Throughout the pandemic and school closures teachers,
students, and staff members have had to remain separated. The difficult part of
this is that a healthy learning and work environment often revolves around in
person connection.
What is the importance of remaining connected?
Although some say friendships or “cliques” in a workplace
can cause tension, “research indicates [work relationships] effects are largely
positive for individuals and organizations. Workplace friends provide each
other with instrumental and emotional support” (Kram & Isabella, 1985).
This is similar for students as well. Teachers and students see each other and
fellow employees/ classmates daily. The 7+ hours in which school is in session
each day often thrive around personal or new relationships. I have often been
told that “those who are doing the talking are doing the learning”. Therefore, I
often had students communicating in partners, or working in groups, in order
for them to share and gain knowledge not only with me, but with their peers. In
fact, last school year, two girls (best friends) came up to me and thanked me because
they met their sophomore year in my class, and now never spend a moment apart!
This is the type of relationships work and school can build. However, the
pandemic has taken away the normalcy of this human connection. Thus, educators
must ensure that these relationships still occur even if we are remote, not
only for students but for themselves.
How can we remain connected?
“Proximity is difficult, if not impossible, for employees
who telecommute part or full-time. Increased time spent offsite means less time
in the physical proximity of coworkers. Given the social presence afforded by
face-to-face interaction, it is also likely that the more time an employee
spends working offsite, the less they are able to learn about and enjoy their
coworkers’ personality and backgrounds” (Sias, Pedersen & Gallagher, 2012).
This quote is a perfect description of the setting most of
us are in now. So the question remains: How can we remain connected to ensure
that we do know each other’s “personality and backgrounds” when we are not on
site? Obviously, most of us utilize site’s like Zoom or Google Meets, but the “lowest,
in the communication method hierarchy were teleconferencing, social networking,
instant messaging, and paper documents” (Rabby & Walther, 2003; Wellman et
al., 2001). Nevertheless, these telecommunication sites are necessary to
teaching, but this does not mean they need to be the only way to communicate,
especially when it comes to building relationships. It has been said that
shared projects can help build relationships. Students can communicate through
simple text messaging, which according to Raby & Walther (2003) is in fact
a preferred method of contact. They can even share projects back and forth through
live document sharing. Working together can help student relationships feel
normal.
It is imperative to remember that in order for school to
feel normal, teachers also need this communication. This is why teachers should
check in on each other from time to time. At my site, we have health partners as
a staff. During our monthly staff meetings, the health partners have time to
check in with each other. This gives teachers time to have meaningful
conversation outside of classroom talk, which can assist with work
relationships.
References:
Kram, K., & Isabella, L. (1985). Mentoring alternatives:
The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management
Journal, 28, 110–132.
Rabby, M. K., & Walther, J. (2003). Computer-mediated
communication effects on relationship formation and maintenance. In D. J.
Canary & M. Dainton (Eds.), Maintaining relationships through communication:
Relational, contextual, and cultural variations (pp. 141–162). Mahwah, NJ:
Erlbaum.
Sias, P.M., Pederesen, H., Gallagher, E.B., & Kopaneva,
I. (2012). Workplace Friendship in the Electronically Connected Organization.
Human Communication Research, 38(3), 253-279.
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