Teacher-Student Relationship Building During Remote Learning

Katherine E. Cavender, Leah A. Nillas

Research output: Faculty Advisor of Undergraduate Research

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the educational landscape has transformed in unpredictable ways over the past year. Schools vary widely in their policies regarding online learning and hybrid setups to allow students to get an education while minimizing risk that the virus will spread in the school setting. While this situation has forced teachers and students to adapt in new and previously untested ways, Riggs (2020) proposes the importance of three forms of interaction for students in the remote classroom: student-content interaction, student-student interaction, and student-instructor interaction. Focusing on these forms of interaction, according to Riggs, allow educators to see remote learning from a more student-centered standpoint. This study focuses on one such remote learning setup where students and teachers interacted in synchronous classes three days per week for twenty-five to thirty minutes at a time, and explores the possibilities and challenges faced by the student teacher in attempts to develop student-instructor interaction in this particular online environment. Eleven twelfth-grade students participated in this study including anecdotal data from the teacher’s perspective and weekly student check-in questions. As many school districts remain remote, educators and pre-service teachers will find this study useful in demonstrating techniques that could be applied to their virtual classrooms.
Original languageAmerican English
StatePublished - 2021

Disciplines

  • Education

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