Do you know out of the 100 students who request us to take my classes online, more than 30 Percent are those who are shy and have no genuine reason to leave their classes? Among these, some students are position holders but are camera shy. For such students, teachers should work hard. There is no harm if you are going the extra mile to make your students overcome their shyness. We believe teachers have no idea how a small effort of theirs can benefit shy students and help them get back on track.
If you have students who perform perfectly in physical classes but are shy of online classes, we have six fail-proof tips for you. Follow them all for your students and see how they’ll soon start interacting with their classmates.
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Host an Ice Breaking Session
Hosting an ice-breaking session holds the most important in this case. What you can do is tell your class that we are going to do something different today. Now in this different, you can ask them to introduce themselves, or even play hangman to break the rock ice. How? Via screen sharing. Ask roll no 01 to start the game and share their screen and please let the students guess the alphabet. I recently used this trick in one of my online classes and the results were excellent.
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Introduce Learning Games to Class
As I suggested hangman in the last paragraph, there are other games as well that you can introduce your students to. My favorite game to play with my classmates is the Digital scavenger hunt. What we do in this game is, I make a list of activities and my students have to complete those games in the given time. I prefer to make groups for this game so students can communicate with each other because this is what all the efforts are for. Since I am a teacher of primary class, I ask them to make origami, paint pots, plant saplings, etc. These activities improve fine motor and keep them engaged throughout.
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Allot Group Presentations
Next, we have group presentations in line. Group projects work like magic, they boost students’ confidence and help build better connections. When students interact with one another and in front of the entire class, it breaks the hard ice among them and we get to see some amazing results. There are students who can’t work individually but perform amazingly when working in a team. However, teachers should make sure to give everyone equal chance.
If you are asking questions from only one member of the group, it won’t have a notable impact. Therefore, it is better to take everyone on board and ask them to answer the questions. Remember, your motive is to overcome your students’ shyness not to judge their presentation. At least at this point.
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Ask Questions from Students
When giving out online lectures, make sure to not forget to ask questions in the end. As you do for group presentations, do it here. Give all students equal chances and check who has their attention on online classes and who is mentally absent. A study revealed that most of the students in online classes don’t respond to questions because they are shy or think the answers they know are wrong. One great way to overcome shyness for students is to let them speak. If they are correct praise them, if they are wrong, correct them politely,
We also recommend teachers to make mistakes deliberately. Maybe you can count a wrong sum or tell a wrong definition? Since students love picking out teachers’ mistakes, chances are shy students would do. This will boost their confidence and help them break the ice with you.
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Make Students Feel Comfortable
A study environment, whether in online classes or offline classes, matters a lot. It is the key to better performance and interactive sessions. We always recommend teachers to establish a friendly atmosphere in classrooms. Instead of showing your power, be your students’ best friend. However, there should be always a limit and respect between the two parties but the study environment must not be very strict not very lenient. The main idea here is to make the students feel comfortable so they can share their ideas easily.
Some students think their questions are stupid and despite having them unanswered, they don’t ask their teachers. Therefore, when the environment is comfortable and your students know they can trust you, they easily ask those questions and clear their confusion.
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Avoid Favoritism
If you have a bunch of students who are your favorite and go-to for all work, you are ill-treating others. Teachers must treat all their students equally. No one deserves ignorance, and when it is about students, teachers should be very careful. This behavior of yours is called favoritism and it can actually shatter your students’ confidence. Please don’t be a reason a learner loses his worth. You should be the one to tell them that they are important, not the one telling them that their presence doesn’t matter.
Yes, we agree that some students own a separate corner of your heart but please don’t give them the crown. At least not in front of the rest of the class. If they are this important to you, and you trust them more than others, ask them to assist other students and help them improve their grades. Together your students can create a magic that alone teachers cannot.
Wrapping Up
So what is your decision teachers? Are you ready to help students overcome shyness or you are okay with them asking others to take my classes online? I hope it is your decision about is helping them overcome shyness and progress in their grades. If that is so, remember that we are proud of you and our country needs more teachers like you. Just a few days of hassle and your class stand tall among others. Good luck!
