Actions of Classroom Teacher – Best Practices in In-Person and Online Learning

After experiences in summer school and now in our second week of the Fall semester, we are reflecting on what best practices *look* like in a totally new world of education.  So, taking traditional best practices, what does the look like for the hybrid, parallel instruction model?

*** Note: my school is at 50% capacity.  Students are split into two cohorts and attend class either in person or remotely.

 

Best Practice	What Might This Look Like?
Encourage student-faculty contact	·        Exchange contact information ·        Google Classroom “Question” assignment ·        Ensure students see your face regularly, even online, through regular check-in videos and virtual office hours
Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students	·        Create assignments where students F2F need the students online to complete the work as a strategy for keeping online students engaged ·        Group work – each member assigned a clear role and responsibility ·        Student(s) at home are group leader ·        Student in room is in charge of Chat and ensuring student(s) at home are included ·        Student at home leads discussion/game/activity in class ·        Students prepare questions prior to class, then work through them in groups during class
Use active learning techniques	·        Use synchronous time to maximize interaction between you and students and among students; if they can watch or consume content passively, try to assign it outside of synchronous instructional time ·        Create synchronous demonstrations that rely on participation of both F2F and online students ·        Start lessons with engagement strategies like KWL charts – what do I know, what I wonder, what I learned or Think-Pair-Share (at a social distance) ·        Look for opportunities for students to lead instruction or conversation
Establish clear routines that create predictability and support	·        Agendas ·        Class routines – every day, same routine ·        Incorporate visible thinking routines like graphic organizers, guided notes for each period (for ideas, see: https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines)
Give prompt, constructive feedback	·        GClassroom rubrics are great for prompt, clear feedback ·        One on One workshop ·        Use audio and video feedback on written assignments
Emphasize time on task	·        Each assignment should have an “expected time to complete” that is shared with students ·        Consider modifying assignment if students report inability to complete/too fast to complete
Provide a balance of challenge and support	·        Offer challenge problems or situations (case studies, challenge practice problems, creation activities) ·        Scaffolded Kahoot! ·        Choice reading at various difficulty and interest levels ·        Links to more information on topics in GClassroom
Respect diverse talents and ways of learning	·        Choice assignments – either in content (reading or video) or product (written paper or podcast episode) ·        Incorporate technologies like Voicethread which encourage multi-modal engagement
Use deliberate practice and mastery learning strategies	·        Quick “Chat” check in for practice ·        Exit ticket for mastery check ·        Formative Assessments in blended manner – Classroom assignments, quiz assignment or question; EdPuzzle; electronic lab book (example in OneNote; example in GDoc)
Elicit active, critical reflection	·        Questions in GClassroom ·        Survey in GForms ·        Peer evaluation with rubrics ·        Peer evaluation of presentations or products ·        Writers workshops

 

 Best Practices above created by Chickering and Gamson (1987), Savory (2006), and McCullom (2010) as found in Evaluating Online Teaching (2015) by Tobin, Mandernauch, and Taylor.  Chapter 1 found https://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/62/11189103/1118910362-4.pdf