How to create safe, consistent, and inclusive virtual classrooms?
We need to learn how to bring those best practices online in the same way that we create safe, respectful, and equitable physical classroom spaces. There are several strategies for instructors to create a safe, consistent, and inclusive virtual classroom.
Get to know the students
Find engaging and creative ways for your students to meet one another and for you to meet them. This can include regular icebreakers and inviting students to share fun and interactive aspects of their identity.
Online classrooms allow you to gain new insights into your students’ lives. You could ask students to bring some of their favorite items, photos, or objects to school with them. Allow students to change their profile picture to something that represents them and add their pronouns if you have online classroom space.
Spend time getting to know your students ahead of time and throughout the year, adapted to the age level you teach. This can include having them fill out a questionnaire at the start of the year (hobbies, interests, family information, how to pronounce their name, what they are excited about and anxious about, and so on). This activity is a great tool for you to get to know your students.
Getting to know parents and families in age-appropriate ways allows students to succeed and feel safe. Find ways to communicate with students early in the school year, such as by phone, email, video visit, or questionnaire. Seek to learn more about their thoughts, feelings, and expectations for the upcoming school year, as well as how their summer has gone and if there is anything you should know about their child.
Establish norms and practices
Create virtual community agreements with your students at the start of the school year. Create ground rules that are similar to in-person guidelines. For example, no side conversations, jokes, or any biased comments.
Make a welcoming virtual environment and foster a sense of community. This can include finding new and exciting ways for students to participate (chat function, polls, verbal discussion, hand signals, breakout rooms, sharing through audio and video recordings, etc).
Create norms and routines for how virtual class and non-class time will be handled, and look for ways to involve students in the process. Some ideas include creating a class banner or icon, creating a class Facebook page or a shared Google doc, and asking students to share their ideas.
Pay attention to student’s social and emotional needs
Give students a variety of ways to express their emotions. Virtually reading emotions, moods, body language, and facial expressions can be difficult. Implement regular mood and emotional temperature checks in which students can share how they are feeling by using an emoji, thumbs-up, or thumbs-down.
If any student appears overly distressed, follow up with them. If necessary, you could incorporate some additional social and emotional activities throughout the year.
Make space for students to communicate in a variety of ways. Students already communicate in a variety of ways; ask them what they prefer and see if it is appropriate to incorporate into the classroom setting.
Allow students to share their thoughts and reflections through chat and messaging functions if they feel safe and more comfortable doing so rather than undergoing verbal discussion. Keep in mind that school, whether in person or online, should allow students to express themselves in a variety of ways.
Encourage using new tools for learning
Virtual learning has numerous advantages. For example, new tools can assist students in finding low-risk ways to contribute to the discussion. In a physical classroom, some students may not feel comfortable expressing themselves verbally in whole-class discussions.
Online classrooms can help to slow down discussion while also encouraging participation in fun and simple ways. Students who you may not hear much from verbally may participate more if polls and chat are used.
No matter, if you teach online or physically, it is important for you to create an environment where students feel safe, respected, and included in order to learn and thrive.