Empowering student voice and building community online at Edward Johnson PS
May 29, 2020
GUELPH, Ontario – Students at Edward Johnson Public School are exploring fun new ways to connect with their classmates and the community through a teacher-led distance learning project.
As students continue to learn from home, grade 4/5 FI teacher Shannon Roberts took her daily Community Circle online. In addition to her regular lessons and assignments, Roberts sends her class a daily question or provocation to encourage engagement and student voice.
Roberts creates daily Community Circle prompts to encourage student voice. For example, for ‘Motivation Monday’ students are asked to share an inspiring quote; for ‘It’s Tasty Tuesday’ students share a meal that they enjoy eating with their family. Students enter their thoughts on a shared document so everyone can read and learn from each other.
Roberts’ inspiration for the online Community Circle was out of the desire to connect with students in a way that would allow their personalities to shine though.
Roberts and her students have extended their community building to the wider community through a letter writing unit where students reached out to their favourite businesses within Guelph to spread some happiness. Some students even received letters back from local businesses including CTRL V and Linamar.
Categories: News Tags: Distance Learning