Switching to remote or hybrid learning is tough for both educators and students.
One of my biggest goals with remote learning is to keep a sense of community and connection. There are a few things that I find help our classroom community:
I start class with a check in, usually a mood meter, to see how students are doing and then ask them to popcorn to another student. Students can pass if they aren’t comfortable sharing or type in the chat if they aren’t able to or don’t want to talk over zoom or google meet. If students seem reluctant to share how they are doing, sometimes I ask a question like ‘what is your favorite summer meal?’ Sometimes it’s easier for students to share when it’s less personal.
I like to end the week with asking students to share a high and low of the week. Like the check in, students can pass or use the chat to respond. Students are also welcome to share a high or a low and not both if they prefer. Students can elaborate if they wish to, sometimes being at home means they don’t get to talk to friends much and this can be a fun way to connect with their friends in class!
I use breakout rooms to put students in groups in google meet or zoom. If the class is hybrid, I ask all in person students to log in with their devices and create groups of in person and remote people. I create a google slide show that each student can edit and I assign a slide with a unique prompt or question to each group. The groups get a set amount of time to work before we review every slide together as a class. I join the different break out rooms to check in plus view a grid of all the slides to keep an eye on everyone.
I also like to set up a google form as either a bell ringer or exit slip with check in questions about how students are feeling about the material of the day, what questions they have, or if there is anything they want me to know. It can be a little repetitive but I find students tend to open up more when I ask how they are doing regularly. This encourages meta cognition by asking students to evaluate what they learned that day and is a tool to help me plan re teaching and review for the next class.
I find that focusing on relationships first and then content works best for my class. We are able to accomplish so much more once we feel calmer and safe in our virtual space!
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