Common channels of engagement include family night events, PTA meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and community-building social events. The pandemic and the need for physical distancing has disrupted many of these traditional strategies to engage families. Concomitantly, educators are relying on family contributions of time and support more than ever with so many students learning from home for at least some portion of the school week. And all involved—educators, parents, and students—have faced tremendous disruption to their own personal circumstances, limiting the overall emotional, financial, and logistical capacity for added responsibilities.

In the face of these challenges, but with a recognition of the importance of engaging and supporting families during this time, many educators have found ways to connect and partner with families. They have approached these obstacles with creativity, resilience, and resourcefulness to find meaningful ways to move learning forward.

Emerging Best Practices

More Inclusive Outreach: The forced shift to connecting virtually rather than in-person has resulted in many schools holding curricular presentations, meetings, and parent conferences via videoconference or recorded video. Though done out of necessity, this transition has actually increased access by removing barriers of time and place. Now, families can access these information-rich meetings from anywhere and at any time (if meetings are recorded). For families that are rarely able to attend scheduled events at school due to work conflicts, lack of childcare, and other personal circumstances, this has been a welcome change.

Building Families’ Teaching Toolkits: As the locus of learning has shifted to the home for all or part of students’ days, educators have found that it is important not to assume that parents have the professional expertise or practical experience of teachers. Practices or strategies that are commonplace for teachers are often foreign to those outside of the education sphere. Therefore, in order to properly support students at home, teachers have found it works best to explain the why and the how of activities and lessons to parents. When families understand the goal and have some strategies in hand, they can better help their children overcome obstacles and organically extend the learning through conversation and home activities. Broward County Public Schools in South Florida has offered a series of parent webinars, called “Parent University,” geared toward providing families with access to experts and resources for supporting student learning.

Access to Academic Content and Resources: With the pivot to virtual learning, many students have been given devices and tools to take home with them geared toward developmentally appropriate teaching and learning. Educators have found that coaching families on ways to use these resources leads to more productive and targeted practice. Educators have utilized this expanded access to devices to share educational apps that allow for opportunities to practice and reinforce specific skills and provide nearly unlimited digital libraries filled with materials matched to a student’s appropriate reading level. And schools and community organizations have partnered to get learning resources, normally available to students at school, into homes. In Los Angeles, early childhood community-based organizations collaborated with Scholastic to distribute books to young children’s families to promote literacy development during stay-at-home orders.

Grace, Compassion, and Support: So many families have been negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic. Educators have found that, in order to effectively connect with families, they must remember to have grace for students and families who are trying their best but are likely overwhelmed. Leading with compassion, even in moments of frustration, will benefit the long-term relationships with families. Further, as a schoolwide or districtwide initiative, some administrators and schools have found ways to channel shared resources to help families who could use a little extra support at this time with essential needs. These types of outreach support overall student success and go a long way in communicating that students and families are valued and an essential part of a connected school community.

Beyond the Pandemic

All of us cannot wait for school to resume in a more traditional and typical sense: Where teachers and students get to learn side-by-side in a classroom. Where families can gather at a back-to-school night or a fall school carnival. Where parents no longer have to be IT specialists or content experts to support their student’s learning. But, even when we do finally get to safely transition to this more familiar model, it’s important to keep in mind that there are elements of the family engagement practices that emerged during the pandemic that can continue to productively serve students, families, and teachers.

• Instead of limiting attendance and participation at school-wide meetings, schools can consider offering a link for virtual attendance as well. These opportunities allow for broader engagement and participation.

• Teachers can offer parents the option of a videoconference for parent-teacher conferences making it much easier for working parents, multiple caregivers, and parents with other young children at home to easily attend and participate in an engaging conversation with the teacher.

• Forging and strengthening substantive two-way partnerships between the school and home has tremendous benefits for all stakeholders. Even when students return to more traditional in-person schooling, educators should continue to see parents as partners in this learning and provide guidance, strategies, and material for families to extend, reinforce, and promote learning at home.

• The jobs of educators and parents are often thankless, endless, and filled with challenge. Having compassion and grace overlay relationships between teachers and families fosters a network of respect and mutual support, leading to the shared goal of student success.

