Whether our students are children or adults they don't want to be taught at or spoken at. They want to be part of the learning process. This is even more so in the online classroom.
Education is not fast food
But how can we personalize a class that is wrapped up like a hamburger on an assembly line? Part of our online instruction is face to face with zoom or google meets. Another part is personal phone calls and communication through the schools mail box system. And another part is direct instruction and practice.
The world is personalized
When it comes to direct instruction there is a temptation for teachers to depend on the textbook presentation from a big broadcasting corporation. They seem to be professional and impressive, but what do students do when they get these videos at home? They yawn and then they leave the room. I know because I see it in my own kids. They start the video and the second they see it is not about them then they go to their Lego set or play with cars.
Students don't understand why they are being taught at and they feel like they are not a part of the class so they go on to do what they like to do. I don't want to criticize any teacher because the task of personalizing a lesson for students can seem like a great task, but there are just a couple things to remember
1. Communication is two ways
The first task is to realize the object of the video. We are given the task to communicate with students and give them basic information so they can use it.
2. Students need something to do
The second task is to put that into practice. Even more so in a video students need to put what the information into practice even if it is a little bit. The more information that is piled on them the more they feel distance from the teacher.
Reduce lecturing time
Instead of piling more and more on kid's brains through their ears a teacher needs to take a break and be quiet. A teacher needs to ask questions and then wait for an answer. Students need time to think and answer.
Online Worksheets
Whether students are university level or elementary they need to be part of the learning process. Online worksheets are a good way to make sure that students are participating. Some simple tasks can make them feel like they are part of the learning process.
My favorite is to give them something that is unexpected. Instead of the textbook examples of Amy and Jinho I will try to use characters the students are familiar with.
In this sixth grade lesson the students were given a story about animals in the park. They had to read statements about the animals and choose according to the picture if that statement was right or wrong.
https://www.liveworksheets.com/c?a=c&m=n&l=co&i=udzxcff&r=yr&db=0
I added two more examples that I thought would be more natural for students to think about. The first example was Sonic and The Flash. The second example was comparing Baby Groot and Baby Yoda. The worksheet allows me to embed Youtube videos and mp3 files to make the worksheet interactive.
When it comes to direct teaching I prefer using colorful visuals and a situation to teach the target. I don't have a lot of technology like the broadcasting company and I don't have much time, but I have a cell phone and a color printer and a puppet. That's enough to work with to make a class interactive.
Baby Yoda is irresistibly cute to kids and to me. Even my middle school boy loves to play with toys. When I talk to kids at school they don't tell me about lesson nine. They tell me, I saw the Mandalorian yesterday and I'm going to catch up on the other episodes. Am I distracting them from their studies? I don't think so. I'm just making their studies part of their life.
I love the emotional social aspect of teaching, like asking them who is faster: Sonic or Flash? Good way to connect a bit instead of cramming as much information as possible
Thank you friend. Actually I counted my steps while teaching with actifit and in classroom teaching is 5,000 more steps. So no matter what personalized tasks I can give them online it's not the same as breathing the same air in the classroom. These kids are sponges and can get all the information the want but if they don't want it then it is useless to cram it. It just makes me cringe at the injustice. Now matters just got worse and they are blaming teachers of not doing anything during pandemic and some want us to receive no salary. Dude, the world is getting angry.
So posh