Why Are Educators Covering Their Faces With Stickers During Virtual Learning?

Teachers may not be able to meet and be physically present with their students but that is not dulling their attempts. Every day, around the world, new trends are originating in the teaching community to engage their students during virtual classes. 

Take the example of Taylor Dale, a teacher from Fairview, N.C, who teaches second grade. Recently, her TikTok video went viral showing her pretty cool teaching tactic. She put stickers on her face every time one of her students participated or engaged during the online class. Dale tells the Washington Post, “My students loved it. They were laughing, and I had never had all 18 of my students completely engaged in my math lesson.”

Seeing Dale’s video, Diane Moon, a math teacher from Prospect Heights who was desperate for her students to engage, tried the trend as well. Even though her previous tries to engage her students didn’t work, this one did! She, too, covered her face in every virtual class when her student spoke up and made it a competition amongst several classes. Moon says, “As teachers, we feed off facial expressions. We are teaching to blank squares. It can feel like we are just talking to ourselves. The kids loved it, (stickers on her face) we made it a competition between my three core math classes. Whichever class got the most stickers on my face was the winner.”

Good news is many teachers around the world are now adopting this trend and enjoying its success in their online classes. 

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These kinds of acts by the educating community show how significant it is for them to not just give a lecture in the class but also get their students to engage in the content. Regardless of the type of class – physical or virtual – a good teacher would always want the students to learn well. Amidst the 'Zoom Fatigue,' this style of schooling is a sign of relief. Hats off!