How to Maintain an Engaged Virtual Classroom Environment

As educators continue navigating the difficulties that come with teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to maintain a healthy and collaborative learning environment in virtual and hybrid settings has become increasingly important.

While teachers have certainly faced challenges in traditional classrooms with students who are hesitant to participate due to being shy, experiencing anxiety or simply having a bad day, convincing children to take part in lessons during remote learning sessions introduces additional complexity. Because nonverbal communication is much harder to detect while in front of a screen, teachers must rely on new and creative ways to engage their students.

Combating Virtual Learning Fatigue

Many teachers have noticed that students learning virtually can gradually lose energy and focus through the day. According to Gianpiero Petriglieri, an associate professor at Insead, the reason for this has to do with how much more difficult it is for us to process nonverbal cues, including tone of voice and facial expressions. “Our minds are together when our bodies feel we’re not,” Petriglieri said in an article published by the BBC. “That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting. You cannot relax into the conversation naturally.”

Marissa Shuffler, an associate professor at Clemson University, agrees with Petriglieri, and in the same article she notes that screen fatigue can also be caused by the pressure people sometimes feel while being watched by others. “When you’re on a video conference, you know everybody’s looking at you; you are on stage, so there comes the social pressure and feeling like you need to perform,” Shuffler said. “Being performative is nerve-racking and more stressful.”

To help with these concerns, educators can modify the format of how a virtual class takes place. In an article published by Edutopia, teachers recommend giving students the ability to interact using forum or discussion posts and instructing them to respond to what their classmates have written as a formal assignment. For students who are more comfortable participating in smaller group settings, Joe Marangell, a high school social studies teacher, suggests dividing classrooms into small teams for brainstorming activities. Once students feel more comfortable, they are then better able to express themselves in front of a larger group.

Share Your Virtual Learning Tips

Do you have any virtual learning advice that has worked well for your classes? We’d love for you to share your experiences with us on our Facebook page!

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