For a little over two months now, educators have been charged with the task of taking courses from a physical classroom to a virtual classroom. This transition was not difficult, just different. Students who are not active participants in learning in the physical classroom have become shining stars in the virtual classroom; this is their niche, and then with other students they have remained less engaged. In some areas of the country, the education system is behind the teaching and learning curve when it comes to preparing 21st Century learners; not actively and consistently utilizing technology throughout every school. This has been the case in most Urban area school districts where equal access to digital resources is scarce. Technology should be integrated into every course offered in schools, including Physical Education, no matter where the school is located. Schools that serve disenfranchised student populations are usually not equipped with a sufficient amount of digital devices. Virtual teaching requires a different mindset and teachers have to learn different ways to engage their students, since they are no longer standing near them, physically. Teachers should continue learning by seeking to master the various learning manage systems and learning platforms to engage their scholars. Maintaining students’ interests requires participation, visual aids, and sense of belonging (building relationships).
Participation
Participation in the classroom is more than showing up to class on a daily basis, but also speaking up; students’ voices should be heard. So often, do teachers overlook the quiet students during class instruction. Many times, teachers overlook the quiet ones because the loud, rambunctious students are concentrating all the attention on their negative or loud behaviors. In my classroom I make a conscious effort to recognize my quiet students; to hear their voice and their thoughts. I like using equity sticks in the physical classroom, which are craft sticks with all of my students names on them. I go through my sticks of names and as I select different students, I move those sticks to another cup, or my left or right pocket; the goal is to give everyone an equal voice in class. My students soon adapt to the equity sticks and they remind each other by saying, “don’t raise your hand, she is using the sticks.” However, in the virtual classroom, it is a little different, because all of my students report to one class, so on a given day I have over 50 participants. So how do I reach all of my scholars during a 50 minute session? I don’t. But I do my best to reach at least 60% of them. I use the participant list that is visible during live instruction, and call on scholars randomly, I then write down the names of students’ on whom I have called on a note pad I keep handy while facilitating instruction. I also sometimes let students call on each other while keeping a list of students who have had a turn to speak; I have found scholars are more eager to participate when called on by a peer. Speaking is a critical part to teaching and learning. Teachers need to hear their scholars voices to determine if they understand a concept; when students speak about content, then they begin to think about the content, which further leads to comprehension. So for those quiet students I do not hear in the virtual classroom sessions, I have office hours and tutoring, outside of class time which provides additional opportunities to discuss the content being studied in class. Several of my quiet learners like the one-on-one format better. Participation is key to learning.
Visual Aids
Most people like pictures, movies, or short video clips because you see things of interest; you gain a deeper understanding, in some instances. In the classroom, visual aids should be used to help students master concepts or understand certain processes, such as the water cycle or genetic traits using a Punnet Square (As seen above). There is an opportunity to use visual aids in ever subject area, even math. For example, when I taught math and had to teach the concept of fractions (part/whole), my students just could not comprehend the idea of “part over whole.” Until one day, I ordered pizzas to assist with the lesson, and amazingly everyone understood fractions. The pizzas were considered manipulatives, which are also forms of visual aids. In virtual classrooms, visual aids enhance learning, as well, and creates a sense of curiosity in scholars. I like using short videos to introduce concepts or dig deeper into scientific processes. Brain Pop and the Magic School Bus videos are my definite go-to videos when introducing topics; yes even in middle school students still jump for the chance to watch these videos. I also like streaming videos from Discovery Education and You Tube; when used for education purposes You Tube should be added to every teachers pedagogical tool kit. Many of our scholars have to be taught how to use digital platforms appropriately; the internet is an educational tool and scholars, as well as, educators should learn how to use it appropriately. Visual aids help keep scholars engaged and increase comprehension, so that scholars are able to synthesize newly learned information. A new digital platform that I have become extremely fond of is “Explain Everything,” which is a digital whiteboard. I have used “Explain Everything” to display a molecule of DNA and solve a Punnet Square. “Explain Everything” also allows teachers to record live lessons that can be played later by scholars to review. Check it out!
A Sense of Belonging
Helping students feel included is primarily the responsibility of the educator, and now more than ever, teachers must ensure that scholars feel included in the virtual learning environment. The education arena is consistently communicating how the social and emotional welfare of students and teachers should be considered moving forward in the planning for the upcoming school year.
Before beginning instruction, I ask scholars to give me a temperature check; I also do this in the physical classroom. Students select an emoji that describe how they are feeling and put it in the chat. In the classroom, students place a check under the emoji faces that describe how they are feeling when entering the classroom. This allows me an opportunity to assess the social and emotional state of my class one student at a time. In the physical classroom, if I saw several check marks under the angry emoji face I would take about 3-5 minutes to check in with the class. Usually, the quick check-in session works; students are able to vent and get whatever is bothering them out in the open; now we can move on to learning. Temperature checks are extremely important at the beginning of instruction time because it allows the teacher to gauge how scholars are doing emotionally, and it also helps teachers make valuable in-the-moment decisions about how to move forward with instruction. Students also get a sense of belonging because they now know the teacher cares about how they are feeling. When students know their teachers care about them, they will put forth the effort needed to be successful in class.
In conclusion, educators should continue to research resources and strategies that will help enhance and foster learning in the physical and virtual classrooms. Engagement is the one way teachers can assess student learning and modify instruction based on data collected from student engagement. Engage, engage, engage!