While teaching through a pandemic, whether you are in the classroom, in a hybrid situation, or teaching virtually, it is important to think about the social-emotional well-being of our students. We have been hearing about this a lot on social media, through training, etc., but what does this really look like and what should we be doing?
I have decided to start the year off with a check-out at the end of the each of my lessons. I debated whether I wanted these to be check-ins done at the beginning, or check-outs at the end and ultimately decided on the end of the lesson for a couple of reasons.
I use Pear Deck with my presentations, which is a tool that allows my presentations to be interactive. (see more about that EdTech tool here) In the spring when I began doing check-ins at the beginning of the lesson I realized that some students took longer than others due to processing time, amount of time it takes to type, etc. so I would have some students who are done just waiting and I would have others who were still trying to type. I would also have those few students who would log on late and completely miss the check-in, which could have given me a good indicator of why they were late.
So alas, I switched to check-outs. All of my students are typically still logged in by the end of class so I am getting many more responses. Plus, I tell the kids that once they have completed their check-out, they can begin working on their independent assignment so there is no waiting around for others to be done, they can get started working on something else right away.
Here is the important part about these check-ins or check-outs.... you must have a plan. If you are going to see how students are doing emotionally, then you have to follow through. If a student says they are not doing well, then you need to reach out to them or have a school counselor reach out to them. That following through is so important. It could just be that the student is having a bad day because they overslept, but it could also mean that someone in their life is sick or dying and if that is the case we need to have a plan in place to support them.
At the time I am writing this blog, I have completed 4 check-outs and have learned quite a bit about my students. Many of them are excited to have school back, but many of them are sad we are not in the school building. They miss their friends.
I am including a few examples of the ones I have used so far, but I am also including a presentation where I am planning to keep all of my check-outs this school year. I would bookmark the presentation or add it to your drive if that is an option, or bookmark this blog so that you can continue to check it out throughout the year.
If you have any other suggestions please let me know!
No comments:
Post a Comment