Jul 30

Jul 30 How Do We Create a Community of Learners in a Virtual or Hybrid Model? #BetterTogether

I wrote in a journal every day between March 13, the day the whirlwind began, and June 19. I wrote what I was observing in virtual classrooms. I recorded what teachers and students shared with me. I took notes on what I tried, what worked, and what completely failed. I jotted, I reflected, I looked for patterns and I tried to make connections to what I believe to be true in elementary learning communities.

Part of me hoped I would never need this journal again. It would simply remain on my bookshelf, a documentation of some strange time. It has not, however, gathered any dust since June 19. I have been reading, rereading, collaborating with teachers, and trying out new ideas with students based on my notes. I decided to consolidate this learning in light of an impending new year that will be unlike any other start of the year we have known.

As I reread my notes, I notice how often teachers and students mention missing their space – the physical space in which they connect with one another and we connect with them. They missed some of the furniture and tools as well – the teacher’s chair, the class puppets, the classroom library, reading bins, math manipulatives, Legos, the job chart, and the meeting area to name a few. They also missed the rituals, systems, and structures of their classroom – morning and end of day routines; question of the day; attendance, class jobs, choosing books, and show and tell are some examples. They also missed each other. Students wanted to see their teacher and their classmates synchronously. They missed learning together as well as recess, lunch, centers, and genius hour.

It is clear to me that students and teachers missed their community because they had a community to miss. This got me thinking about the beginning of the year. How can we virtually create a space for our students that is predictable and familiar? What systems and structures can we recreate virtually for students? How can we empower students and give them agency in their learning community? What can we do virtually to help them connect and develop into a learning community that is compassionate and engaging?

I collected and organized some of the ideas I tried in collaboration with teachers last spring and with students this summer. Here are some I think worked well with elementary students - thank you to all the teachers who shared and continue to share so generously. I truly believe we were and are #bettertogether -- we need to continue to support one another in the months ahead.

Creating a Virtual Space That is Predictable and Familiar

- Use your teacher chair, puppets, pointers, calendar etc. during online sessions

- Create a Bitmoji Classroom: Learn how to create a Bitmoji Classroom here.

- Use a picture of your classroom as your virtual background in Zoom or slide background in Google Classroom - you can even change it to reflect areas for your classroom depending on what you are teaching.

-Create a Virtual Classroom Library

- Send you students on a Virtual Classroom Library Scavenger Hunt

Creating Virtual Predictable and Familiar Systems and Structures that Empower Students

- Continue with morning/end of the day routines (how to they get ready virtually/how do the end the day)

- Use Google Forms for attendance (student calls out names while teacher shares screen and checks off in the beginning. Later, students can fill out the Google Form as “morning work.”

- Create virtual classroom jobs

- Teacher of the day (or other things like that you typically do)

- Show and Tell (or Show and Teach or …)

- Question of the day