Just when I was feeling kind of low about the limitations of distance learning, a couple of genuine connections with kids grabbed me by the shoulders and gave me a shake.
With block schedule, I teach 2 1/2 classes a day, the same lesson 5 times, but one of those sessions is split over 2 days. I'm really lucky that the first group I have most of the time is very high functioning and pretty small. They are the perfect trial subjects, and I often tweak the plans when their class is over. That's what happened today-- I realized that an opportunity for collaboration would improve the assignment, and so I quickly set up breakout groups for the next class.
Many of those kids are English language learners, but again, they are very compliant and generally hardworking, and hopping in and out of their small groups as they worked together to complete their assignment was amazing. Not only were they helping each other, but when I was there they were also asking questions and interacting with me; it was a refreshing break from the radio silence that I hear so much of the time.
In the next class, My trusty teaching assistant was running a bit late from her earlier class, and so I asked for a volunteer to read the chat as I checked the students off for attendance and participation. There was a moment of awkward silence, but then one girl, who is usually pretty shy, unmuted her mic and accepted the job. It was so great to hear a new voice transforming the monologue to more of a conversation, and what was even better? The other kids posted much more quickly. I think we might be on to something there!
And honestly? I'm willing to give almost anything a shake to help these students engage a little bit more with their learning.
Yes, let's start an alphabiography of those moments of engagement. Let's challenge ourselves to get to 26. A is for Assistant is the perfect way to start.
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