The pandemic surely brought to life that many educators were not prepared for how to teach when students were not directly in front of them. The truth is, the teachers were prepared, they just didn’t realize that many of those amazing instructional and engagement strategies that they use daily, can also be done in a virtual setting.
The purpose doesn’t change whether your students are traditional or online. They still provide increased understanding, learning outcomes, student to student interactions and teacher presence. Engagement strategies decrease behavior issues while simultaneously creating a sense of community which is beneficial for student mental health and vulnerable student populations. Finally, engagement strategies allow teachers to monitor and assess student progress along with providing the formative data for student reflection and goal setting.
We all know that the field of education loves to use acronyms and this blog is no different. When thinking of common, traditionally used engagement strategies, we found that an acronym STORQ could be made. Just like how “storks” bring life, so will these five strategies for your virtual classroom.