Remote learning: how to provide opportunities for peer interaction

Last reviewed on 17 February 2021
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 42122

Social interaction is an important part of going to school for pupils, and it has a host of mental health, motivation and learning benefits for them too. Get ideas for how to make sure your pupils are still able to interact with each other, both in and out of lessons, while many are learning from home.

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Contents

  1. Plan group work activities as part of live lessons
  2. Make sure pastoral support is part of your remote learning provision
  3. Small groups
  4. Whole class
  5. Make sure there’s time for fun, games and chatting

It’s understandable that, for many schools, the focus of remote learning so far has been on delivering the curriculum and trying to make sure pupils continue to progress in their learning.

However, more and more pupils are reporting feelings of loneliness, isolation and frustration that they can’t interact with their friends like they normally would at school.

As well as the mental health benefits of socialising with their peers, research from EEF has found that peer interaction can improve motivation and learning outcomes for pupils.

Here are a few ideas for how your school can build opportunities for peer interaction into remote learning.

Plan group work activities as part of live lessons

Make use of breakout rooms on your digital education platform to allow pupils to work together in small groups (find out more about how

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