Curating Connection: Social-Emotional Engagement in Blended Learning Contexts

Engagement is a highway that leads students to their goals, and it is our job to build as many on-ramps as we can to capture all kinds of kids in all kinds of ways.

DR. ROBERTA LENGER KANG
Center Director, CPET

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As educators, we often see the main priority of in-person schooling as the development of academic knowledge and skills, and that priority has carried over to the online learning space. Students, however, typically view school as a way to be a part of their social community. Seeing and being seen by friends is a huge factor for student attendance, and even in-class engagement. The social-emotional component of school is identity forming; it's where students develop a sense of self beyond their families, and the close quarters of the in-person classroom organically enhance this experience. But when we’re not together in the same place (or we’re together, but we’re socially distanced or wearing masks), authentic opportunities for students to connect with one another disappear.

In addition to finding a peer group, establishing relationships, and making connections with other students, school is the place where students can make a healthy connection with a caring adult who isn't a member of their family. Many students, especially those who are young, feel a close connection to their teachers. They give gifts, share hugs and high fives — in their little lives, teachers may be some of the only non-family adults they know, and some of the only adults they can develop a relationship with independent of a parent or a sibling. In the transition to remote learning, the opportunities for this type of social-emotional support and connection have almost fully evaporated, even as schools have figured out ways to provide academic opportunities.

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Activating social-emotional engagement

The three pillars of student engagement — academic, intellectual, and social-emotional — are about maximizing any opportunity that can help bring kids to class. Academic engagement, or even just showing up, can lead to meaningful intellectual engagement, and that, in turn, can lead to organic social and emotional community experiences that meet students’ needs. Even students who are struggling to sign in to class or struggling to find meaning in instructional activities can still be motivated to connect on a personal level.

What kind of social-emotional interactions do kids have? Think about the different types of organic connection points we find when school is in session, and then consider ways to match them with our online experiences. 

• School-based after school clubs, contests, and projects: How can we shift from organizing in-person community-building events after school hours to supporting community online? Are there opportunities to institute a dance challenge, an online read-a-thon, trivia nights, or a stay-at-home fashion show? 
• Classroom collaborations: It's likely that students are working almost exclusively individually at home — how can we build more collaborative experiences? This could look like setting up reading partners who email each other, or creating book club groups that meet once per week to read a short passage together and then talk about it. In math classes, this could look like pairing up students so that they can check each other’s work. And for older students, we can consider increasing the use of shared Google docs that they use for collaboration or online discussions. 
• Teacher connections: Teacher-student relationships are extremely valuable. How can we create structures for teachers to offer meaningful outreach to their students on a personal level? Depending on the age range we’re working with, we can look to 1:1 or even 1:3 video calls, personalizing PowerPoint slides to recognize students, writing and mailing physical letters, providing office hours, and even differentiated live support for students across classes. We can also consider non-teaching staff, and how their time is being spent. Are there school secretaries, community assistants, or other support staff who can provide extra outreach to students who've been struggling? Can guidance counselors provide open sessions where kids can virtually drop by and talk about their feelings and fears? These options can be facilitated by school staff members who don't have their typical tasks to complete.

Our hope is that students who haven't been "showing up" to school might show up to opportunities like these. If they do, it will refuel their energy and strengthen their social-emotional engagement with school, helping them to deepen personal connections that re-energize their sense of self. We can then leverage these connections to increase academic and intellectual engagement. 

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If we see student success in school as tied to anything — especially now — it is student engagement. Engagement is a highway towards students achieving their goals, and it is our job to build as many on-ramps as we can to capture all kinds of kids in all kinds of ways.

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