Great teachers know how to set a tone and mood for their classroom. They do this a bunch of different ways – organizing and decorating their classroom, setting up student desks in particular configurations, greeting the students at the door, class routines, letting students see how excited they are to work with them.
In remote learning, many of the ways teachers set the tone are unavailable. So I wanted to share some thoughts on how teachers can set the tone and mood for their class.
Use your camera!
If you are the type of teacher that loved having agendas on the board or changing the physical mood of your classroom – use your physical background! Hang your posters, get a whiteboard, change it to fit the mood of each class. This will give students things to look at while you teach, something fun to look forward to, and also act as physical resources you can use during each session. It’s OK to get out of your chair, move around, and use your physical space to teach remotely.
Use some icebreakers!
Remote sessions can feel distant and cold – as if everyone on the call is meeting for the first time and just learning what their role and place is socially. Students may not know what’s expected of them and may feel self-conscious and unwilling to join in. Icebreakers may help in getting students to buy-in to the learning and be more productive. Ask students to say their name and answer a quick and fun question or reveal a little known fact about themselves.
Set up your digital learning space
Organize your digital learning space like it is your classroom. Take the time to be thoughtful of how students will navigate resources and transition activities. If you are doing group work, create dedicated group space for students to work in such as private channels in Microsoft Teams. Learn the nuances of the digital space and take time to prepare it for the learning task at hand. Just as students silently appreciate and learn better in organized and prepared classrooms, they will learn better in digital spaces that are thoughtfully prepared.
Check in with student emotions
The brain of your student is not just processing mechanism, but a complicated system that works better when the student feels safe and cared for. Take time checking in with your students’ emotions. It’s time well spent as it will make students feel more seen and more aware of what they are feeling.
Digital Classroom Transformation 