With 99 per cent of his students achieving distinctions in the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and CAPE, Maths Master Dr Fayad Ali is recommending peer tutoring as one of the strategies for overcoming learning challenges at the secondary level.
In an exclusive interview with Guardian Media on Monday, Dr Ali said it was evident that the pandemic had upset the proper execution of the syllabus for many students.
"We are now in the second week of school and teachers would likely be challenged with the fact that online learning was not as effective with regard to syllabus coverage, as face-to-face would have been," he said.
"Many topics would likely have to be reviewed or redone, which can be time-consuming and even frustrating," he added.
With the fallout of the pandemic, Dr Ali said many students were still struggling, frustrated and worried.
"Sadly, the time factor for syllabus coverage remains unaltered and this will pose even more challenges," he noted.
Explaining why some students have been struggling, Dr Ali said with online tutoring and learning, there has been less effective monitoring of students’ performances.
"Homework, revision, effective examining, peer-tutoring, classroom discussion, socio-cognitive learning, and so much more were severely reduced. When teaching is less effective, learning is less effective," he pointed out.
Having produced innovative teaching/learning software in CXC-level math since 2014, Dr Ali said a collaborative approach was now needed to help struggling students get back on track.
He said the technology was available to assist students at all levels. However, he said success will come only if there was a collaboration among parents, guardians, teachers and peers.
With 800 students under his tutelage, Dr Ali told Guardian Media that urgent steps should be taken to encourage greater parental support in the nation's schools.
"At the primary level, teachers need to initiate more parental intervention. At this level, it is critical that parents become more involved. They need to sit and work along, encourage and become engaged in their child’s work. Sadly, not all have the time or capacity or are equipped to do so," he lamented.
He added: "The child’s success is not only dependent on Sir and Miss. Parents or guardians need to realise this."
Dr Ali who has pioneered early Maths literacy in schools in various countries, also said parents must teach their children to accept responsibility.
"Let them learn sympathy, empathy, manners, respect, and to accept their responsibility. Parents need to support the teacher and the school by closely monitoring homework," he explained.
Dr Ali also said it was important for students to be self-motivated.
"Self-motivated students used whatever tools, innovative or standard, that are available to them," he added.
Admitting that school dropouts would have increased during the pandemic, Dr Ali said some children have left school to work and contribute to the family's household income.
However, he said despite poverty, T&T's education system has not denied a poorer student any opportunities to climb the rungs of success.
"Poorer students who are performers usually have their own motivation and overcome their handicaps in many admirable and innovative ways. They persevere to devise methods to rise to even greater heights and carve great opportunities for themselves," Dr Ali said.
He recommended that such underprivileged students could benefit from bursaries, academic scholarships, student loans at low-interest rates and deferred payments.
"Social workers can investigate the status of the family and whether it be monetary or otherwise, make suggestions for assistance to the relevant authorities," he recommended.
Dr Ali and his authoring partner Dr Shereen Khan have produced a range of teaching, reviewing and testing textbooks for secondary students. These teaching tools have been used in other Caribbean countries.
