Abstract
On the 1st of May we discussed Virtual Rotation Stations as per Skolastika (2020)
The article focuses on dividing classes into segments called ‘stations’:
Teacher-led station
Online Station
Offline Station
Extension Activity
These stations have been found to increase student engagement and independence.
For the online environment, these rotation stations can be facilitated through break-out rooms in zoom.
The main takeaways for our session were:
these techniques can be trialled in online classes, with the explicit introduction of the model to students before hand.
This model caters for “various types of students to achieve better learning results within a single classroom” (p. 54)
engaging students can be very difficult when there is no previously established rapport. In the case of embedded support, reaching out to lecturers ahead of class and ascertaining which students might be amenable to facilitating peer engagement can be advantageous.
The rotation models also hold the potential to be used in a simultaneous online/offline classroom, which can be explored further when the students return to campus.
Structuring sections of class time around collaboration is encouraged, although it must be scaffolded to afford students the comfort and confidence to participate.
Ice breakers play a crucial role, and must be based on low risk questions, with binary questions being most favourable, and open-ended questions to be avoided or used with more experienced/confident students
This has given me ideas on how to conduct classes that are more engaging and student focused, especially while online. The rotations can break up a three hour session and puts the ball in the students' court to participate and engage in their learning.
For future teaching sessions, I will trial the rotation stations to see how they can be adapted for our cohort.
Overall it was good food for thought in terms of changing the norm of a classroom and how that might impact the student engagement and shake up some participation.
The article focuses on dividing classes into segments called ‘stations’:
Teacher-led station
Online Station
Offline Station
Extension Activity
These stations have been found to increase student engagement and independence.
For the online environment, these rotation stations can be facilitated through break-out rooms in zoom.
The main takeaways for our session were:
these techniques can be trialled in online classes, with the explicit introduction of the model to students before hand.
This model caters for “various types of students to achieve better learning results within a single classroom” (p. 54)
engaging students can be very difficult when there is no previously established rapport. In the case of embedded support, reaching out to lecturers ahead of class and ascertaining which students might be amenable to facilitating peer engagement can be advantageous.
The rotation models also hold the potential to be used in a simultaneous online/offline classroom, which can be explored further when the students return to campus.
Structuring sections of class time around collaboration is encouraged, although it must be scaffolded to afford students the comfort and confidence to participate.
Ice breakers play a crucial role, and must be based on low risk questions, with binary questions being most favourable, and open-ended questions to be avoided or used with more experienced/confident students
This has given me ideas on how to conduct classes that are more engaging and student focused, especially while online. The rotations can break up a three hour session and puts the ball in the students' court to participate and engage in their learning.
For future teaching sessions, I will trial the rotation stations to see how they can be adapted for our cohort.
Overall it was good food for thought in terms of changing the norm of a classroom and how that might impact the student engagement and shake up some participation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 05 May 2021 |