Building Community
Best practices for building community in a remote classroom include:
Be available and accessible. As classroom leaders, teachers set the tone for a sense of community and connection among students. Teachers should maintain a sense of belonging by sharing a photo, personal anecdote, or something they find interesting, and providing instructions for students to do the same. Teachers should personalize interactions whenever possible by using original video messages, referencing shared experiences from the year to date, and continuing to honor classroom commitments and shared agreements. When students are comfortable with their teacher, they are more comfortable learning, participating, and sharing in the learning environment.
Create a communication plan. Teachers should create a communication calendar to let students and families know when they will reach out. They should reintroduce themselves to parents, if necessary, and let parents know their availability for questions about the materials shared or their student’s learning. Communication is essential to any relationship and these practices reinforce the importance of individual attention and personalized education.
Encourage interaction. Social moments are a fundamental aspect of education. Although this transition can be very challenging, the "classroom without walls" can also provide a chance for students to grow as a community in new ways. Teachers can incorporate opportunities for fluid interactions with and between students by using Google Classroom, Google Meets, and other platforms for students to share ideas, words of encouragement, and strategies for dealing with today's unprecedented challenges as they think of them, and not just during designated "class times."
Adapted from: Martin, J. (2019). Building Relationships and Increasing Engagement in the Virtual Classroom: Practical Tools for the Online Instructor. Journal of Educators Online, 16(1), n1.
Connecting with your students
Strategies:
When you gather with students, welcome them by name. Show enthusiasm for them having joined you in the virtual space you’ve prepared for them.
Refer to things you already know about your students (e.g. family, activities they enjoy).
Describe positive memories of each student from throughout the school year.
Hold a virtual Talking Circle with a small group of students. Begin by establishing shared agreements and a procedure for "passing" a talking piece. Involve students in thinking of a creative way to do this.
Use “Question” assignment as a discussion boards for students to respond to check in questions unrelated to academic content. Create a “Question” for students to post to the Friends and Family Board (See Entry and Exit Rituals).
Resources
CPS Remote Learning Guide: Student Check-In Non-Digital Template
CPS Restorative Practices Guide and Toolkit: Build Connections and Community
Shared agreements and expectations
Strategies:
(Re)set classroom agreements and expectations in remote learning If you have access to a list of your existing classroom shared agreements or expectations, share them with your students and engage them in reflection about what can stay the same or how the agreements or expectations will need to change with remote learning. If you do not have access, engage your students in an effort to reconstruct or develop them with a focus on remote learning. Ask questions like, “What does respect look like/sound like/feel like in a google hangout or on google classroom?” or “How do we take responsibility for our own and our classmates’ success while we are learning from home?”
Utilize classroom agreements Use the Anticipate, Reinforce, Reflect (ARR) strategy to apply your agreements and expectations to each remote activity in which students engage. Anticipate Remind students of applicable agreements prior to the beginning of an activity. For non-digital resources, list the applicable agreements in the instructions for an assignment. If possible, ask students to reflect on how they can apply the class agreements to the activity. Reinforce Model the agreements yourself during an activity. Notice when students are meeting expectations, and provide gentle reminders when students are not. Reflect Provide students with opportunities to reflect independently or as a group on how well they adhered to the agreements during the activity and lessons learned that will help them to stick with them next time.
Make your class agreements visible Include your class agreements in the image you upload to the banner on the main page of your Google Classroom Site or present them as a slide on Hangouts Meet, so that students see the agreements each time they log in.
Resources:
Entry and Exit Rituals, Brain Breaks
Strategies:
Music and rhythm are soothing for the brain. Begin and end each session with a song or create and recite a classroom chant to build community. If students are able to contribute other talents (playing an instrument, singing), encourage them to share these gifts with their class.
Students will re-experience some of the same biochemical reactions that occur in "real life" when you virtually do familiar greetings, games, and songs with them. Virtual fist bumps, fingerplays, and clapping games are just a few ways to generate a sense of safety and community among students. GoNoodle is a website with activities to engage students in movement and mindfulness through music, games, and videos.
Help students center themselves in their learning with mindfulness techniques.
Use Google Form to create check in questions that are not related to academic content; take a screenshot of the aggregated results on the “Responses” tab and share with the class.
Create a virtual Friends and Family Board that includes all of the members of the classroom community. At the beginning of each session, take a moment to think positive thoughts about and wish anyone well who was not able to join. Have students write words of encouragement for missing classmates, or type out well wishes for younger students.
Take a few minutes at the beginning of each class for students to share things they're grateful for.
Carve out time at the start of each session for students to consider what they’d like to learn, make predictions, set goals and/or make commitments that will focus learning, and which they can monitor throughout.
At the end of each session, encourage students to make a commitment to put into practice some of the SEL skills they're learning each day, by connecting with family, or when they encounter difficult moments.
Screenshare a Kahoot! or Poll Everywhere to gather student responses to a check in question or brainstorm. A tool like this can be used to gather input on classroom agreements for the remote learning environment.
Resources:
GoNoodle is a website with activities to engage students in movement and mindfulness through music, games, and videos.
Calm Classroom provides a free booklet full of mindfulness exercises.
Connecting Students to Each Other Non-digitally
Strategies:
If your students are not able to connect with each other digitally, ask them to share news items (e.g., family news, music or video streaming suggestions) or shout outs during individual check-ins that you can collect and distribute in a regular newsletter or newspaper that contains input from all students.
Resources:
Enrichment Ideas to Promote Community Building
Being of service is one of the most powerful ways to help students access the higher centers of their brain. Involve your class in thinking of ways to encourage some of the heroes on the frontlines of this pandemic e.g., by creating a video, writing letters, or making cards that can be shared with first responders and essential workers through company contacts and social media. Consider choosing a different group and/or organization each week.
Resources:
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