Rounding Out Social Presence in the Classroom
How Intentional Pre-Teaching Creates Purposeful Socialization
This week, I want to feature a dedicated social studies teacher who prioritizes more than just academic learning—helping students build purposeful social connections. In his article, Socializing with Purpose: The Importance of Pre-Teaching for Social Presence in the Classroom, he shares how intentional pre-teaching ensures students engage meaningfully in social activities.
From goal-setting to running trial activities, his strategies focus on helping students navigate social tasks with clarity and confidence. As we conclude our focus on social presence, remember that fostering these skills not only improves students’ ability to collaborate but also helps them grow into empathetic and thoughtful individuals.
Socializing with purpose: The importance of pre-teaching for social presence in the classroom
Just like any other routine we want our students to learn, pre-teaching is vital. The same is true for social presence. One may think that socialization happens naturally over time, and while this is true to an extent, pre-teaching ensures that students are socializing with purpose. When considering an activity that requires students to be social, there are several things teachers should keep in mind before the students can realize the full value of that activity:
The Purpose is More Important than the Content
What do you hope your students get out of this social opportunity? Working with diverse backgrounds? Learning how to delegate tasks? Becoming better empathizers? Without a clear goal in mind, the social activity can quickly devolve into something resembling off-topic lunchroom chatter. Also, it is okay to let the students know about this chosen goal. They can reach any target, so long as it is clearly presented to them.
Do a “No-Frills” Trial Run
Are you breaking your students up into breakout rooms for your social activity? Do they know how breakout rooms work? One way to help students better understand the purpose of socializing is through doing a trial activity. For example, in my eighth grade social studies class, I walked my students through selecting a breakout room and moving between that breakout room and the main session window. Before I even considered giving them an assignment to do in their breakout rooms, I instead had them come up with team names and logos in their groups. This fun activity helped students become oriented to my expectations and made our actual breakout group assignments much easier to get started. Know any ice breakers? Now would be a good time to break them out! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself)
Practice Makes Perfect
Like everything else you want to be good at, practice makes perfect. The same can be said about social activities in the classroom. Things might be awkward at first. However, your students and you will only get better with repetition and practice. Maintenance and following through can be difficult, especially when trying to cover so much content in so little time. Just like any skill though, socialization requires follow through. Think about it this way: If you did five pushups every day for a week and then just stopped forever on day 8, you probably would not see much improvement to your strength. The same is true for social activities. Teachers can not fall into the trap of thinking that socialization occurs naturally. It is a skill, and like all skills, requires upkeep.
As we end our focus on social presence, what are your final thoughts on fostering meaningful connections in the classroom? Share your insights by leaving a comment below!
These are great strategies for engaging students in breakout rooms, Zachary, and for giving them a clearer purpose, as social presence isn’t always obvious to students. Just today, I wondered whether students stay engaged in breakout rooms when I’m not checking in, as some struggle to participate even in small groups. I know some Zoom accounts show if students are unmuting, while others don’t, so I want to check my settings to monitor engagement more effectively, even when I’m not in the room to provide support when needed. Thanks for sharing these strategies and reminders about fostering meaningful social interactions!