Mississippi Will Attempt Another Version Of Distance Learning – Forbes

Report on Distance Learning and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Introduction

This report analyzes the application of distance learning technologies as a solution to educational challenges, particularly teacher shortages. It examines the historical context of remote education and evaluates its modern implementation through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a primary focus on SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). The Mississippi Virtual Synchronous Learning Initiative (REACH MS) serves as a contemporary case study for this analysis.

2.0 Historical Context of Remote Education

The concept of delivering instruction remotely is not a modern innovation. The model has evolved over centuries through various technological mediums. A review of its history indicates persistent attempts to mechanize and scale the delivery of education, often with limited success in achieving widespread adoption or pedagogical efficacy.

• 18th Century: The earliest documented instance dates to 1728, when Caleb Phillips advertised correspondence-based shorthand lessons in the Boston Gazette.
• 19th Century: In 1873, the Society to Encourage Studies at Home was established, utilizing 200 correspondence teachers to educate over 7,000 female students over 24 years.
• 20th Century: The early 1900s saw the rise of commercial correspondence schools. Later in the century, experiments with closed-circuit television and telephone lines were largely unsuccessful due to technical limitations and an inability to replicate classroom interaction.
• 21st Century: The COVID-19 pandemic initiated a global-scale implementation of virtual learning. Subsequent research has indicated that this modality had adverse effects on students’ cognitive, social, and emotional development, failing to gain favor among students, educators, or families for permanent integration.

3.0 Analysis in the Context of SDG 4: Quality Education

Distance learning initiatives are frequently positioned as a mechanism to advance SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. However, its application presents both opportunities and significant challenges to meeting this goal.

3.1 Opportunities for Advancing SDG 4

1. Addressing Teacher Shortages (Target 4.c): The primary driver for programs like REACH MS is to address critical teacher shortages. By digitally connecting certified teachers with students in underserved areas, these initiatives directly attempt to fulfill SDG Target 4.c, which calls for a substantial increase in the supply of qualified teachers.
2. Expanding Access to Curriculum: Remote learning can provide students in rural or under-resourced districts with access to core courses, such as mathematics and sciences, that might otherwise be unavailable due to a lack of local, specialized educators.

3.2 Challenges to Ensuring Quality

• Pedagogical Limitations: Learning, particularly for younger students, is a social activity dependent on direct human interaction. The historical and recent failure of remote models to be widely accepted suggests they cannot fully replicate the engaging, high-quality instruction necessary for holistic development.
• Scalability vs. Quality: Proposals to use technology for one educator to teach thousands of students simultaneously risk prioritizing efficiency over effectiveness. Such a model compromises the personalized feedback and small-group interaction that are hallmarks of a quality education.
• Program Viability: The REACH MS program is explicitly described by its operators not as a permanent replacement for in-person teachers but as a temporary solution. This acknowledges the inherent limitations of the model in providing a long-term, high-quality educational experience.

4.0 Implications for SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 9 (Infrastructure)

While intended to reduce educational disparities, distance learning’s reliance on technology and infrastructure can inadvertently exacerbate existing inequalities, highlighting the interconnectedness of SDG 10 and SDG 9.

4.1 Potential for Reducing Inequality

• By providing access to certified teachers, remote programs can help level the educational playing field between well-funded urban districts and under-resourced rural ones.

4.2 Risk of Creating a Digital Divide

• Infrastructure Dependency (SDG 9): The success of any virtual learning program is contingent upon robust and reliable digital infrastructure, including high-speed internet. Students in households or regions lacking this infrastructure are immediately placed at a disadvantage, widening the digital divide and reinforcing socio-economic inequalities.
• Resource Burden on Schools: The REACH MS model requires participating districts to provide on-site facilitators, manage clerical duties, and ensure the technological infrastructure is sound. This places an additional operational and financial burden on schools that are often already facing resource shortages.

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

The historical record and recent experiences demonstrate that while technology offers a tool to address acute educational crises like teacher shortages, it is not a panacea for achieving SDG 4. Learning remains a fundamentally social and interactive process that is difficult to replicate remotely. For distance learning to serve as an effective and equitable tool, a strategic approach is required.

1. Utilize as a Targeted Intervention: Distance learning should be deployed as a temporary and supplementary measure to fill specific gaps, not as a permanent replacement for qualified, in-person educators.
2. Invest in Equitable Infrastructure: To avoid exacerbating inequalities (SDG 10), governments and organizations must prioritize investment in universal access to reliable digital infrastructure (SDG 9) before scaling virtual education programs.
3. Maintain Focus on Teacher Recruitment: The fundamental solution to teacher shortages is a sustained commitment to the recruitment, training, and retention of high-quality educators, directly addressing the core objective of SDG Target 4.c.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 4: Quality Education: The entire article revolves around methods of delivering education, the challenges of teacher shortages, and the goal of providing instruction in core subjects.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: The article discusses the use of technology and the internet as a means for distance learning, highlighting the necessity of reliable infrastructure for these programs to succeed.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The implementation of distance learning in Mississippi is a direct response to a teacher shortage, a problem that often disproportionately affects rural and underserved areas, thereby creating educational inequalities. The program aims to bridge this gap.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  • Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. The article mentions the Mississippi REACH MS program is aimed at core courses like English, math, biology, and physical science, which are fundamental to completing a quality secondary education.
  • Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers. The article’s central theme is the use of distance learning to “alleviate its teacher shortage” in Mississippi. The program is explicitly described as a response to the lack of certified teachers, not a replacement for them, directly addressing the supply issue.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all. The article explicitly states that for the REACH MS program to work, it is the “receiving district’s job to provide reliable internet and infrastructure,” linking educational delivery directly to the quality of local infrastructure.
  • Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet. The use of programs like Zoom and the entire concept of the “Mississippi Virtual Synchronous Learning Initiative” depend on access to information and communications technology for both the broadcasting and receiving schools.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all… The distance learning initiative in Mississippi aims to provide students in districts with teacher shortages the same access to certified teachers in core subjects as students in better-staffed districts, thus reducing educational inequality based on geographic location.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For SDG 4 Targets:

  • Indicator for Target 4.1: The article implies progress can be measured by the number of students being served by the program in core courses. It states the program serves “up to 450 students per teacher,” which is a quantifiable measure of reach.
  • Indicator for Target 4.c: The primary indicator is the “teacher shortage” itself. Progress could be measured by the reduction in the number of classrooms without a certified teacher, which this program is designed to address as a “momentary patch.”

• For SDG 9 Targets:

  • Indicator for Target 9.1/9.c: An implied indicator is the proportion of schools or classrooms equipped with “reliable internet and infrastructure.” The success of the program is contingent on this, making its availability a key metric.

• For SDG 10 Target:

  • Indicator for Target 10.2: The number of students in underserved districts gaining access to live classes with certified teachers through the REACH MS initiative serves as a direct indicator of reducing educational inequality.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: forbes.com