HyperDocs and Pear Deck - Student Voice and Student Engagement

We recently organized and hosted nine lunch-n-learns sessions with our staff connected to student voice with Pear Deck as the featured resource. We used the Pear Deck Add-on to create the presentation. Our slide deck placed staff in the role of students to demonstrate the interactive features. Our theme was animals and our staff loved it! 

 I also used Pear Deck with my students as part of my substitute plan when we were meeting with staff. I've been using Pear Deck with my students for most of the year and I decided to complete a student-paced HyperDoc using Pear Deck for the day's activity. This was the first time I used a self-paced deck with my whole class. (I have done this a few times for absent students.) I loved the idea of sharing Pear Deck with staff while using Pear Deck as part of my substitute plan. The student piece also seemed to go very well. 

Here are a few tips that I shared as we explored Pear Deck with staff.
  • I love the Classroom Climate option. I have this turned on and it is a great way for me to get a quick overview of how my students are feeling. I don't make a big deal about this and I don't think the students even recognize that I am monitoring this. When a student chooses the Red or the Yellow icon, I make sure to stop by and give that student a compliment about something they posted. I don't tell them that I am doing because of the icon they chose and I hope me giving them a quick compliment at some point during the period makes it a bit of a better day. 


  • Every question does not need to be written on a slide. I think it is sometimes important for the students to listen to a verbal question and not just wait to see it on their screen. On this slide, we verbally asked, "What does the fox say?".

  • The Slide Library in the Pear Deck Add-on is a great place to get started when exploring the interactive features of Pear Deck. The Beginning, During, and End of Lesson templates are a great placed to get inspired. Even when you don't use the templates they are a great place to get ideas on the types of questions you might ask. My personal favorite is "Pretend your friend was absent . . . ". I like the responses my students share when they are answering a question for a friend and not just for me. 


I plan to share a few other quick tips in future posts, so stay tuned. If you have a favorite tip or process connected to Pear Deck, please share in the comments below?

Learn More
Pear Deck Tip Resource Doc


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