The circumstances of the pandemic and its impacts have been incredibly difficult and filled with constant uncertainty, especially for educators and families with school-age children. These difficulties have inspired a resourcefulness, creativity, and resilience never before seen in education. Teachers have found ways to engage students and support families from afar and in deep and meaningful ways.

While born out of challenge and necessity, these family engagement strategies will continue to serve teachers and families long after the pandemic has waned. These new strategies and approaches will help to fortify channels of communication, build relationships within school communities, and, ultimately, build a stronger foundation for student learning for years to come.

For more, see:

• Engaging Families During Distance Learning
• 5 Recommendations to Improve Remote Learning for Families
• The Power of Engaging Families

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.

The post Reimagining Family Engagement in the Time of Covid appeared first on Getting Smart.

Kendall is a nine-year-old third grader who had never previously sent an email on her own.

The shift to online learning has catalyzed the need for students to be more independent in structuring their own time and schedules, managing their responsibilities, and advocating for their needs. And these changes in learning modalities and the skills necessary to engage in that learning have affected students of all ages. Even our youngest elementary students are being expected to utilize executive functioning skills often not developed until high school or college.

So much coverage and analysis of the school closings due to the pandemic over the past many months has focused on the deficits and gaps being created and widened by the condensed school hours and time spent learning online. Missing from these conversations, however, is a recognition that even though our students may not be covering the same quantity of content or sticking to a traditional school year scope and sequence, they are developing college-, career-, and life- readiness skills and lessons as they adapt to this unique mode of learning. Through this work, our school systems are nurturing a cohort of students that are actualizing the call for 21st Century Skills that educators and policymakers have been describing as a fundamental priority for decades.

Responsibility & Independence

In a traditional year, the shared classroom experience provides students with social and physical cues to encourage them to stay on task, participate in appropriate and productive ways, and transition between activities. With the migration of learning to the virtual environment and changes to in-person learning to ensure compliance with physical distancing requirements, many of these external reminders and prompts are no longer present or clear. Students of all ages are developing new skills to keep track of their schedule, engage in learning, and complete assignments in the expected format on the appropriate submission platform. Students are practicing setting timers to know when to rejoin their class for learning. They are using cameras to screenshot important slides and images during instruction. They are creatively recording videos to show evidence of their learning rather than simply turning in a worksheet. Though, of course, there are struggles as students learn what works through trial and error, the current learning environment allows for ample opportunities to practice and refine these skills.

Voice & Self-Advocacy

Prior to the pandemic, teachers and staff were more easily able to check in on students’ understanding of new concepts, progress on assignments, and their day-to-day mental health and wellbeing. With fewer opportunities for casual check-ins and informal assessments, the onus for reporting a challenge or a struggle now falls primarily on the student. It is no longer immediately obvious to teachers when there is a problem, particularly for students learning at home. Students are realizing that, in order to move forward, they must take ownership of their learning, using their voice to speak up and clearly articulate the problem in order to receive help. In response, students are working to develop new abilities to vocalize issues that arise, ask questions about content, and communicate any uncertainties about processes and procedures for completing work. This practice in self-advocacy will serve students well beyond this school year and in all spheres of their life.

Flexibility & Resiliency

The pandemic has forced all of us to make drastic shifts in how we go about our daily lives. This has meant that we have redefined what it means to go to school and to learn multiple times in a matter of months, completely upending our students’ sense of schooling and how it should look and feel. Amidst these transitions and changes, our students have seamlessly and without disruption quickly adapted to the structure and modality of the moment. During typical school years, teachers spend considerable time and energy preparing students in advance of major shifts and transitions. In order to get them ready for an upcoming change, teachers might have conversations about expectations, read relevant books, or share a clear, visual timeline or countdown. These recent pandemic-related changes, however, have been forced on our students with little notice and with no assurances for any longevity of a current plan. The flexibility that our students have shown across these transitions is extraordinary. They have displayed great resiliency, readily following each new plan, quickly adapting, and working alongside their teachers and peers to navigate the new situations and circumstances.

