It’s been a while since we have met our students face to face and be able to interact with them physically. In our current situation where screen of the gadgets is the only avenue to teach our students, how well do you know your students?
Camaraderie is a key factor to influence the learners and give them the opportunity to grow by letting them gain their trust as their teacher. The sooner students can start building solid peer relationships, comforting among themselves, and trusting their teammates, the better. Here are some of the tips on how to build camaraderie to our students in online space.
- Create a Friendly Meet-up Platform
Learners are bombarded with lessons and activities to be studied and answered by themselves. As much as they need to accomplish their tasks, they also need time to rest and space to express their thoughts. As a teacher, set up a group chat per class by their preferred chat app to give them an outlet to share when they have the time and inclination.
Virtual conversations let students stay connected without unintentionally disturbing each other. You may also encourage them to share ideas that will help them to understand the lesson easier.
- Think Outside the Box
Online teaching and answering self-learning modules may be too overwhelming for the learners since they are used to face to face learning set-up. To break the ice, always think of interesting activities for the learners to loosen up the barriers brought about by different factors.
Make their journey interesting and colorful even in the comfort of their own home.
- Promote a Buddy System
Let learners choose their own buddy or choose randomly by picking names using draw lots. Students can even switch their partners throughout the school year so that they can get to know more of their classmates. Giving students a regular task to complete with another student can help them feel less isolated and alone whichever way the class decides to go about it.
References:
https://www.frontierdistrict.k-state.edu/family/child-development/docs/school-age/ImportanceFriendship.pdf
https://blog.simtalkblog.com/blog/3-ways-to-build-camaraderie-in-the-virtual-classroom
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6367114/
By: Jamaika B. Ungos|Teacher II | Bataan National High School | Balanga City, Bataan
