Best practices to be an effective online teacher

It’s no secret that effective teachers are paramount to effective learning in the classroom. In the case of online studies, the teaching principles and methods they use are even more critical.

Here are a few best practices you can implement to be an effective online teacher:

• Be present

Students can feel disconnected in online learning. It is relatively easy to make students pay attention in offline rather than online classes. So it is essential to make students feel your presence for effective online teaching experience. You can do this by regularly interacting with students during your online classes and being active outside of the classroom. For example, you can use a range of different types of communications and ensure you constantly stay in touch with them daily. You can use commonly available channels such as email groups, WhatsApp groups or even integrated learning platforms if available. Let your students know how and when they can reach out to you when required and engage with them proactively.

• Set the expectations

Online classes are quite a new concept for students. Thus it can get tricky for students to be comfortable with them. So you need to set the expectations before you start a class or at the beginning of a course. These expectations should include everything from what they can expect from you as their teacher, as well as what you expect from them. Some common things they should know are how your classes will be conducted, how frequently you give assignments, your attendance policy, how you evaluate exams, and others. You can also let them know how much participation you expect from them in classes. All this will ensure an effective teaching online process.

• Ask for feedback

The best way to know whether your students understand concepts or feel lost is to take regular feedback from them. This feedback should cover everything from feedback on the content you are using, teaching methods you use, frequency and amount of assignments or homework or any other areas of improvement that they might have to share with you. You can take this feedback either using your dedicated online platform for teaching, asking them questions, or sharing survey forms using tools such as Google forms or survey monkey.

• Use activities

Online classes are pretty dull if students have to just listen to lectures or watch the screen. To make things interesting and exciting, you can include activities like short quizzes, skits, or even ask students to explain simple concepts to the class. This will ensure that your students are active participants in your class rather than just passive learners. This will also ensure that students pay attention at all times and do not play games on their phones while attending classes.

Finally, rather than ending the class abruptly or just giving a break till the next class, make sure you have an engaging end to the class. One of the best ways to do this is by randomly asking a few students to give one key takeaway from the class. You can also conduct a short 5 question quiz at the end of your class, and the one who answers all questions correctly and in the shortest period of time can get some points. Students who earn maximum points can get a reward or prize from you at the end of your course.

Incorporating these principles into your online teaching methods will ensure that your students are learning better in an online classroom setting and improve your effectiveness as a teacher. We hope this blog helped you get started in the right direction in making your online classes more effective.

LEAD’s online platform for teaching comes with a teacher excellence kit that is loaded with high-quality, ready-made lesson plans. Various resources such as videos, slides, images, and digital copies of books and workbooks are provided to make every chapter engaging. The teacher app also contains training materials, marks entry, remedial analysis, and attendance. Additionally, features like ihomework help save teachers’ time in checking assignments and homework. This enables them to focus on providing excellent education to their students.

Besides providing them with quality tools and resources, LEAD also conducts regular teacher training via LEAD Academy, which is integrated with its online platform for teaching, thus enabling teachers to upskill themselves regularly. LEAD helps the teachers at LEAD Powered Schools become Super Teachers.