April 23, 2022

Nancy Bailey: 101 Reasons Why Interactions in Classroom Settings are Better than Teacherless Online Instruction

Published by Peter Greene

Nancy Bailey offers some reasons to value live human teachers over software and screens. Reposted with permission.

Students learn from each other when given opportunities to interact in small classroom settings under the direction of well-informed, qualified teachers. Teacherless online programs where children face screens to work on rote exercises miss valuable keys to learning.

Yet students are bombarded with more technology; however, reports indicate how risky too much technology can be!

During the pandemic, students and teachers had to rely on technology for safety, but how much technology should students be involved in during in-person school?

Here’s why class participation led by a competent teacher who understands group dynamics is beneficial and better than online learning.

1. Acceptance. Accept new concepts and ideas.
2. Algebra. Improve algebra scores.
3. Argument. Observe how to argue reasonably.
4. At-risk. Identify at-risk students, and help them (Hughes et al., 2012).
5. Articulation. Pronounce words and sentences.
6. Attention. Focus.
7. Auditory. Discriminate blending and sensory information (Learner, 1971, p.296).
8. Balance. Weigh facts.
9. Behavior. Develop respect for others.
10. Brevity. Synthesize and get to the point.
11. Bullying. Who’s interrupting and acting obnoxious?
12. Careers. Learn from another student’s parent or friend.
13. Cause and effect. Words and expressions elicit reactions.
14. Classification. Categorize similarities and differences.
15. Cognitive. Develop higher-order learning.
16. Communication. Share ideas and feelings.
17. Comprehension. Better understand new topics.
18. Compromise. Meet in the middle.
19. Conclusion. Weigh information for closure.
20. Confidence. Obtain positive reinforcement.
21. Connection. Be part of a group.
22. Consolation. Find support amid difficulties.
23. Correction. Suggest better, more extensive information.
24. Courage. State beliefs without hiding behind pseudonyms.
25. Creativity. Provide new ideas.
26. Data. Avoid data collection.
27. Debate. Disagree or defend beliefs respectfully.
28. Depression. Find support among peers and the teacher.
29. Difficulties. Obtain help for problems.
30. Disagreements. Argue but still be friends.
31. Discovery. Learn new and different information.
32. Diversity. Interact with those with differences.
33. Emotions. Express and control feelings.
34. Encouragement. Cheer for each other.
35. Enjoyment. Find pleasure in associating with others.
36. Evaluation. Understand meaning.
37. Expertise. Develop a topic.
38. Expression. Organize thoughts, verbalize ideas, and discuss.
39. Eyesight. Protect eyes from myopia. 
40. Face-to-face. Look at others’ faces.
41. Fears. Learn not to be afraid.
42. Feedback. Receive verbal responses to what’s said.
43. Fine motor. Work together to build or play.
44. Foreign languages. Hear different accents or languages.
45. Friendship. Build interactions in and out of class.
46. Future. Discuss hopes and dreams.
47. Grammar. Construct sentences verbally to make sense.
48. Gratitude. Appreciate friendships.
49. Gross motor. Move around while connecting.
50. Handwriting. Organize ideas for writing.
51. Hope. Encourage others and be encouraged.
52. Humor.  Laughter makes learning exciting and enjoyable.
53. Inclusion. Socialize with classmates and make friends.
54. Information. Understand how to interact, interests, and much more.
55. In-person. Connect in real-time.
56. Inspiration. Brainstorm brilliant ideas.
57. Interests. Learn about hobbies, hopes, and dreams.
58. Internalization. Process new information and add it to what’s understood.
59. Interpretation. Make sense of information.
60. Kindness. Express consideration.
61. Learning disabilities. Identify expressive and receptive skills.
62. Listen. Select and organize meaningful content (Lerner, 1971, p.161).
63. Math. Attention, simulation, modeling, and guidance help students.
64. Memory. Listen and speak to remember what’s heard.
65. Modeling. Observe behavior.
66. Multicultural. Learn about different places and cultures.
67. Opinions. Formulate ideas.
68. Organization. Make sense of one’s thoughts.
69. Patience. Determine how to wait, listen, and speak.
70. Perception. Gauge social situations.
71. Perfectionism. Make and learn from mistakes.
72. Personality. Develop attitudes, character, and distinctive behavioral traits.
73. Personalize. Talk with and learn from others.
74. Phonics. Hear vowels, consonants, syllabication, and accents.
75. Play. Learn cognitive and social skills.
76. Poetry. Identify sounds and alliteration.
77. Prediction. Forecast outcomes.
78. Preparation. Prepare to speak in class.
79. Pronunciation. Sound out words and sentences.
80. Questions. Pique interest to create wonder.
81. Read. Speaking leads to reading.
82. Receptive. Discriminate sounds, words, tone, phonemes, and morphemes.
83. Rejection. Have the freedom to reject a new idea.
84. Retention. Recall information.
85. Retrieval. Draw on previously learned information.
86. Safety. Focus on surroundings to avoid mishaps in or outside of school.
87. Science. Hypothesize and raise theories and assumptions (Chin, 2006).
88. Self-realization. Learn from others.
89. Self-regulation. Manage behavior.
90. Senses. Strengthen auditory, verbal, visual, and listening skills.
91. Sharing. Share ideas and concerns.
92. Socialization. Learn about others.
93. Speech. Practice speaking.
94. Spontaneity. Zig-zag into new topics.
95. Teachers. Observe class social dynamics.
96. Thinking. Organize, synthesize, and analyze feedback.
97. Time. Monitor and prioritize.
98. Tone. Analyze sounds and meaning.
99. Trust. Build confidence in others.
100. Vocabulary. Interject new language into discussions.
101. Writing. Share, listen to, and obtain feedback on writing.

References

Chin, C. (2006). Classroom Interaction in Science: Teacher questioning and feedback to students’ responses. International Journal of Science Education, 28(11), 1315-1346
https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690600621100

Lerner, J. W. (1971) Children with Learning Disabilities: Theories, Diagnosis, and Teaching Strategies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Hughes, J. N., Wu, J-Y., Kwok, O. Villarreal, V. & Johnson, A. (2012). Indirect effects of child reports of teacher–student relationship on achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 365. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026339.