And they are practicing this flexibility throughout their days. Students learning from home have learned to remain calm through technical issues. Students learning from the classroom have learned to be patient as they learn new routines, structures, and rules that work to keep them safe. And students in a hybrid model have learned to quickly adjust as teachers try to navigate multiple learning environments or multiple learning pods, often within the same day, and sometimes simultaneously. In the face of many potentially frustrating moments, our students have responded with grace and understanding–overcoming obstacles and continuing to show up Zoom after Zoom, day after day, ready to learn.

Problem-Solving & Technology Skills

Early on in the pandemic, our days seemed to be filled with more chaos and confusion than structure and answers. As teachers were redesigning learning to fit new formats, students were right alongside them, figuring out how to learn via computer, communicate with their teacher, and collaborate with their peers–with no prior model from older students or lessons learned from past years. Moments of stress and frustration grew out of a long list of new digital platforms to learn and lost videoconferencing connections. And doing this alongside peers, who were also struggling and adapting, added to the overwhelming moments for students, teachers, and families.

Over the past many months, students have worked to strengthen and develop robust problem-solving skills in response to these challenges. Students of all ages now easily navigate learning management systems and educational apps. When problems arise, many students have learned to respond by looking for solutions rather than panicking. Students now know to expect the unexpected. Teachers have consistently modeled a calm response, helping them to think critically and creatively about ways to work around problems and find a resolution.

And this deep immersion in utilizing technology to learn has required many students to become so adept with digital tools and resources, at a very young age, that they are able to use technology to showcase and deepen their learning through collaboration and creation. Rather than simply using digital tools to consume information, these students are using technology to expand the learning experience.

Shifting Perspectives: Redefining Learning and Growth

This transition to online, hybrid, and physically-distanced learning has been challenging for all involved. We should applaud our students for the steps they have taken to take ownership of their learning and to advocate for their needs in order to stay engaged. They have displayed flexibility and resiliency with each new wave of information and change. They have become experts at troubleshooting and creatively showing what they know. And all of this growth and development is possible because of our teachers’ thoughtful encouragement, unending patience, and unrelenting focus on student growth and well-being.

While few of these skills are formally assessed or documented on traditional report cards, these new capabilities will have large and far-reaching impacts on future success. These students will be prepared to navigate unexpected issues, problems, and changes in circumstance, utilizing the skills they are developing now. As teachers and parents who are prone to worry that our students are falling behind, we must acknowledge and celebrate students’ progress and development in these areas. These experiences will serve our students far beyond this season of learning; for they are foundational to future college, career, and life success.

The post Distance Learning: Boosting College-, Career-, and Life- Readiness appeared first on Getting Smart.

Our educators have continuously provided structure, care, and encouragement for students and their families. They have been the thread connecting transitions from in-person to virtual to hybrid learning. They have partnered academic lessons with social emotional support and conversations to help students prepare for and respond to the challenging circumstances. They have reinvented their approaches to ensure high quality instruction—in their classroom with physical distancing and masks, virtually for students at home, and combinations of both. And they have been ready, at a moment’s notice, to shift to a different model, without disrupting learning, growth, student well-being, or classroom community. Teachers have formed strong relationships and bonds with their students even though many have never met them in person. They have supported parents by regularly communicating and answering a myriad of questions to calm worries about this school year. These feats are a testament to our teachers’ incredible humanity and professionalism.

With so much going on in all of our lives, It is easy to forget to pause and share thanks for this important work. But, as we approach the season of Thanksgiving, those of us who surround and depend on teachers—from parents of students to school administrators—must note, acknowledge, and convey thanks for all our teachers have done and continue to do for our children, families, and communities.

Give Thanks

With physical distancing measures and changes to the school routines and structures, teachers have lost so many of the informal interactions with families where parents share a warm smile to say thank you or a quick conversation to share their gratitude. And administrators are often so busy with planning, fielding questions, and handling operational issues, their interactions with teachers have been constrained. With all of this, there are fewer opportunities for us to acknowledge the work of teachers; but, given the incredibly challenging context of this school year, teachers need positive feedback more than ever.

Administrators: When you see your teachers showing up with enthusiasm, problem-solving around the unique circumstances of teaching in a pandemic, or being creative and resourceful in supporting their students and families, pause to share your gratitude. When you hear a kind message about a teacher, pass it on. Celebrating and valuing the efforts of teachers boosts the morale of your staff and broader school community.

