THE HYBRID LEARNING LOW-DOWN

It’s the beginning of the week, Queens!!! We all know what that means… BLOG TIME! Today, we’re here to talk about LEARNING. Yas. Learning is pretty much the coolest thing ever; it makes you a powerful, well-rounded human being– it also gives you freedom to explore different levels of thinking, and even different ways of living! Learning can change your whole life. And a lot of folks will equate “learning” to being in a classroom setting, teacher at the front, powerpoint on the screen, lecture-style. There are millions of ways to learn tho… like reading a weekly blog post on a very informative website called queenbeautyinstitute.com… or, you know, other ways hehe:) BUT! What do you do when your entire schooling process is flipped upside down and turned around and kinda murdered by a global pandemic for a year? Lol. It seems our entire nation has had a hard time with that one.

Since March of 2020 in Philadelphia alone, students’ testing performance is down 15%; failing grades are doubling and tripling across the board, and attendance and participation rates are down. It’s not surprising; schools were left scrambling figure out what they could possibly do to keep their year moving. Students were given little to no information regarding the return of their learning routine. Aaaannnndd cue Zoom, stage right! Zoom meetings, Zoom classes, Zoom lectures, Zoom recitals, Zoom projects, zoom zoomzoomzoomzzzzzz…zzzzzzzz…zzzz…zzzzzzz… annnnd, oh dear. It looks like the students were Zooming from bed and uhh fell asleep?

So yeah. COVID-19 messed up learning for A LOT of students and messed up teaching for A LOT of schools. But, after about a year of using hybrid-learning at Queen Beauty Institute, we’ve survived to tell y’all it’s actually not that bad!!!! I suppose when you have instructors as lovely as QBI’s, these things come naturally 😉

…Just kidding! Teaching and learning in a pandemic do not come naturally, no matter how amazing you are! It takes tons of practice, creativity, and ENERGY to compose distance-learning lessons that engage students and keep them motivated. Navigating education throughout a pandemic is difficult for everyone involved, but Queen Beauty Institute, like any other school, had to devise a plan to utilize distance learning in a way that sustains a high level of learning. The PA State Board was slow to create distance-learning regulations, but they eventually granted each licensing program a certain number of hours that students could complete through distance-learning. If you’re curious, that list can be found here.

By allowing students to complete not only theory but practical hours at home, Queen Beauty Institute found that as long as they had the materials, students were willing to put in hours from home. Not only were they willing, but some students preferred it. Students taking care of families, raising children, working from home, etc., could complete their hours on their own time. They not only consistently showed up for themselves, but they worked hard to get others to show up for them as well. Especially in the first re-opening phases, students had to find models to practice on– people in their “Covid Bubble” that would readily spend some time as paying clients at school. COVID-19 brought many learning challenges, but the students continued to give it their all– virtually AND in person (once it was allowed, duh). Since the beginning of the end– March of 2020– learning has looked kind of like putting your zoom class on mute while you play video games and eat hot Cheetos. But, QBI’s students have proven that distance learning CAN WIN!

Queen Beauty Institute continues to utilize distance learning in the Esthetics and Nail Technology programs. Each program starts with a few weeks of online theory learning, and QBI utilizes a distance-learning software that coincides directly with their textbook. This program, accompanied by tons of instructional videos on Queen Beauty Institute’s YouTube page, set students up for distance learning success! Yes!!!

A lot of the time, students get very anxious at the idea of hybrid learning or schooling from home for ANY amount of time. It’s understandable– It’s been kind of a rough year for education!! But there’s only one thing to remember: there is nothing you can’t face. And, promise, hybrid learning is pretty cool too.

Toodles, queens <3 Find some joy today!