Teacher/students as friends on Facebook

At today's staff meeting, our principal brought up the topic: "Should teachers be allowed to befriend their students Facebook, and she asked for the staff's opinion on the issue. The verdict was an unsurprising "no", but what shocked me was the lack of discussion and unanimous stance my colleagues took. No-one pointed out the potential benefits of it at all.

Pros in a nutshell:

- Easy know more about your students, making it easier to communicate with them.

- Opens an easy channel for teacher-student communication

- A simple way to keep in touch with graduated students

My thoughts:

Cons in a nutshell

- Change in teacher / student dynamic, possible loss of respect

- Students might see things in your profile you may not want (like your late night romps in bars)

- Students can judge the way you interact online

- Loss of professionalism in some people's eyes

There are clearly ways to get around the cons, such as using education portals or alternative teaching sites designed for the purpose. But they have their own drawbacks, as they are time consuming to manage, and students are far less likely to use them.

Here is my suggestion:

- Open a new Facebook account with an alias name

- Only add school alumni (not existing students still in the school)

- Only post school related content

This allows you to keep in contact with your students, and have a separate

Soon, you may be surprised (and depressed) by the kind of things you ex-students get up to, that you won't want to log on to it very often anyway.

Small classes vs big classes: the pros and cons

Individual sessions

- Really different from other types, as it is completely teacher-student interaction
- Can easily work at own pace
- Perfect for very low ability students
- Students may easily get bored. Difficult to sustain concentration for>45mins

Comments: It's very easy to slack off and not prepare (I am guilty sometimes), but a little planning goes a long way. Some simple worksheets or appropriate reading comprehension exercises can go a long way. Make sure you have a ton of reference resources available (a visual dictionary is exceptionally helpful, as is easy access to the internet).

2-3 People in a class
- Paired activities are possible, which makes the class more interactive.
- Very dependent on student matching. Try to ensure they are of similar ability level.
- Ideal size for idea sharing, reading aloud and writing workshops.

Comments: I dislike working with 2-3 students, but it is possible to have good discussions and fun activities. However, it's difficult to have anything competitive since it's rare to have students of matching ability. Ideal for idea sharing and individual writing though as they can give each other feedback.

Tutoring style (4-6 students)
- A good balance between individual attention and group energy.

- Good size for in-depth discussions.
- Very good for multiple high ability students, as they can give each other pressure.
Can give substantial feedback on homework.

Comments: a good size for task based learning, as you can focus all your attention on the one group. It is also an ideal size for debates, peer reviewing, and counseling. One of my favorite class sizes.

Mini class (8-12 students)
- Good size for team competitions / games.
- Less individual time spent with students in class.

- Task based activities possible.

Comments: Very energy consuming. Requires ample planning and interesting activities. Task based learning and group based projects are ideal. Assign individual work for homework.

Small class (12-18 students)
Can be more open with projects and let students work at their own pace and level.
Possibility for big projects.
Less feedback to students, minimal indivudual attention to individual students.

Comment: Classroom management skills are important. Design activities for a wide variety of levels and encourage task-based learning.

Medium classes: (18+)

Must plan for a large range of abilities - scaffolding, reading texts should be pitched around the middle, never too high.

Classroom management skills are imperative

Class discussions must be tightly controlled

Very important to give clear instructions.

Comments: This is where it really starts to get challenging for me. Don't forget about the oddballs at the end of the ability spectrum, as well as trouble-makers. I think this type of class requires a lot of experience to manage well and at the same time deliver a great lesson. You could have a great idea, but without good management skills, it will all go to hell.