Teacher Talk: Peer Interactions in Post-Pandemic Classrooms

Welcome to our educational blog. Here we explore all things pertinent to education, discuss current topics and provide tips, from research and educational experts, to aid practice.

Introduction

The past few years and remote learning have had both positive and challenging impacts upon education. Whilst the advancements in technology for learning has revolutionised some schools, the need for social interaction, especially for students, has become ever more important. 

What we know is that lockdown resulted in more students online and less peer to peer interaction. But what is the impact of this now? And is peer interaction really that important to our students? 

The answer is a resounding - Yes.  

Research by Cost et al., (2022) shows that the reduction in social interaction impacted all students (some positively and some negatively) but had the most impact upon girls. This, coupled with an increase in anxiety and depression over the past 10 years, highlights why effective peer interactions within schools are vitally important (Kalb et al., 2019). Dr. Eric Storch, professor of  Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, explains how important face-to-face interaction is, for developing our social skills because we get instant feedback, allowing us to effectively navigate interpersonal relationships and our wider world (Chiu, 2023). Furthermore, during the pandemic, we had limited opportunities to develop these skills and whilst many schools did online learning, our students lost valuable time to effectively relate to and engage with their peers and us, as teachers. Storch, as cited in Chiu states that, “Most children will be able to make up for that lost time, but children who were already at risk for socialization, behavioral and education challenges are now at risk of falling even further behind' (2023).

Peer Strategies within the classroom 

 So, what can we as individuals within education do to develop, effective peer strategies - because they can be taught and nutured within our classrooms. The reality is lots but here’s just a few of the many classroom strategies you can embed within your teaching - 

1. Classroom Layout/Seating Plans

An initial way to consider peer discussion is through your classroom layout. Whilst many of us moved to rows as a result of COVID, this doesn't mean that students can’t turn to talk to peers at their sides and behind of them. Consider different classroom layouts and where each student sits carefully, whilst also changing these frequently to allow peers to interact and to give yourself a chance to work effectively with all. 

2. Time - The next time you teach a lesson just take a moment to review how much time you have allocated to peer, group or whole-class discussion. Do you need to give more time to allow more peer interactions to take place? 

3. Paired/group work

Think carefully about groupings and paired, peer work -always plan them in advance.  depending upon the task and outcome. 

4. Class debates

Debates are a great way to get students talking - think about strategies to ensure everyone contributes and how they contribute e.g. Are students assigned differing roles / sides

5. Consolidation games 

Games are a great way to get students talking and assessing their learning. 

• Charades/articulate - Like a Christmas day afternoon, interactive games like charades and articulate can bring a sense of fun and lightheartedness to a topic. Again, think carefully about how to set it up and how students take part - are they selected or do they nominate themselves?

6. Sharing techniques 

• Snowballing/ Quiz, Quiz, Trade. A great way to get information shared is through strategies like snowballing, where students have to talk to peers to gather further information. This can be done in various ways depending on how you share the information and set up the groups. 

7. Concentric Circles

Concentric circles is where students stand in an inner and outer circle. Students then ask each other questions, consolidating an idea, question or topic. It’s great because everyone gets to speak.

8. Socratic Discussions

Teacher facilitated but student led and an effective way to empower students to own the topic and debate. Again, the layout of your classroom is key to enable the process to take place.  

What about promoting peer interactions online?

Working online shouldn't exclude opportunities for peer interactions. There are numerous ways in which to work, promoting effective interactions  with peers. 

Here’s a few that we have found to be especially effective: 

1. Breakout rooms - These can be used in an online lesson or session or equally, within a lesson to get students discussing in smaller groups.  Plan them in advance as they can sometimes take a while to ‘go into’ the rooms and tell your students you will be popping into each room, to join the discussion. 

2. Collaborative Documents

With suites such as google, students can now share their work with peers for effective peer feedback and group work - all collaborating on one document. As a teacher, you can view this at any time also providing continuous feedback during a lesson. Always ensure you have a clear framework and model for what effective peer feedback and group work looks like though to ensure it aids learning and progression.  

3. Silent debates / discussion

It might seem counterintuitive to get students to engage in a silent debate when we are talking about peer interactions but silent debates can be a brilliant way for students to engage with each other. Give individuals different coloured pens or get them to initial their contributions to ensure all engage with the tasks.

To Conclude

 Our students faced many challenges during the pandemic and now, a few years later we can see the impact, both positive and negative upon their education and ability to have effective peer interactions. As a teacher, TA, leader, we can ensure we support, develop and teach our all of our students how to re-engage, learn or simply feel confident once again to participate with their peers.