The Unfinished Implications of the Pandemic Generation

While some practitioners may feel that the impacts of Covid-19 have diminished and have returned to pre-pandemic teaching practices and mindsets, this shift merits careful consideration. Although familiar practices can feel reassuring, returning to pre-pandemic approaches warrants careful consideration as it may not adequately reflect the realities of the contemporary student. Keeping professional dialogue focused on practice and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on our students should remain at the forefront for educators. Our students, often described as the pandemic generation, are still navigating long-lasting consequences. For educators and educational leaders, acknowledging and intentionally responding to the ongoing and evolving needs of this generation of learners is essential. Even as the pandemic generation grows older, their educational and developmental needs persist.

Beyond the well documented impacts on learning, student engagement and social and emotional wellbeing, educators must also consider the implications of the sustained dependence many students have with technology. The pandemic generation’s amplified dependence on technology is a byproduct of the necessary shift students and educators had to make. Yet years after the pandemic, for a large proportion of students, the pandemic adaptations have continued to evolve into significant influences on their daily routines, behaviors and social relationships. The heightened reliance on digital platforms for both educational and personal use, has noticeably shaped student’s cognitive, social and developmental landscapes. Digital platforms can be highly addictive for young children and adolescents, and as such students need guidance in developing healthy boundaries and balanced usage that aligns with real-world contexts.

As students spend increasing time engaged with social media and digital platforms, educators have an important role in intentionally building skills and capacities impacted during the students’ formative years of the pandemic. Students thrive when meaningful human connections are nurtured. Educators must intentionally cultivate and prioritize face to face connections and strengthen social and collaborative competencies. To be effective, educators must shift away from traditional teaching approaches such as whole class “sit and get” instruction and teaching to the middle but hoping for the best. Both approaches are ineffective and in truth, they were never effective even before COVID. Now more than ever, educators need to respond to the learners in front of them and prioritize developing strong relationships with them.

It is unproductive for educators to dwell on what they think students “should know” based on pre-COVID cohorts. Teachers who do this tend to demonstrate higher levels of frustration, decreased professional satisfaction and overall ineffectiveness. Educators are encouraged to place greater emphasis on supporting students’ growth within the present context, rather than focusing solely on what students are traditionally expected to know. Supporting learners in responsive and intentional ways is an essential aspect of effective teaching and as such, responding to learners requires a minimized approach to whole-class teaching, excessive teacher dominated talking, and stopping unnecessary use of technology. While technology does have its place in the curriculum, mitigating its over-reliance is necessary and educators should purposefully leverage opportunities for human connection whenever possible.

This, in itself, is an element that distinguishes post-pandemic practice. Prior to the pandemic, schools were increasingly integrating technology across all areas of the curriculum. A lack of extensive technology integration led to the perceptions that some schools were “behind the times”. Consider the example of one-to-one iPad initiatives. Schools who had adopted one-to-one iPad initiatives, even within Early Childhood contexts, were widely adopted and promoted as a hallmark of innovative educational practice. While this approach was once widely celebrated and sought after, current insights into post-pandemic student needs make it clear that this educational practice needs updating.

Responding to learners have never been more critical and both curriculum and pedagogy require deliberate and purposeful design. Curricula for the pandemic generation should be thoughtfully designed to offer enhanced opportunities for active learning, collaborative engagement, and co-constructed learning experiences, all guided by the principles of Universal Design for Learning and purposeful differentiation. Furthermore, it is essential for learners to receive enhanced, systematic development of social and emotional skills, collaborative and cooperative abilities, and the capacity to navigate conflict in constructive and healthy ways. While the pandemic generation encounters heightened demands, supporting and nurturing these competencies in authentic contexts is essential for student's overall academic success and wellbeing.

Learners in the post-pandemic era have encountered a range of challenges. They deserve to be recognized beyond what their achievement and behaviour data indicates. Normalizing temporary dips and fluctuations in student data should be recognized as part of the pandemic generation’s educational journey.  Educators should continue to approach the pandemic generation with empathy and grace, and celebrate the achievements students have made in the face of extraordinary challenges.

As the pandemic generation grows older, the effects of the pandemic remain influential. Adapting teaching practices to respond to the specific needs of the pandemic generation should continue to be a pivotal consideration for educators.

Take care,

Sarah Trevaskis is dedicated to teaching and learning, having served in dynamic school communities in Vietnam, India, Mongolia, Malaysia, China, and Australia. As an international leader in education, she brings a depth of experience from leading student support teams to shaping curriculum design and instructional practices that drive meaningful outcomes. This was originally published January 9, 2026 and is reposted here with permission. You can learn more about Sarah here.

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