The Snowball Effects of Learning Loss

“Learning loss describes the loss of knowledge and skill that students experience when they’re not in school,” Grabill said. “It’s kind of the idea that learning decays over time if students don’t engage with it or use it regularly.”

The pandemic forced educators to change the way they teach, as students shifted to an online learning model for most of the year. This caused students to lose out on some aspects of the educational experience, as they had also to juggle life during a pandemic.

On this episode of CommunicatED, Host Courtney Echerd talked with Luke Grabill, Regional Manager at FrontRow. They talked about the snowballing effects of learning loss on the classroom and today’s education system as they look to combat the holes in students’ education.

“Learning loss describes the loss of knowledge and skill that students experience when they’re not in school,” Grabill said. “It’s kind of the idea that learning decays over time if students don’t engage with it or use it regularly.”

But, schools are working on combating learning loss. Educators are doing this by adding math and language arts programs and adding a new curriculum. They are also adding new technology and assessments. The goal is to build a more resilient and centered approach to learning.

“Where they are really starting to push for that is the ESSER funds, which is the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Funds,” Grabill said. “So, that’s basically to help them implement a longer-term solution, so they can recover and accelerate quicker past the curve of the learning loss.”