There's not a lot about virtual teaching that beats in-person, but there are a few things. Today, as we near the end of our unit, students are predictably in one of three places on their summative assignment: behind, slightly behind or on track, and ahead. That hasn't changed at all.
In the classroom, I might group students according to their progress and move from table to table to assist and keep them on track. Any help or intervention I would be able to provide would be interspersed with classroom management, making sure that kids were doing as they should and neither distracting themselves nor the other students near them.
Today? I popped the kids who were behind and ahead into breakout rooms, and kept the other students on the main call, which I monitored from my iPad. With the students who had a finished draft, I shared my screen and went through a slide show on revision that matched up with the checklist they would use independently. Meanwhile, the students who were behind shared their outlines with me, and I was able to interact with them both verbally and on the outline itself, making corrections or suggestions as they worked. In between, I checked in with the kids in the middle, answering questions and encouraging progress.
Was every student focused and on task every minute? No. But their inattention didn't negatively impact the group dynamic, and by checking in with them frequently, I was able to help with their focus. At the end of the day, I felt like my three ring circus was ready for the road.
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