Briefly Removing the Instructor from the Student-Centered Classroom

As the first year of remote learning draws to a close, we are grateful for stories of success or positive aspects of conducting class remotely. Today we offer a success story as a tip for promoting a student-centered environment and sharing responsibility for conducting class activities.

The following Tip is courtesy of Lydia Belateche, a senior lecturer in the department of French and Italian.

This week I had to leave my French 1003 class a few minutes early due to the College in the Schools French Spring Workshop. So, students were already in their break-out rooms with two lengthy activities to complete when it was time for me to leave Zoom. I made a trusted student the Host for the rest of the meeting while visiting her break-out room, and then I was able to exit the meeting, while the break-out rooms continued for 15 more minutes. Students actually stayed in their break-out rooms and completed their activities even though I had left the Zoom space. 

My French 1003 class is composed of students I know well and trust. I would not recommend making a student in the class Host before establishing a positive relationship with them. In this case, I felt confident that the student could be trusted with the responsibility of briefly serving in this role, and that in my absence, conversation would continue to be productive and respectful.

 

I also followed up with the student I made Host after the class was over. She reported to me that some students even stayed BEYOND the allotted class time on Zoom! This is a good way for instructors to remember that we cannot always be the center of attention on Zoom! In fact, the best Zoom classes often are when the instructor is NOT the center of attention!

We are eager to hear and publish such stories that demonstrate and discuss positive aspects of the remote teaching and learning experience. Please feel free to share!