Being a teacher means wearing a lot of hats. You are expected to be a subject area expert, a protector, a cheerleader, a disciplinarian, a great collaborator, an enthusiastic club moderator, a coach, an engaging presenter, and so much more. With everything else on your plate, how can you ensure the 30 or so strangers you meet at the beginning of each school year feel seen, heard, and able to learn? It’s no small task to build relationships with students, but as every teacher knows, those relationships can mean the difference between an engaged student and one who is unfocused, frustrated, or acting out. Individualized attention via a check-in meeting can be a huge game changer for teachers and students alike.

Giving each student time to express their concerns, ask questions, and chat about themselves helps you understand them as people, and also as learners. Even if you find yourself teaching remotely, hybrid, or blended, regular check-ins are still attainable. Whether you find yourself with limited time to meet during the school day, or teaching from home, Microsoft Teams can be a great way to get face-to-face time with students. Here are four key ways Teams can be used for check-in meetings that will help you build relationships, gain valuable feedback, and improve the social and emotional learning of your students.

#1 Simplify it

We know your schedule is packed, so how can you fit in spending quality time getting to know each one of your students? Keep it simple! One-to-one meetings don’t have to be long, complex, or minutely planned. They also don’t need to take a very long time. The easiest and most effective way to make 1:1 meetings work is to keep them informal and short. A quick 10 minutes chatting about a topic or just letting a student ask questions or vent frustrations is all it takes.

The paramount thing to remember with 1:1 meetings is that it is all about the student you are talking to – remember keep it student focused. This is the time students can ask questions or express opinions and emotions they may not feel comfortable sharing in class. While we recommend 10-15 minute informal check-ins, you may find that longer meetings may occasionally be appropriate. For example, if you do 10 minute check-ins once a week, you may want to also include a longer meeting once a semester. You can also opt to host office hours on a regular basis and let students who need more face-to-face come to you. All of this is possible through Teams with tools like video conferencing, screen-sharing and materials organization.

#2 Schedule it

While 1:1 check-ins should be informal, that doesn’t mean they don’t require any planning or organization. In order to make sure you are getting time in with all of your students, it’s important to schedule meetings. Teams makes this easy through the calendar function. You can schedule individual meetings by clicking the calendar, then “schedule meeting,” and inviting the student in question.

Don’t forget that to keep these check-ins private, you should schedule from the calendar and not from inside a Team. Scheduling inside a Team will make that meeting viewable for all Team members. If you are meeting in person, Teams has the option to designate a meeting place, and if you are meeting virtually, Teams automatically adds a link to the video conference in the details section.

#3 Scaffold it

While check-ins are generally informal discussions, it’s never a bad idea to have some support materials available. These can range from additional worksheets for practice in certain skill or content areas for students that might need it, to questions or prompts to keep the conversation flowing or help you direct the topic of conversation. Support materials can also include organizers or pointers for students who need help with time or task management, and even Microsoft Forms to do quick polls on how students are fairing with the material, what their social/emotional needs are, or even gather feedback on what is and isn’t working in class.

Teams makes it easy to organize any materials you may need for 1:1 meetings. You can use an existing Team’s Class Notebook section to store and distribute any files you may need. Remember, anything you want to keep private should be kept in the “Teacher Only” tab inside the Class Notebook.

#4 Share it

Another essential part of 1:1 meetings is the ability to share not only conversation, but knowledge, materials, and ideas with students – and for students to share the same with you! If you are not conducting 1:1 check-ins in person, you can still do so with Teams. Within a video conference, you have the ability to share your screen or a whiteboard with students from the main menu bar at the bottom of the video conference.

If your students want to share something with you, that is possible so long as they are designated as “presenters” in the meeting and not “attendees.” You can change meeting roles for participants in the participants panel by clicking on the 3-dots next to the name and choosing “presenter.”

By doing a little bit of organization up front with Teams, you can make 1:1 check-ins a regular and impactful part of your teaching practice, thereby building solid relationships with each of your students.

For a deeper look into using Teams for Virtual 1:1 Check-Ins take a look at our companion course Virtual 1:1 Check-ins with Microsoft Teams

For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom, check out more articles on the Teq Talk blog.

We also offer virtual professional development, training, and remote learning support for educators with OTIS for educators. Explore the technology, tools, and strategies that can spark student success — no matter where teaching or learning are happening.