Tava klase provides additional education to students in primary and secondary education by offering educational television (TV) broadcasts, which are also available on line. The project was launched on 6 April 2020, three weeks after schools were closed and the idea was first pitched.

Tava klase used the airtime of two TV channels to broadcast educational video lessons daily between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. until the end of the school year on 29 May 2020. The lessons were recorded in advance with the help of a select group of teachers who shared their lessons in front of the camera, sometimes with a group of children “acting” as students. The broadcasts intended to support teachers by providing educational video lessons in addition to their own teaching. For that reason, the broadcasts are relatively short: each lesson lasts 20 minutes. (Lessons in Latvia normally last 40 minutes.) A broadcast schedule was published in advance and materials were available on line as well so teachers could integrate them into their teaching any way they wished.

The broadcast schedule and focus of the lessons was based on the national curriculum. At the start of the project, the Ministry of Education took into account the different subjects and themes that are part of the curriculum for the period from March until May. The contents were then further developed for broadcasting in co-operation with parental associations and the National Centre for Education. Teachers were recruited and selected on the basis of the subject and grade they normally teach. Even though the project assigns a specific theme to each video lesson, teachers have a great amount of autonomy to share their lesson and use their materials. In general, a video lesson consists of an introduction, a demonstration or lecture, and sometimes homework for the student. It is up to the teacher to fill in the content. The contents include, for example, multi-language subjects, ICT and robotics, animation, media literacy, sport, theatre, dance and singing opportunities. Some of these subjects, like robotics, are normally taught in only a handful of schools. The broadcasts make these subjects available to every child.

The project was initiated and funded by the Ministry of Education, and made possible with the support of two private TV broadcasting companies and a private telecommunications company. Most of the ministry’s subsidy was spent on compensating teachers, who participated in addition to their regular job. A parental association took care of recruiting teachers. Finally, the project also attracted volunteers, who helped with the broadcasts in different ways. A few famous singers appeared in the broadcasts, making the TV channels more popular.

Main problems addressed

The project addressed three problems:

1. not all children have sufficient access to digital devices

2. children in primary education in particular have more difficulties to learn on their own

3. teachers experience more difficulties reaching out to their students on line.

Immediately after lockdown measures were announced, the ministry sent a survey to parents to get an understanding of the availability of digital devices. According to the survey results, about 5 000 children (approximately 3% of the student population) did not have sufficient access to digital devices, either because there were no devices available at all or because devices had to be shared with other family members, like teleworking parents. Despite efforts from the government and private companies to provide as many digital devices to those children as possible, the ministry quickly recognised that these efforts would not be sufficient.

Especially in the case of younger children in primary education (Grades 1-6 in Latvia), the government was worried about the quality of education during the lockdown. Children in this age group are not or less accustomed to learn on their own, and thus need more attention from their teachers and parents.

Finally, teachers often encountered problems with remote learning. In general, online learning makes it more difficult to reach out to students. In particular, it is harder to keep young children focused. In addition, some teachers did not have the right set of digital skills for online learning.

Mobilising and developing resources

To address these problems, the ministry sought a specific solution for primary and secondary school students. The idea for the current project erupted two days after schools were closed. As about 97% of households in Latvia have a TV connection, and often more than one TV, setting up a TV channel for education seemed an appropriate solution to the problems above.

The idea did not come out of the blue. A plan for a similar project for remote rural areas had already been considered, as it is difficult for schools there to find good teachers for certain subjects, for example science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. That plan was never carried out, however. The school closure appeared as the right time to revive this plan. Due to the crisis situation, certain steps in the formal procedures could be skipped. Acting quickly was therefore possible.

Three private companies came to the ministry’s aid. A telecommunications company offered its experience with packaging a TV channel and delivering digital content. Two broadcasting companies offered their slots between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. for free. One of these companies broadcasts a popular sports channel. As sports events got cancelled because of the lockdown, the project could benefit from the availability of this channel. An advantage of the broadcasting companies’ offer was that the ministry did not have to set up a new TV channel. A second advantage was that employees from the broadcasting companies could keep their work. Instead of filming football matches (for example), they switched to filming educational lessons.

A co-operation with popular news sites also made it possible to include the content in other portals. Social media was used for the online promotion of the lessons, although the website remains the place to watch materials on line.

Fostering effective use and learning

The educational broadcasts were offered as a supplement to regular teaching by teachers. The main purpose was knowledge transmission and providing teachers with supplementary materials: if teachers feared that they could not fully reach out to their students on line or wished to get support for some aspects of their teaching, they were free to use – or not to use – the video lessons and to integrate them into their own teaching any way they wished.

Teachers were recruited by a parental association. Only professional teachers could be recruited to ensure the quality of the video lessons. Lessons were also not broadcast live, and a professional crew was used to film the lessons, here again to ensure the quality and use of the final video lessons. This also allowed the occasional problem to be solved with more speed.

Implementation challenges

The main challenge related to the time pressure, which dictated the terms for implementing the project. The project was set up in an “agile” way, as there was no time to think through every detail. Adjustments were made along the way, often based on feedback from users. For example, it is after teachers asked for the possibility to anticipate the broadcasts that a broadcast schedule was published in advance. This gave teachers the opportunity to integrate the broadcasts into their teaching. Another example is the addition of sign language for the deaf and hearing impaired. Even though not many children need sign language, and the method is expensive, the ministry found it important to follow up on this feedback. The website is constantly improved as well. An online archive of video lessons was created; a better search function is under construction.

At the start of the project, a large number of video lessons was filmed in a relatively short period of time. Much depended on the quality of the teaching performance of teachers; some were more successful than others. There was no time to check every video lesson; instead, recruited teachers were checked on their capacity to share their lessons on camera, for example by making a demonstration video. Under normal circumstances, more time would have been spent on the preparation and selection process, and on the filming and broadcasting.

Monitoring success

After the first two weeks, more than 370 000 people had watched the TV channel at least once. (Latvia has a population of almost 2 million people.) At least 400 000 unique watchers were on the TV channel at the end of May 2020.

The website is also visited by Latvians outside of Latvia, who, for example, might wish to keep a bond with Latvia. In this sense, the project promotes the Latvian language abroad, and could thus be used as an inspiration for future projects with regard to language and cultural heritage.

Adaptability to new contexts

The Tava klase project could be adapted to other contexts. Many of the available video lessons are relevant for future use, and will be edited and archived on a digital learning platform. Schools may use these video lessons as additional materials to their own teaching.

The success of the story is, however, partly due to the circumstances of the crisis, which led to an increased amount of volunteers and offers by private companies. For example, broadcasting companies may not have offered to use their airtime outside a crisis situation. For that reason, under normal circumstances, a new TV channel would have to be set up, or the project should focus on online activities only. Outside a crisis situation, it should also be taken into account that setting up a project like Tava klase can be subject to more formal procedures.

Box 27.1. Key points to keep in mind for a successful adaptation

1. Select the group of students for which you want to create educational materials and decide whether those materials should be broadcast on TV and/or could be made available on line. For children in primary education, TV broadcasts may be an efficient way to deliver education.

2. Work closely with telecommunications and broadcasting companies to set up and organise the broadcasts.

3. Gather a network of organisations and volunteers to help with the broadcasts, from the recruitment of teachers to the promotion of the project on other news portals and social media.

4. Guarantee the quality of education by using professionals to create the materials.

5. Stay open to feedback, and try to adjust as much as possible based on the feedback.

Acknowledgement

Thank you to the Ministry of Education and Science, and in particular to Mārcis Krastiņš (Tava klase), as well as the National Centre for Education of the Republic of Latvia and its former Director, Guntars Catlaks.