Learning environment
When creating a primary-age learning environment, connection with students is most important. In a primary-age hybrid learning environment, educators develop and conduct in-person and online teaching, as well as support interactive and engaging synchronous and asynchronous learning. Educators must build a system that blends in-person and online best practices to meet the needs of primary-age students.
One of the best ways to develop a positive learning environment is to establish meaningful connections with primary-age students. The physical learning environment is the face-to-face classroom; the virtual learning environment is the online classroom; and, in a hybrid learning environment, these are one and the same. To foster connection, educators need to develop a safe space that encourages risk-taking. Educators can build a classroom community through collaboration with tools such as Teams and Flipgrid. Student-centered, active learning for young students should be inclusive and accessible to all learners. Introduce primary-age classes to tools such as Immersive Reader, Read Aloud, and Dictate so they can access instructions and other content without assistance. Learn more about taking a student-centered approach to building a learning environment with Student-centered learning.
Tools and features for organization, time management, and accessibility
- Teams is a hub for primary-age learning environments
- The Calendar creates a visual for the class organization
- Channels connects students and organizes the Team
- Add channels for each subject area, or course, to create consistency and workflow for organization
- Create channels for groups of students for collaboration, or small group sessions
- Utilize private channels for communication and collaboration
- The Posts tab encourages virtual class discussions and allows educators to have virtual in-class lessons and virtual screen sharing
- Assignments in Teams is a simple way to disseminate materials to students; educators can even specify the channel to send an assignment
- OneNote Class Notebook is built into Class Teams
- Teacher-only sections allow educators to build material and content away from student view
- Educators can create multimodal material and attach it to resources in Teams assignments
- OneDrive
- Store PowerPoint, Word, and other files in OneDrive for easy access and attach to Teams assignments
- Immersive Reader, Read Aloud, and Dictate are a few of the inclusive tools that assist all learners
- Learn more about creating an inclusive classroom here Accessibility, special education, and online learning: Supporting equity in a remote learning environment
Microsoft Teams is an effective hub for a primary-age hybrid learning environment. With synchronous learning, educators can work together with students in a collaborative live environment to ensure high-quality dialogue, whether students are in-person in a classroom or online. Educators can develop direct instructions, collaborate, have group discussions, and guide learning in class and online with the use of Teams. Online, educators can incorporate an active learning strategy that includes virtual hand raises, and display a virtual lesson using Whiteboard. There may be times when educators use asynchronous teaching, in which the primary-age students’ learning is self-paced. Microsoft Stream can be incorporated within Teams, providing educators a place to record lessons and share video materials. Learn more about creating a primary-age class with Microsoft Teams with Transform learning with Microsoft Teams.
Educators can transform learning with Microsoft Teams, creating a seamless transition in and out of the physical classroom for hybrid learning. Educators can use in-person class time to assist students with organization. They can also incorporate executive functioning skills by helping students develop an understanding of class structure. Even though methods of delivery might be different, digital tools can be used both in school and online. Setting up Teams as the hub for a hybrid classroom allows for a seamless workflow. Take a look at how to set up Teams to connect with students in an inclusive learning environment in the following video.