Parents: If your child’s teacher goes above and beyond, let someone know. Tell your friends or reach out to the school’s principal to highlight this good work. It is amazing how a few positive anecdotes can raise morale among school communities. We must honor our teachers and the meaningful work that they do. Write a quick note or email or invite your kids to write or draw a note of thanks in order to connect with a teacher and show your appreciation for their work. More than ever, teachers are inundated with emails and text messages that add to their to-do list. A simple note sharing a quick moment of gratitude can serve as a reminder to our teachers that they are noticed, appreciated, and respected.

Have Grace

In this unprecedented year of teaching and learning, we must all set our expectations appropriately. We must keep our perspectives in check by looking for evidence of growth rather than a sole focus on outcomes. And we must celebrate the small victories. The quantities of what we need to think about and worry about on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis are incredible and seem to continue to grow. The circumstances of the pandemic continue to take an emotional, physical, and mental toll on everyone. We are operating within an entirely new model for teaching and learning, making even seemingly simple tasks feel quite complicated.

Administrators: Take time to check in on your teachers. Prioritize their personal well-being and efforts over benchmarks or anachronistic, pre-pandemic evaluations. And when something does not go to plan, lead with empathy and understanding and offer support and encouragement. Take care not to compare 2020 to any previous year of teaching and learning.

Parents: When a video conference starts late because of a technical glitch or an email is sent with an incorrect date, we must offer grace. Let us also be grateful when our teachers show us that same grace when our children show up in their pajamas or cannot find a comfortable way to sit and listen. This reciprocity of compassion will strengthen bonds between home and school as we honor one another’s efforts.

Offer Support and Assistance

We must transform this good will and appreciation into action by finding ways to support our educators in this unique year of learning. With so many school systems transitioning between different learning models and environments, teachers are still figuring out what supplies, professional learning, tools, and support they need. Families and administrators alike should do regular check-ins to assess needs and find ways to fill any gaps.

Administrators: School leaders can work to lighten the load for teachers. Find ways to remove nonessential work from teachers’ to-do lists. Create ways to share work among teaching teams and encourage specialists and support staff to partner with classroom teachers. Protect your teachers from a deluge of questions and concerns by proactively communicating with families and the greater community. In those communications, be sure to share glimpses into the tremendous thought and care that teachers are putting into their planning. Create space and safe opportunities for teachers to share their struggles and challenges. Listen to and trust teachers’ thoughts and requests for what is needed to ease their burdens or to improve teaching and learning.

Parents: Many schools and teachers are hesitant to ask families for contributions because of the financial impact of the pandemic. If you are able to help, send a note offering your willingness to send in supplies or inquire about other ways you can support the classroom community. Given the restrictions on sharing supplies among students and the emphasis on regular cleaning, teachers may be in need of additional manipulatives and disinfecting sprays and wipes. Taking these items off a teacher’s to do list allows them to focus on more meaningful and substantive efforts.

Beyond Thanksgiving

Teachers have always performed countless duties and roles well beyond their job description. The scope of their work has rarely been limited to the school hours or the school calendar. Teachers pay is in no way commensurate with the thought and care they put into planning and preparing, nor the impact they have on students. Teachers have long been heroes of individual success stories and collective progress and well-being.

During this unprecedented time of public health uncertainty, financial challenge, and incredible disruption to daily lives, our teachers have somehow further expanded their role and increased their contributions to students, families, and communities. Overnight, they have become expert curriculum designers, instructional coaches to parents, technical support hotlines, and so much more. And at any given moment, they are ready to pivot between these roles—modeling calm flexibility, unwavering patience, and courageous resiliency—without disrupting the learning and growth of their students.

This Thanksgiving season, teachers should undoubtedly be at the top of our lists of those for whom we are grateful. Our school and broader communities should fill their inboxes, computer screens, and days with words and actions of appreciation, grace, or support to convey that their work is valued and appreciated. And as we put away the turkey trimmings and leftovers, let us not let these demonstrations of appreciation wane. Our teachers continue to ensure nurturing and productive learning experiences for all students with consistency all year long regardless of circumstance; we owe it to them to regularly acknowledge this work and say thank you.

