Students can use moozoom independently, but having a responsible adult there is an added bonus. Your role is to support the student through their SEL journey, to help celebrate their progress and their accomplishments, and to help them develop their ideas and thoughts.
Do not force a student to participate or to share their opinion.
To benefit from moozoom, students have to be willing to participate in the activities. If you’re using moozoom in the classroom, do not force a student to share their opinion with the rest of the class or to talk about things they’ve experienced. Students who do not want to participate should be allowed to observe the rest of the class.
Try not to judge your students’ thoughts and behaviours.
Try not to criticize them. Suggest lines of thoughts by asking your students open questions. Criticism and blame can harm a child’s self-esteem and can lead to them losing interest in the activity.
Try not to compare your students
moozoom is a tool that enables kids to learn in a very person-specific way. Each child will develop on the platform at their own pace.
Adopt a positive attitude.
Each little bit of progress deserves to be celebrated, and by celebrating the little “victories” you’ll be helping to improve your students’ sense of competency. It helps them to realize that they have the power to manage their emotions and interpersonal relationships. You mustn’t force your students to become champion “emotion managers,” but help them see that it’s OK to make mistakes along the way.
Help your students build on what they have learned.
Consult the Keys to action file available in the Educational support section to find inspiration for activities and exercises that can help your students build on what they have learned from moozoom
Encourage practice.
To help your students integrate the things they learn from moozoom, we recommend that you encourage them to put their new skills into practice. Try and incite them to use their new skills in the classroom, in the school yard and at home.
If one of your students becomes very emotional or upset during an activity, refer them to a professional.
If one of your students seems to be in a great deal of distress, try and prevent an emotional outburst that could upset your other students. If you see that a student is in distress, respond quickly and tell them that what they are feeling/saying is very important but that you would prefer to talk to them about it in private.
Meet with the child one-on-one and tell them that you understand what they are going through and that you are worried about them. Make sure you tell their parents about what has happened and ask for their permission to refer the student to another member of staff (psychologist or special education teacher).
Your interactions with students should be aimed at encouraging thought and discussion.
moozoom is a self-learning platform where each child progresses at their own pace. The teacher’s role is to accompany students on their journey. The SEL material on moozoom has been developed by professionals (psychologists and psychoeducators), and so you should try not to interject with your own lessons.
Activities can be completed individually or in groups
Depending on the activity, you might want to create subgroups or work as one large group.
If students are working in a subgroup:
make sure that they are working with another child that they either get along with well or trust. It’s key that you know the dynamic of the subgroup before starting a moozoom activity. If a student is paired with someone they don’t trust, they won’t want to share their opinions or feelings.
If students are working in a large group:
make sure there’s an atmosphere or respect and trust before starting an activity. Explain to your class that moozoom isn’t a competition or contest and that everyone can voice their opinion. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not tolerate negative comments towards other children.
