We already know, since March 2020 most schools have been completely shut to decrease COVID-19 exposure risk.
Amidst all chaos of finding a suitable alternative to traditional learning, few schools have opted for a hybrid of distance learning and in-person learning at school. In these circumstances classes are divided into groups that alternate between attending class in person and learning online. This solution could help keep everyone safer but keeping it well-managed and organized is very challenging for teachers.
Here are 5 simple ideas to help you conduct an extremely effective hybrid classroom.
Be creative and try new ideas
Always prefer to try new things to keep your students engaged. You may ask students to act or perform some of the concepts they have learnt about in class. This could be a good alternative to quizzes or questions answer sessions that students answer simply. You may include other activities such as interpretative dances, elocution, group discussion or more, for example.
Practice project-based learning outside of the classroom
Since, it is COVID time, students are locked inside their home, so you can have them practice project-based learning. For instance, you can ask students to begin with sharing any household chore they’ve done recently, like some of students may have done laundry, they can record themselves while going through the process. Such learning methodology will facilitate learning and thinking capabilities without the students even realizing it. There are many other projects out there that can be used to teach core concepts, which students can just apply naturally.
Offer activities that nurture community
There are some things that doesn’t require any changes between in-person and virtual meetings. For example, students have meetings to set goals for the future and discuss about group projects or assignments. Same can be done using online conferencing tools. In actuality, it gives them something to look forward to, and something to interact with outside of traditional instruction and nurtures a sense of community.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Believe in experimenting with what you’ve learned so far as teacher i.e. coming up with better teaching approaches, especially when you have the opportunity to virtualize these experiences. For example, start your virtual lesson with student “shout outs” similar to how you would reward students in traditional-settings.
Bring the real world into it
Try phenomenon-based content and challenge students to research real world connections. At present, especially, now when they have the opportunity to connect everything to the current situation. Talk about the epidemic with your students, encourage and empower them to be innovators of change. This could be done only by keeping them well-informed and to do that they need to be informed about what is happening in the world.
Other than these, there are various resources out there to help you plan an effective hybrid model. You can also use your families and students as resources, learn best practices from your colleagues and people out of your network to create the best experience possible.
Which idea did you like the most? Which other ideas do you have? Do let us know in the comments.