For more, see:

• The Getting Smart Team Gives Thanks
• 20 Reasons to Give Thanks for Teachers
• Let us Give Thanks for the All-Too-Often Thankless Jobs

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The post A Unique Thanksgiving Season: Even More Reasons to Be Grateful for Our Teachers appeared first on Getting Smart.

Presidential elections are momentous occasions. In recent decades, the primary and general election cycles have captured the attention of the nation for many months. These events, the conversations surrounding them, and the consequences of them often define generational and collective milestones and set the social, economic, and political tone for many years to come. Presidential elections and the energy around the campaigns also often serve to catalyze increased engagement in social issues and participation in our democracy.

Though so much attention around elections centers on current, likely voters, presidential elections present an incredibly meaningful platform to connect future voters to our democratic processes using a real-world context and provide opportunities to model engaged, productive citizenry. Additionally, students of all ages are hearing the seemingly constant conversations about the election. They are seeing ads on television and social media. They are witness to the political debates at dinner tables and family gatherings. They are hungry for information and seek understanding of these topics.

Given the contentious nature of our current social-political context, exploring political issues and processes with students from a variety of backgrounds can seem daunting; debates around political candidates can be polarizing and contentious. These concerns may be heightened with the dialogue extending beyond the classroom walls directly into homes with so many students learning virtually.

However, civics education is a fundamental responsibility of public education and cannot be set aside despite the increasingly challenging circumstances. Students recognizing that they have the right to have a say in democratic outcomes and the responsibility to do so is fundamental to the health of our democracy. There are ways to structure this kind of learning that can focus the lessons on content rather than criticism and model civil and productive dialogue among people who may disagree. Focusing on election history, purpose, and process is both productive and important for developing students into engaged citizens.

As educators, we must share information, guide student exploration, and create a forum for open dialogue and questions. In short, in order to prepare our students as future voters and leaders, we must commit to using the current election cycle as an opportunity to educate, engage, and inspire our students so that future generations can reap the benefits of informed, engaged voters and leaders for years to come.

Understanding the Basics

The basic processes and channels for participation in a democracy often get lost in the dialogue and commentary around elections. But for students to understand how to be an active and engaged citizen and to understand the implications of these debates, they must first and foremost learn the basic foundations for participating in our democracy, the roles citizens play in that democracy, and how they exercise their rights and choices.

For young children, this begins with understanding the simple fundamentals involved in voting and group decision-making; that each person only gets to cast a single vote and that all must accept the decision of the majority, even if it is not the desired outcome. Beyond that, young students can understand that there are different ways to cast a ballot–including early voting, mail-in ballots, and in-person voting on election day. Older students are ready to understand more complex concepts like the structure of our government, including the different branches of government as well as the decision-making jurisdictions of local, state, and federal governments. Specific to voting, older students can begin to understand the role of the electoral college and how it relates to the popular vote.

Students of all ages can have valuable conversations about what it means to be both a good citizen and a good leader and how that relates to voting. Conversations around the qualities and characteristics of a good leader can be more productive than debating a specific candidate. Students can also understand the role citizens must play and why we each need to do our part by voting.

Learning About the History of the Right to Vote

Beyond the fundamentals, it is also important for students to learn about the history of voting in the United States. Conversations around the right to vote and how that right has been denied or withheld from certain populations are integral for students to understand the duty and privilege of participating in a democracy. Using history as a basis for these conversations provides more neutral ground.

Even elementary students can understand the inequities of certain groups of people–e.g., women or people of color–being denied the right to have their say in policy or electoral outcomes. Using biographical models and historical stories can be a great springboard for these conversations and a tool to inform understanding. This year’s 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage presents an opportune moment to highlight the courageous battles waged to change voter laws. And civil rights heroes like John Lewis, who spent his life fighting to expand the right to vote, can serve as great models for the power of collective action to make change. Older students are ready to learn about the implications of poll taxes, literacy tests, and gerrymandering as well as contemporary efforts to limit voter rights.

Exploring and Debating Contemporary Issues

Once students have an understanding of basic voting concepts and history, they have the foundation to begin exploring contemporary issues and current candidates. For young students, these conversations might include biographical overviews of the presidential and vice presidential candidates and some key differences in their backgrounds and approaches. For others, it might mean exploring a local city council or municipal issue.  Students can come to understand the candidates as people, and the issues as opinions that groups of people hold.  Even candidates’ personal characteristics like pets, children’s names, and where they grew up can personalize the candidates for children and help students to be able to identify current and future leaders.

