Five Ways to Help Your Kids Be Successful During Remote Learning

Are you a parent with a child who is learning from home? Perhaps you are also working from home, and you could use a hand in helping your kids achieve to the best of their abilities. Chances are you are not an educator, by trade. So, "How can I best support my students while they are learning remotely?" you may be asking yourself. As a former teacher and principal of 25 years and current professional coach, I am helping clients who are asking the same question. Additionally, I am a parent myself and am incorporating these elements into my own practices. The following are some tips and strategies I want to share with you to help make our journey a bit smoother during these unusual times:

1) Designate a Learning Area

Choose a physical location in the home for your student to log-on, work, read, and complete all other school-related activities. A consistent place will allow your child to associate that location with learning, and increase the likelihood your student will focus better during remote schooling. Additionally, limit distractions in this area to help your student remain on-task. Possible ideas include keeping other devices away (such as a personal phone), leaving food and snacks out of this area, and, if possible, assigning a desk or table to work at that is separated from other stimuli.

2) Establish Predictable Routines

Create and establish expectations for and with your student. Examples include consistent wake and sleep times, breaks, lunch, etc. Common agreements and expectations are critical in a classroom; and they are critical at home, as well. Kids need to know what the parameters for success are, and adults must follow-through and monitor this with fidelity. This is especially important during remote learning, because home is familiar and comfortable. As a result, it takes greater discipline (and sometimes, more help!) to remain focused.

3) Check-In with Your Student

Gradual Release is a term used in education to describe developmental stages at which students are allowed (and expected) to take ownership and responsibility for their own learning. Obviously, developmental considerations must be taken into consideration. After all, an elementary-aged student (grades K-5) is going to require more monitoring and direct supervision than a secondary student (grades 6-12). This is not to say older students do not require accountability; they do. It only means, generally speaking, the younger the students the more checking-in you will want to do with them. In other words, you will want to check-in with your younger child more frequently than you will with your middle or high school kids. When you do so, checking for understanding is important. This may take the form of asking your student to read to you, explain how he demonstrated a math concept, or asking her to write something similar to what she did while in class.

4) Encourage!

When it comes to positive reinforcement, the ratio schools practice is 4:1. The goal is to provide students with four praises for every one redirection. That way, we are more likely to ingrain the practices we want to build in them. Besides, it is more fun to compliment than it is to correct! Sometimes it is easy to get caught in a rut of redirecting and nagging. However, let's remember that our kids are in a tough spot. After all, they want to be with their peers at school! Tell your student you appreciate how hard she is working. Praise your child for the progress he is making. Remind your student of the fact that this can be challenging work and there is value in the effort - value in the struggle.

5) Communicate with Your Student's Teachers

When you, your child, and your student's teachers are all on the same page, the student can best be positioned for success. Between the three of you, everyone can be aware of strengths, weaknesses, gaps, assignment and assessment data, and anything else that may be pertinent. Additionally, I can tell you it means a lot to teachers when parents show interest and reach out to become an active participant in their child's education. Insights shared between parent and teacher are beneficial for your student and can accelerate academic growth as a result.

I hope this article has provided you with some ideas and insights into how to help your kids be most successful during remote learning. Current circumstances are not ideal, but with some added skill, perseverance, and patience you and your kids can make steady progress. These strategies can continue to be effective after students return to school (hopefully soon!). Also, feel free to forward this article to anyone you believe could benefit. If you are in need of further assistance in the form of professional coaching, I invite you to visit my website where you can contact me at:

www.reimaginesuccesscoaching.com

Best,

Chuck Sheron, AELC, M.Ed.