Simple things seem to take much longer in the online classroom and even beyond! Planning for online lessons, for example, can take up to three times longer for online lessons. No surprise that we all feel the emotional toll that the sudden shift to home teaching is taking on us, not to mention the physical toll from sitting still in front of a computer hours on end! Remote teaching is a massive change for us practitioners but one of the main challenges is that it is much harder to pick up on how our learners are doing from only seeing them on the screen, not only academically, but also mentally.
Even though we are busy as practitioners, it is important we don’t forget to put ourselves in our learners’ shoes. Seeing the world through their eyes can make us more aware of what they are experiencing in these challenging times. Taking a minute to look at the current circumstances from your learner’s point of view can helps to develop empathy, a key ingredient for creating a learning community.
1- Think about what your learners might feel. When working with young learners think about their normal school day; there are lots of other children around, plenty of kinaesthetic activities and set routines. How could you provide for this in your online teaching? Creating photo-stories and collecting them on Padlet or Seasaw would be great if parents are able to support the learning. Taking activities of the screen; getting them to colour bingo cards on paper for the next lesson. And suggest a daily schedule this will help to maintain some structure and predictability. With international students, be aware that they might not have had the chance yet to build up a local support network or learning community. Think about what their fears might be in this context, and how you could support them. Setting up a get-together at a set time provides some predictability in these unpredictable times. For example, create a weekly online coffee club so they can connect with you and fellow learners on a more social level.
2- Think about what your learners might believe about learning online. Maybe they think it is not okay to show their emotions, to express their concerns and to email you after class about a set assignment they do not understand! Finding out what they believe will enable you to be proactive; to show you allow flexibility if needed which can help to reduce their stress levels and anxiety. Be pro-active, have clear communication channels in place that create opportunities for learners to contact you, ask questions and share their concerns. With young learners, don’t just disappear and email worksheets! They will believe you don’t care about them anymore! Connect regularly, send a short recorded message saying hi or have circle time online. Just show your face once a week so they know that you still care about them and have not abandoned them!
3- Think about what your learners care about: many might care more about the well-being of their family and friends back home than their own well-being! They might be overly focused on their academic performance as it distracts them from the daily grind and grimness of the situation we are in. If you were an online student what would you care about in these unprecedented times? Our young learners might worry about when they are going to see their friends again or the pet rabbit in Room 2. Allow learners to feel what they feel… to just be; we all have good or productive days and lesser days, allowing our learners to accept this can make the current situation mentally and emotionally more manageable. Just think about all those people in your community around you who make you feel safe; be like them, be kind and be human because we are all in this together.