For older students, this election presents an opportunity to engage in deeper learning about multi-dimensional, multi-perspective issues. They are ready to research different perspectives on key policy issues; understand the global, community, and individual impacts of those issues; and reflect on how their own beliefs align with different stances. In doing this, they can learn where to find accurate sources of information, practice evaluating biases, and how to work and collaborate with others who might disagree with them. In discovering that they agree and disagree with each candidate on specific issues, students learn that they must establish priorities to make the decision of what one person they will vote for in each office. Students can also begin to delve into the relationship between greater voter participation and how that impacts representation.

Practical Implementation

Teaching these concepts has become more challenging with virtual learning models and physical distancing protocols within schools. But there are still many meaningful ways to structure learning and conversations about these important topics.

Our youngest learners can best learn about voting through hands-on, active participation using topics that are meaningful to them. Teachers might invite students to vote on a class read-aloud book choice, the name of a classroom mascot or pet, or to choose between two celebratory activities such as a classroom dance party or a game of Simon Says. This voting process can be a powerful way to teach children that they have a voice in decision-making. It also allows for the lesson that sometimes their choice will align with the majority and sometimes it will not. Older elementary students might begin to learn more about the government and how the election process works. To learn more about the candidates and current issues, students and teachers can visit the Scholastic Classroom Magazine Election 2020 Coverage. They can take quizzes, play games, and even cast their vote in Scholastic’s mock election.

Middle school and high school students are able to research and think critically about key issues that will both inform and be affected by this election. Students might use a sample ballot to research and discuss the candidates and proposed amendments. This models how an engaged citizen approaches voting in an informed way. PBS Learning Media’s Election Collection provides videos, lesson plans, and resources for students in middle and high school as they grapple with these issues.

These older students are able to understand the nuances of the popular vote versus the electoral college. Using this electoral college map, they can imagine various scenarios that would lead to different outcomes. Analyzing different scenarios in the lead up to November 3rd will help them understand the process and outcomes as they unfold. To reinforce the power of a vote, students might analyze tallies and differences after the election results are final.

An Investment in our Democracy  

Historically, the United States has much lower voter turnout rates than other developed countries. A 2018 report from Pew Research shows that the US ranked 26th of 32 highly developed countries. Far too many adults in the US today do not see themselves as having a meaningful or active role in the political process–by exercising their power through voting, by actively seeking out information on government decisions and their implications, or by participating in political conversations and debates to better understand and inform their thinking.

In order to invigorate our young people and change the course of civic discourse and engagement, we must cultivate ways to get students excited about participating in our democracy as a lifelong right and responsibility. We must use the election cycle to spark important conversations and empower our children as thinkers, problem-solvers, and contributors to our communities. To quote Larry Sabato, Professor of Political Science and Civic Engagement at the University of Virginia, “Every election is decided by the people that show up.” For elections to be representative, the people need to be ready and excited to show up once they reach the voting age. And that is what educators can assure by using this presidential election as an opportunity to empower future voters.

For more, see:

• Change Management at Harmony Public Schools: When Prior Innovations Become Status Quo 
• Finding Your Entry Point to Mastery Learning 
• New Arts Integration Efforts Address Healing-Centered Engagement, Transformative Agency 

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.

The post Election 2020: Engaging Future Voters appeared first on Getting Smart.

Communicate Expectations: Starting a school year in a virtual learning environment is new for teachers, students, and families. Things that do not usually require communication in a typical school year now do. It is important to communicate regularly, through multiple modalities, and especially if a schedule or protocol changes. 

• Create comprehensive schedules for students; do not rely on families to piece together emails and calendars from multiple sources. And if something changes, make sure that families can easily identify the most up-to-date information. 
• Anticipate challenges that students and families might encounter and communicate preventative measures. You might share that students should have their devices fully charged before a long day of videoconferencing or give parents a heads-up if a new activity or assessment might feel particularly draining or challenging or require additional time. 

When communicating with students and families, be very clear about the expectations around work completion and submission. Be clear to share which work students must complete, which work must be submitted and how, and which assignments are optional. 

