Supporting the transition to online learning during times of crisis in Lebanon and Tunisia

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic has forced the wholesale shuttering of face-to-face education facilities and nearly all education-related services. Unsurprisingly, most education systems are not ready for this sudden and traumatic shift. There is an urgent need to strengthen skills and technology to create resilient learning systems. Educators who are better prepared to face this new reality will provide higher quality learning environments for their students, regardless of the place and platform through which schooling takes place. To address this challenge, this project will implement an online course in learning and assessment pedagogies to provide rapid distance learning to strengthen skills for educators. The course is a design-based learning program for school educators, curriculum specialists, and teacher coaches with little or no prior experience in online course delivery. The research outcomes will help ministries of education identify strengths and weaknesses as they build the capacity needed to support educators who have transitioned to online and distance learning models. The project will also facilitate a learning exchange by creating a network of researchers and practitioners engaged in COVID-19 education responses to gather, share, and publish emerging research methodologies, good practice, and emerging case studies.