Making The Best Of Virtual Learning: Some Advice From The Founder Of Khan Academy

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For schools starting the fall with online-only instruction, Khan Academy Founder and CEO Sal Khan says, «Everything should be about pulling kids out of the screen.»

Rachel Murray/Getty Images for The LA Promise

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Rachel Murray/Getty Images for The LA Promise

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Some teachers have opted to record YouTube-style tutorials to share with their students. Khan wants educators to steer away from these rigid lesson plan formats.

A teacher leading a class of 30 students «isn’t the most engaging way to run a physical classroom,» he says. That can ring especially true in a virtual environment.

Instead of leading dozens of students for an hour, for example, he suggests teaching three groups of 10 students for 20 minutes each. «It’s that more human, more intimate interaction that’s going to make all the difference this coming year,» says Khan.

The idea is one that Khan has tried to integrate into his own platform.

«Over the last decade or so, most of our resources have actually been around practice and feedback and tools for teachers and ways for kids to progress at their own time and pace and get as much as they need,» Khan says.

One of the best things a teacher can do, he says, is to make themselves available to students. That might look like smaller, more informal sessions through Google Meet or Zoom.

In a moment full of imperfect conditions, Khan warns teachers against striving toward perfection.

«There’s plenty of opportunities to try new things, and if you fail, fail forward,» he says. «Learn from it, tell your friends what worked and what didn’t work, and then try a new iteration.»

NPR’s Hiba Ahmad and Martha Ann Overland produced and edited this interview for broadcast.