Once again, many students in the Triangle area are learning remotely due to winter weather.
WRAL Investigates spoke with Sophie McKoy, who is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent time researching ways to maximize remote learning. She also owns Mindspire Tutoring and Test Prep, which conducts both in-person and virtual sessions.
McKoy said engagement is the key to successful online learning, and that teachers and students should be doing everything possible to facilitate conversations and discussions about the material. She said that while some teachers typically shy away from allowing students to use the chat function during virtual class, they should reconsider that approach.
“The intimidation barrier of participating in a typed chat is way lower than having to raise your hand in front of a group,” she explained. “We’ve really found that students were comfortable chatting, that’s like what they do in their day-to-day interactions socially, and that was a really natural way for them to start engaging with the material.”
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“For teachers, try and give students as many opportunities to talk in small group with other students as you can,” she continued. “And I think, students, don’t be afraid to create those opportunities for yourself even if they’re not a formal part … you’re watching something asynchronously or in live time, don’t be shy to talk to your classmates about it.”
McKoy said that, if possible, students should have a quiet, private space while they learn virtually.
“For students, don’t be afraid to use the advantage that you’re given, [which] sis that you can take things at your own pace for that day, especially if you have an asynchronous class,” McKoy said. “So you get the best of both worlds. You get to digest material at your own pace, and you get to go back to the classroom in a few days and have thought about questions that you have.”