In an otherwise tough year, I found real joy and solace in my teaching. This was because I chose to break my sections up into small discussion sections that met once a week in InSpace. (I substituted a discussion post for the other class meeting, the purpose of which was to get students warmed up and thinking deeply about what we’d talk about during our synchronous meeting). As a result, instead of the Brady Bunch of the Apocalypse (i.e., a screen full of blank, unresponsive squares), my remote classes became thoughtful, almost collegial conversations that engaged students and sustained me. Did students have their cameras on? Mostly, no. Did anyone mind? Nope, because in a small group and especially on InSpace where we could form ourselves into a circle, the connection felt real even without a visual.
I’ve tinkered with small-group work before this, but the new-found flexibility engendered by pandemic teaching will make small groups my go-to format from now on - particularly as we head into another uncertain year. Small groups will make it easy to implement social distancing or flip remote again if we have to, and whether we’re in-person or virtual, I know that my students and I will have a rich and meaningful time together.
Published on the website of the Champlain College Center for Learning and Teaching