The continuing COVID-19 health crisis has changed the entire landscape of education.
What was once viewed as a temporary solution last spring has now become more permanent in nature for many students across the world.
As a parent or educator, you can do your part to help your students to stay focused by being diligent about creating the right learning environment.
Here are five ways that you can help students to stay engaged while learning from home.
Create a Solid Learning Space
You cannot expect your students to stay focused and engaged if their learning space does not inspire them to pay attention to. Where and how your student is learning from home is a significant predictor of their academic success. Start this space by ensuring that the student has a dedicated desk or table and chair set to do their work.
Other essential elements include proper lighting, comfortable seating, and all of the necessary school supplies within easy reach. It is also imperative that this space is free of distractions.
If you have multiple students learning in the same area, you should consider purchasing privacy boards to set up so that each student has their distraction-free space. Headphones are also invaluable if your goal is to tune out the noise so that the students can concentrate.
Take Frequent Breaks
It is important to remember that this is not a normal situation for any child. You should not expect even the most diligent student to stay engaged in a homeschooling format.
Breaking up the day into manageable chunks and taking frequent breaks will go a long way in ensuring that they remain fresh and open to learning.
While any type of mental break is helpful, it is even more beneficial if the child is able to move around. If you have an extended break for recess, it may be a good idea to implement a family fitness program. This will help the students to work out their energy and return more focused to finish the rest of the school day strong.
Get Creative
This unique situation necessitates that you think outside of the box to keep students engaged and receptive to learning in this new manner. This is the perfect time to lean on technology to provide new avenues to learn.
Make it fun by encouraging your students to get creative with submitting assignments. Since everything is virtual anyway, you might as well harness this power to have more fun with the assignments.
For example, try encouraging your students to generate a meme to express themselves in different formats. By giving them alternate avenues to turn in work, they are more likely to stay engaged in the learning process.
Incorporate No-tech Learning Options
With all of this online learning, many students are growing weary from so much screen time. You can help to alleviate this issue by incorporating a variety of no-tech learning options into your school day. Remember that there is no replacing the value of simply reading a book.
Instead of doing all math work online, try printing off worksheets in an attempt to replicate a normal in-school learning environment. Other good ideas include arts and crafts, puzzles, and board games. Use this extra time to expand your learning potential with new educational items.
other valuable tips:
Encourage Small Group Work
Students thrive on the companionship of their peers. Just because they are not in a physical school, it does not mean that they cannot be interacting with other students. Many teachers are setting up small group breakout sessions in their Zoom calls in order to facilitate this interaction.
If you live in an area that is allowing small groups to gather, you may consider putting together a learning pod for students to receive this crucial social interaction. When you combine students with peers of the same age and academic level, they are more likely to stay focused on the task at hand.
There is no doubt that this is a challenging time for everyone. Regardless of if you are a teacher, a parent, or a student, learning at home requires that you get creative so that you can make lemonade out of the lemons handed to us with this global pandemic.
Image Credit: learning from home by envato.com
end of post … please share it!
GUIDE: search scholarships
Comments