Strategize Teaching in New Normal

Marlon L. Macni

Connecting with students is one of the most rewarding aspects of a teacher’s job. Some faculty hesitates to teach online, frequently offering the rationale: “I want to connect with my students. There’s just not enough interaction and engagement online!” and “As much as I want to teach online not all of my students have gadgets and internet connection”.

Faculty are not alone in yearning for this connection – students want it too! Frustrated by the lack of real-time exchanges with students, teachers incorporated live or synchronous sessions into my online classes and experimented with the latest tools and made adjustments each school year based on feedback from students.

When many schools, rushed to provide remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teacher’s leaned on synchronous experience to train faculty on the pedagogical potential of platforms like Zoom and Google classroom. Training amidst this crisis gave them insights on what instructors new to synchronous teaching struggled with the most.

When it comes to technology, take a gradual approach. Sometimes, when faculty learn about all the tools available, in our zeal to create the best possible experience for students, we run the risk of trying to do too much. Avoid jumping headfirst into the bells and whistles, giving yourself time to grow incrementally. As you gain more experience, you’ll learn which tools best fit with your teaching style and pedagogical strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has many of us teaching in unfamiliar situations. Perhaps a silver lining has been the widespread practice of synchronous instruction, a potential remedy for the connection students and faculty often miss in traditional online classes. The exponential growth of synchronous sessions will likely shape a “new normal” for online learning, long after the pandemic has passed.

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The author is Teacher III, Science at San Roque National High School,

Tarlac Province