It is vital that we develop empathy for our students. As a classroom teacher, I often thought back to my days as a child in a classroom – trying to imagine how actions I took as a teacher would have affected me. But in the midst of a global pandemic, I cannot personally relate to the students I serve. How then might we increase our understanding of student circumstances in our current context?

1. Sit In Your Students’ Seats: Are you at a school that has reopened classrooms for physical learning experiences? Literally sit in one of the seats. In doing so at a school site I visited recently, I learned that the plastic divider on the students’ desks creates a glare that makes it difficult to see the board on which the teacher projects a laptop screen. In this instance, it may be helpful for a teacher to clarify concepts more clearly, explain what is projected onto the board, allow students to view the material on their own devices, and or supplement the experience with material that is paper based and easier for students to see. If I had not sat in a student desk, I would not have realized that this barrier exists.
2. Join a Virtual Class on a Student Device: Are all or some of your students engaged in distance learning? Many teachers are using large screens and/or multiple monitors to increase the effectiveness of their instruction in this format. This is great, but it sometimes makes us forget what our students are experiencing. It can be eye opening to join a virtual class (perhaps that of a colleague during a prep period, or even a professional learning session), using a student device. This helps teachers to see what limitations exist for students during virtual learning, and gives them ideas for tips to provide students to maximize the experience. Teachers who have sampled student devices for virtual learning have told me that it helped them realize the importance of teaching students to split their screen, and also motivated them to use engaging strategies such as gamification and checks for understanding on a more consistent basis.
3. Ask Students About Their Experiences: A school I work with conducted empathy interviews with students to determine what was working with distance and hybrid learning. When students were asked what helped them learn, a couple of teachers were mentioned by name several times. The interesting thing that set these teachers apart is that they each spend time each day to conduct a nonacademic conversation (via chat and/or verbally) with students. It is the connection, the culture built, a teacher that cares to ask about nonacademic concepts, that made the difference in these students’ learning. I had the opportunity to witness one of these teachers in action. Prior to beginning a lesson, he asked students “Where would you want to be right now if you had no limitations on money or time?” Answers ranged from Disneyland, to Hawaii, to Mexico to visit family. Students answered in the chat and the teacher acknowledged the responses verbally. It took less than 10 minutes. In 2020-21, teachers are strapped for time to get through academic content, and yet, empathy interviews reveal that a 5-10 minute investment in a 50 minute class period proves more valuable than we may had realized.

Students of today are learning in a context unlike anything teachers have ever experienced. While many areas are returning to a so-called normal, reopening physical classrooms and lessening distancing requirements – may we always remember the importance of empathy.