In this period of social distancing and online teaching and learning, we are all in need of communication with others. We all need to see unmasked smiles, hear laughter, and look people in the eye, even if it is through a screen. Students are studying from home, and many have no contact with other students outside the formal lessons. As a relational teacher educator, I firmly believe learning is based on relationships with students and between the students. Building relationships in this academic year is more challenging than usual and requires educators to be creative. I need to be present for my students, and they need to feel that they are part of a group, not just struggling as individuals.
I decided on my plan of action in the summer and was aware that I might need to adapt my measures as the semester progresses. What did I initiate?
Every week I open a Zoom meeting for those students studying a-synchronous units, and once every two weeks, I open a Zoom space for my students studying in a flipped classroom course. I have a regular link, and I enter the online room for an hour. Students know that I am there and that they are invited to join me. They can pop in to ask a question or two about the units of study they are working on, and they can come to listen to the questions others are asking. Students can join me and others to chat about the course or anything else. Some students say they are joining for a moment to ask a question or say hello, and then they end up staying with us for the entire hour.
Every week I am surprised that students are making time in their hectic schedules and pressure-filled lives for a session they are not required to attend. I assume that students are joining me because they need to see faces in a relaxed and informal context. They are joining me because they feel the need to discuss the learning materials and to be reassured that they understand the concepts or have submitted all the tasks.
I have met students who are deeply involved in their teacher-education and are concerned about questions of ethics, classroom management, and their futures as teachers in the Israeli educational system. They find the informal meetings an appropriate avenue to raise these topics; they want to ask me questions or to share their thoughts. I encourage conversation between the students, rather than just me responding. Some students are interested in generating discussion about their teaching practice, and issues that they are dealing with there. I encourage them to lead the discussion. One student asked to share the materials he was using to teach in grade six. He shared his PowerPoint presentation and explained his lesson plan. He received compliments from the other students, and when they asked him questions, it helped him to clarify his aims and to make alterations. He received constructive feedback from his peers and me. I shared his initiative with the whole class, inviting them to use the informal platform to share their teaching experiences as another way of becoming involved.
What do I gain from those sessions in my role as teacher-educator? Firstly I get to know the students who join me in ways that I can’t achieve in whole class lessons. I can ask them about themselves, point to a unique feature in their room, like a quote on the wall, or a musical instrument. Recently one of the students used the time to play us a song on his guitar which added to the warm atmosphere in the meeting. Having students in mind as I plan my lessons is a great help, I’m not preparing lessons for names on a list, I am planning for people I know.
Secondly, from the questions the students ask about the study units, I can gauge their understanding and gain insight into the level of difficulty of the tasks. I can also tweak my instructions if I sense that an element of the unit isn’t clear enough. An additional bonus for me is the feedback I receive from the students about the units I have created. They comment about the content, the design, and about the course in general. One student, who is already a practising teacher, popped in to compliment me on my unit design. He described how he is learning about teaching online through the modelling I am providing in the course. I am learning from the students what helps them in their independent learning and what challenges them. I am learning to gauge the time it takes different students to engage with the various tasks – an important insight for my planning.
The time I am allocating for the informal Zoom meetings is rewarding for me as a teacher-educator and significant for those students who choose to join them. I will undoubtedly be building spaces for casual conversation in all online courses I facilitate in the future.
