Distance learning has brought many unknowns and unique challenges. This new style of education has forced teachers to cut down on their teaching material and, more importantly, change the way they teach it. According to AP Psychology teacher Liza Gable-Ferguson, finding the most effective ways to teach during distance learning was very challenging at the beginning of the year. However, now that we are approaching the end of the first semester, many teachers and students have developed a good idea for what they think are the most effective methods of online teaching.
The effectiveness of online teaching is highly dependent on the relationship between teacher and student, Gable-Ferguson said in a Zoom interview. Students need to communicate with the teacher and be honest about whether or not they understand the material, Gable-Ferguson continued. In addition, teachers need to regularly check up on their students to see if they are engaged and if they understand the lesson, she said.
“I think [teachers] need to be, and have been, very adaptive, open to new technology, and open to new ways of reaching out to their students,” Gable-Ferguson said. “I think [teachers] have kept in mind what is really critical and important for [students] to learn, rather than trying to teach everything.”
English teacher Heidi Shannahan said the most important quality of being an effective online teacher is being a good listener. Teachers need to listen to what their students are saying and understand what their students are struggling with, Shannahan said. After listening to their students, teachers should then take that information and combine it with the curriculum to find a happy middle ground, she added.
When asked what teachers need to do to adapt to the new teaching environment, Shannahan said in a Zoom interview, “I think [teachers] need to be creative in how [they] are delivering [their] lessons.” “Teachers are now given these big chunks of time that they never had before. And it’s not like they can take the lessons they had in the past and do them online; it just doesn’t work. I think that these creative lesson plans call for multiple activities during a class period that makes sure kids engage at some level. Whether it is in a breakout room, whether it is in some sort of class discussion, or whether it is reading material out loud, teachers need to get as many students involved with the activities as possible. You can’t do the same thing every day. It just won’t work.”
To help teachers maximize the effectiveness of their teaching, students need to do a better job of participating during class, Junior Logan Balsbaugh said. When teachers ask questions, students need to answer them to move the lesson along, Balsbaugh added. In addition, when students are put into breakout rooms, they need to actually work on the assignment instead of turning their cameras off and muting their mics, he said. If the teacher is having issues with Zoom or other things during class, students should help the teacher, Balsbaugh added.
“Effective teaching is not completely reliant on the teacher,” Balsbaugh said in a Zoom interview. “It is a team effort, where students are like players and teachers are like coaches. If there is one thing I learned from being a three-sport-athlete, it is that it is up to the players to win the game and not the coach. The coach is there to guide the players, but ultimately, the players have to do their part for the team to win the game. Sports are just like teaching, especially during distance learning, because students and players have to do their part in order for the group to succeed.”
Positivity and encouragement are also significant parts of effective teaching during distance learning, Junior Joanne Ngo said in a Zoom interview. Ngo cited Anatomy teacher Rita Burmanory as an example of an effective teacher. Ms. Burmanroy has a positive attitude, gives encouraging words, and provides constructive criticism, so students are more willing to participate during class and naturally become more interested in the lesson, Ngo added. When it is evident that the teacher loves his or her job and enjoys teaching his or her students, there is a noticeable increase in the quality of teaching, Ngo said.
“There is no doubt that all the teachers at MHS are experts in their subjects,” Ngo said. “However, it is really about how the teachers deliver their knowledge through the computer and not about how much knowledge they have. I know that there are plenty of people out there that are super smart, but that does not mean they are good at teaching. Teachers have to understand that students like me need certain lessons to go slower and certain concepts to be explained more simply. This is especially important during distance learning because there are only two days of each period a week, not including advisory on Wednesdays.”
The separation caused by the pandemic has greatly cut down communication between teachers and their students. As a result, it is no surprise that one of the most essential elements of effective teaching during distance learning is maintaining a good connection between teachers and students.