No one would have imagined that a deadly virus will bring the world to a standstill. Social distancing has become the new norm to curb the spread of the virus. All the countries have gone into lockdown to enforce social distancing. Due to this reason, about 1.2 million children have been put out of their classrooms. Most of the institutes, schools, and universities have shifted their classrooms online. Based on the current trends, educators are predicting that online learning will be the future of education. The innovations in the digital world are making online tutoring sessions interactive and lively.
Even though teaching is simplified by the digital domain, there are some drawbacks. Teaching complex subjects like math is very difficult as certain topics and concepts are too complex, and tough to teach in virtual math classes. It also becomes difficult for teachers to assess a student’s level of interest in the virtual setup. Hence, maintaining student engagement becomes a huge challenge in online math courses. This is the main reason behind students getting bored and unenrolling themselves from online math programs. But, there are simple ways that can help you in improving engagement in virtual math classes. Here is the cheat sheet for your reference.
Ice-breaking Sessions
Start your course by creating a lively, fun, and engaging atmosphere. You can do so by playing fun games during the online sessions like:
- Create a trivia questionnaire and ask students to answer the questions in the class.
- Divide students into pairs and ask them to learn about each other and share the same in the online class.
- Ask students to create short and fun introduction videos. This will add a personal touch and the students will feel connected.
It would be amazing if you also participate in these sessions. Students will get to know about your personality and appreciate the effort you are taking to build a community.
Develop Optimal Content
The attention spans of people are shorter than ever. The virtual environment doesn’t make things better. There are a lot of distractions, so you will have to work hard to create attention-grabbing course content. One method is to create short, captivating lessons. Take one concept and explain it in detail, rather than hurrying up through the entire math lesson. Having more open discussions will increase student engagement, which the students will love.
Practical Approach to Teaching
Math concepts are complex and hence, tough to learn. Similar teaching approaches as used in traditional classrooms will not work in the virtual domain. You will have to make full use of digital tools to explain the concepts through practical examples. Linking the concepts with their real-life applications will make the sessions interesting and lively. Make use of YouTube videos, PowerPoint presentations, websites, and discussion boards to explain the concepts to students.
Guide the Students
The way you interact with your students will define their engagement in the class. Instead of just teaching them concepts, become their mentor. Work with the students to create individual learning plans. Have one-on-one sessions with them to clear their doubts and queries. Track every student’s performance so that you can identify gaps. Revisit the learning plan periodically based on their performance in the class.
Encourage Self-reading
While explaining math concepts, share details of additional reading material with your students. Motivate them to explore other information sources and share their findings in the class. A lot of websites and STEM books are available in the digital domain for students to learn from. You can also share the entire course content before the online class so that the students get enough time to do independent research. Getting into the habit of self-learning will prepare them for college as well.
Student Collaboration
Standard classroom curriculums are boring. Remove this monotony by creating mini-projects where students get to collaborate with one another. While working in groups, students will learn about leadership and time management skills as well. This will also help you in driving community culture in your class. It is one of the best ways to keep students engaged in a virtual math class.
Math is one of those subjects where students need a lot of guidance and support in learning tough concepts. By incorporating some of these tips, you will be able to get the students excited about learning and understanding mathematics.
