Introduction
Effective online classroom management is about being able to control the classroom efficiently. It is about students being engaged, attentive to your lecture, and answering and asking questions. However, what if students need to listen? What if they are disruptive? And you spend most of the time in the class session trying to quiet them down? This can become a real problem in your teaching career. So, what do you do when the facilitation of students is on the other side of the education spectrum, and you cannot build a rapport with students? Here are some teaching strategies I have learned by being an online tutor and observing instructors as an online student.
Teaching Style
When tutoring or teaching online for the first time, it is essential to introduce yourself to your new students and assess the information they already know. For example, write a list of questions pertaining to the subject area you are teaching and see if they know the correct answers. Sometimes, students are able to explain what they are having trouble with in class. For students who answer “I don’t know,” try enlisting teachers or parents to determine what the student is struggling with.
To keep your teaching style engaging, you must be flexible based on how students are learning the information. Every student learns differently, so it is important for an online teacher to be still hands-on. You can write lesson plans using the online whiteboard with a touchscreen monitor and stylus. Students can still hear you through the microphone and see you on camera, so explaining the lesson gives them the feeling of face-to-face learning.
Another way to keep students engaged is to provide worksheets and examples of problems you help students solve, especially in Math. Students can also copy the lesson you create with pencil and paper. Online learning is more tangible when they see and write the lesson on the screen.
Free Online Lesson Resources
Many websites offer free printable worksheets broken down at grade level. The worksheets can teach you how to create your lessons if you are new to tutoring. Many times, the lessons are straightforward and easy for students to understand the directions. These materials can be used for after-session homework assignments. This way, students are getting practice in the subject area without your guidance, and you, as the teacher, can further assess them on what they need to improve on when the next session begins. Each session is a continuation of learning.
Students Learning Styles
Many students who are used to brick-and-mortar schools take online learning for granted. It provides great flexibility to deal with immediate needs and push off learning the course materials. As a teacher or tutor, keeping this in mind, students must treat the online course like any other course to ensure success: Encourage timeliness with pen, paper, and textbook in front of them, ready to learn. Students learn best when they can see their notes in front of them. Students can also learn by incorporating educational tutorial videos, slide presentations, and video lectures. When speaking to students, take your time teaching so students can fully understand and process the information. Having plenty of examples ready for students to demonstrate, show their work, and solve for the correct answer will build their confidence. Helping students answer questions on their own is the ultimate goal.
Conclusion
As Kiseleva and Pogosian (2021) noted, there is a critical distinction between classroom and lesson management in virtual settings. Effective classroom management involves organizing and controlling student behavior and interactions to facilitate optimal learning. This includes strategic groupings, the use of lesson plans, and effective management of student behavior and classroom technology.
By implementing these strategies, educators can overcome the inherent challenges of online teaching and create a dynamic and effective learning environment that fosters student engagement and success.
Read more articles related to STEAM on our Zealousness blog STEAM – iN Education Inc. (ineducationonline.org).
Reference
- Kiseleva, Margarita, and Victoria Pogosian. “Virtual Class Management.” In SHS Web of Conferences 9 (2021): 0123. EDP Sciences.
