Coaching Retrospective: What impact have we had in five years? A little over five years ago, I sat across the table from seven or eight of our school’s senior leadership team to be interviewed for a newly-created position: Teaching and Learning Coach. “Tell us about a time you helped others be reflective.” “What do you think about when you are planning instruction?” The questions weren’t hard to answer, but I had no idea what they thought of my responses. At the time, I really didn’t have a clear concept of what the role of Teaching & Learning Coach would entail or whether I would be a good fit. I went home thinking I had quite possibly embarrassed myself in front of the whole LLT. I guess I did okay in the interview though, because eventually I was offered the role, and became part of a cross-school team. The team has ebbed and flowed a bit over these five years, but one thing has been very consistent: the group of people I’ve been privileged to work w...
Stay 1.5 m from the next person. Don’t lean in to tell a secret, don’t touch the pencil your friend dropped, and definitely don’t touch each other in any way whatsoever.
The coaches have titled this blog “Here and Now”. The idea is to write about what we're currently experiencing. I couldn't help but write about social distancing with teens. We are in the midst of a massive worldwide social experiment. We have no idea what the effects will be on culture, on social lives, on families and friends, and on the personal connections that make up a society. What we do know for sure is that there will be lifelong consequences for the teenagers who are in the most social stage in their lives and have to socially distance from each other.
“Social interaction is the origin and engine of learning” (Lev Vygotsky). Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can best build opportunities for collaborative interaction at a social distance, and across hybrid learning environments. One thing I know for sure is that collaboration is not something I’m willing to drop; it’s just too important. So, how do we best structure collaborative tasks and discussions in our current learning environments?
What works best for collaborative tasks?
This is what Anna, in grade 11, told me about a recent collaboration:
“It was on Zoom. What my partner did, he said, ‘You have to do this,’ and then when we were doing the discussion, he asked the teacher if we can leave and work alone. … It’s not like when we’re at school, when we can talk to each other, agree if we do something, and we can give each other feedback too.”
So what fell apart in this experience Anna relayed to me? Perhaps it was that the task could be done individually. What is the motivation for students to struggle through the challenges of socially distanced collaboration if the task is just as easily done individually?
When we design collaborative tasks, we compel collaboration by providing each student with something unique to bring to the table.
We also provide shared material on which to build shared knowledge. In our current setting, chart paper is not as workable, so instead, perhaps a shared document or set of slides. Apps like Padlet are great for collaborative groups to use to build shared knowledge.
What works best for collaborative discussions?
“A word void of thought is a dead thing, the same way that a thought not accompanied by words remains in the shadows.” (Vygotsky) We know that for students to consolidate understanding of complex concepts, they must put their growing understandings into their own words. So, I've been asking myself, what structures work best to support discussions in our current learning environments?
“Breakout rooms on Zoom don't really work. People are at home, so they can do something else. I think it’s less effective than when we’re at school. … When I’m in breakout rooms with friends or people I have to work with, I’m usually the only one with the camera on.” (Anna, gr 11) I’ve heard a similar sentiment from several teachers about Zoom breakout rooms, that they no longer work well because students just don’t participate in the assigned discussion.
The good news is that we are not in a fully online learning environment. The hybrid learning model opens opportunities for face to face discussions, albeit at a distance. And, recent clarifications of the contact tracing procedures mean that we don’t have to keep students in assigned seats. Yes, the seats need to stay where they have been placed, but the students can move to be in effective collaborative groupings. Maybe the answer is to always hold collaborative discussions on the days students are learning in person.
What are my take-aways?
Planning successful collaboration in the socially distant classroom, and in the hybrid learning environment, is a very demanding ask of teachers. The activities need to be carefully structured to ensure full student participation. However, given that we know that “By giving our students practice in talking with others, we give them frames for thinking on their own,” (Vygotsky) providing that interaction at school is just too important to allow the challenges to stop us.
I think that for my classes going forward, I will prioritize planning a collaborative activity every day that students are on campus. When students are learning from home, I will prioritize individual learning, like engaging with illustrative content or practicing.
This is ongoing work for me. Planning, structuring, and leading student collaboration at a distance, and in hybrid learning, is very challenging. Do you have any collaborative ideas to share? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
Kristin (heglundk@isb.be)
I was just re-reading your post. I feel very fortunate that in our homeroom bubbles in the ES, the students don't need to maintain the 1.5 meter distance. We had to do that in May and June and it was incredibly challenging! Hats off to those of you in the MS and HS and our Language Block teacher who have been teaching this way for months. Back in May & June I did find that I was able to use some Kagan Cooperative Strategies, such as 'Numbered Heads Together' or 'Showdown' even with physical distancing. I agree with you that it is key to make sure that you structure the cooperative learning or collaborative tasks in such a way that each person has a specific role or perspective to offer. Your table of examples in this post is a helpful way to think about the different ways to do this.
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