Children are active learners.
This idea does not just apply to kids between the ages of 3 to 7, this also applies to older students (it even applies to us as adults). I have been an online teacher for several years now, and one mistake that I made the most when I first started teaching online was being glued to my seat. Sometimes I would teach students that had difficulties sitting and paying attention for long periods of time. Sometimes I had children that were only 4 or 5 years old and having to stare at a screen and click for an hour was NOT at the top of their “fun things to do” list. For these children, I had to work so hard to keep their focus on the lesson and learning objectives.
The story that made the active learning idea "click":
It was my first time teaching this student. The other teachers had mentioned in their feedback:
“doesn’t pay attention”
“can’t focus”
“can’t read very well”
It was my last class of the day. After teaching 5 great lessons, I did not want to end my day with frustration and feeling like I failed as a teacher by only completing part of the lesson or failing to get my student’s attention. It is the worst to come out of a classroom frustrated.
**Something we should remember is that students are living a life outside of school, and they are dealing with their own lives at home, with friends, etc. We, as teachers, can, and should, create a welcoming, safe environment for the children to learn. An environment where they can learn without judgment, and have somebody believe in their skills and abilities, because they may need this support from you. You can make the difference in their lives.**
My student enters the classroom, and I begin by building rapport. I asked their name, age, what they did that day, what they like to do, etc. Most of this information I just logged in the back of my head and we began. We got 4 minutes into our lesson, and I could tell that the student was beginning to get distracted by things on their desk. I tried props. I tried the white board. I tried making it a game. Nothing worked. I remembered my student saying that they liked to play basketball. So, I picked up the biggest ball I could find and asked my student to stand up. He hesitantly stood up and we began with vocabulary review. I would say the word, and then throw the light ball at the camera and the student would have to say the word back at me before the ball hit the camera. For the remainder of class, we played games and practiced English while standing up and playing ‘basketball’.
I realized that the content was not interesting enough for them. I used their own interests to capture their attention and provide an optimal learning experience. This student is now a recurring student and has classes with me often.
Food For Thought:
I new my student’s interests and was able to finish the lesson using these interests.
Rapport and quick thinking can be beneficial in your classroom!
Let me know what you think, or research you have done based on rapport in student-teacher relationships.
Ideas for movement in e-learning
1. Stand up and Dance:
Almost every lesson I teach will have a song. When it is time to sing, have the child stand up with you, and do not be afraid to move around. Be silly! You will not only motivate your student to get up with you, but you will enhance their learning by creating movement in a stagnant classroom.
2. Build on the Students Interests:
Let them tell you activities that they enjoy doing. You can build rapport with older students by asking longer questions, while also getting an idea of their language level.
(If you are not an ESL teacher, it is good to get an idea of their language because it shows you how they express themselves)
You can use their interests to make a fun and exciting class. It could be dancing, movies, computers, piano, sports, anything! Just use it to expand their knowledge because it will help them stay engaged and active while they learn. If they are younger and cannot understand, preplan fun props and activities you could use with them. You will be able to see whether they like it or not.
3. Review the lesson before class:
Know what you are going to teach, even if you just quickly look for 5 minutes at each lesson. Know your objectives and know the student. Review his or her age and feedback from other teachers. If this information is not available, look at the lesson material and use the information to gauge the student’s level. If you are teaching a new student and you are not going through a company, gather info on the student.
4. Brainstorm active learning activities you can use for all ages:
If you have difficulty coming up with activities in the moment, or you have limited props to work with, try to brainstorm “go to” ideas for your students. Have three activities for each age group that include standing up or being active.
For example:
Use body movement while spelling out difficult vocabulary words: have them touch the opposite hand to the opposite shoulder and repeat this for each letter. Crossing the midline (an invisible line in in the center of the body) is important because it helps both sides of our brain communicate with one another. Exercises like crossing the midline are typically done in occupational therapy to help children develop communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain by crossing over a part called the corpus callosum. This is like a bridge, and when we use our arms and legs to cross over the midline, we are using both sides of the brain to think.
This is it for my first post! Let me know what you think and what you would like to hear about next!
Bye 😊