Making Brief and Genuine Online Connections
Guest User
School leaders are masters at orchestrating the topsy turvy nature of any given school day. Our current school days are far from “any given,” and many of us long for merely topsy turvy! Yet, we know that our staff members need to meaningfully connect with us. We are talking about a deep, in-their-bones kind of need.
A recent Cult of Pedagogy podcast discussed how teachers might create “moments of genuine connections.” Dave Stuart, the interviewee, shared protocols he developed to intentionally develop relationships with his large roster of high school students and how he has adapted those strategies for online learning.
Stuart’s protocols might help leaders to develop similar authentic relationships with staff. His criteria for these types of interactions are a useful starting point:
Brief, genuine connections where something specific is asked about or noticed.
Personal and professional moments that occur as part of natural interactions with one another.
Interactions are tracked to ensure everyone regularly receives personalized attention.
Online adaptations leaders might use:
Utilize Zoom’s Wait Room feature prior to starting a meeting to briefly connect with one person at a time or use the private chat feature to do so during the meeting.
Invite teachers or students to short office hours on a rotating basis.
Stuart’s strategies are also worth sharing with your teaching staff!
Source: Gonzales, J., & Stuart, D. (2020, August 17). Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/genuine-connection-online/