Build Community: No matter the learning modality, developing a classroom community and building relationships are foundational for learning. Virtual instruction can feel overwhelming and isolating especially for our youngest learners. Find ways to help students feel connected to the teacher, one another, and the broader learning community. 

• During virtual instruction, be sure to regularly say students’ names. Children feel included when they hear their own names and they feel connected to others when they learn their names. 
• Use a balance of gallery view, shared screen, and speaker view. While speaker view and shared screens are useful for direct instruction, you might encourage students to use a gallery view at times for students to get to know their classmates. 
• As students are getting used to the virtual environment, it is important that they have a choice to verbally share. As a way to increase comfort and expand inclusion, you might invite students to participate by using chat functions, holding up a yes or no sign, or responding on a whiteboard. 

Show Visuals: In classrooms, pictures and visuals are a cornerstone for independence. The same is true in a virtual environment. Remember to incorporate visuals during learning as much as possible. 

• Use visuals to help students know when to mute and unmute their microphones. Having visuals for routines helps to limit the verbal reminders on a videoconference, leaving more space and attention for learning. 
• Write or draw instructions for students as you share them verbally. Not all students are strong auditory learners and having a visual to reference for directions can be very helpful. 
• Share models of completed work during a videoconference or posted within a learning management system. This helps students and their caregivers understand what is expected during independent work time. 
• Provide anchor charts for students’ home learning spaces. You might have them available at a supply pick-up or email copies to families. Younger students benefit from anchor charts of letters and numbers, and all students benefit from anchor charts that are directly connected to the content they are learning, whether it be the solar system, 3D shapes, or math concepts. You might even color code the anchor charts with a sticker so that you can quickly reference various visuals. 

Include Hands-On Resources: Students learn best when they engage in active, hands-on learning. Though the migration to virtual learning makes facilitating these experiences more challenging, these tangible materials bring an additional dimension to the digital learning space. By planning ahead and thinking creatively, educators can replicate some of these hands-on experiences for students.

• If your school offers opportunities to pick up supplies for students, include math manipulatives (i.e., blocks, dice, spinners, etc.) and whiteboards that students can use in a variety of ways during virtual learning. If there is not a supply pick-up option, invite students to use crayons or coins to count, make arrays, or otherwise show their work. 
• Plan lessons that include real-life items that students have in or around their homes. You might have students bring something from their homes to measure as you teach them how to measure with a ruler. You might have students search for living and nonliving things in and around their house for a science lesson.
• As you plan lessons, be sure to account for different learning styles and preferences. Consider building in multiple options for students to show their work including writing, drawing, building, or recording a video. Offering multiple ways to respond can provide important pathways for students who are reluctant to participate. 
• Find ways to get books in the hands of students. Schools cannot rely on families’ home libraries to support and sustain reading throughout an entire year, especially for early readers. Think creatively about partnering with community libraries or sending home leveled readers from the school to provide students with greater access to books.

Structure Breaks: Students of all ages need breaks within their day. Most virtual classrooms have scheduled breaks, but how students utilize these breaks can set them up for success or quickly turn them off-task. It’s important to work with families to add some structure to this time. 

• Recognize the need for breaks even while on a videoconference. You might ask students to stretch, dance, or stand for a particular activity to break things up. Just as students would have movement breaks in the classroom when lining up or moving from the carpet to desks, give students a chance to change positions, and move their bodies. 
• For breaks between videoconferences, be clear about what time students should return. Encourage them to write down the time and set a timer, on their device or otherwise, whenever possible. Executive functioning is a set of essential skills that kids work to build throughout elementary school. Be sure to pause and explicitly teach these skills as many students are still learning these important routines and behaviors. 
• Before students leave the videoconference for a scheduled break, you might do a quick brainstorm with students about how to best utilize breaks. Remind them to use the bathroom, eat a snack, or move their bodies. You might even share some tools with parents, such as Go Noodle or Cosmic Kids Yoga, to structure movement during breaks. 

Offer Support: It can be challenging to know which students are struggling during videoconferencing—either with the academic content or comfort with the new modality. Find ways to check in with students, offer focused support, and build confidence and connections.

• If students have independent work to do after a videoconference, start the assignment a few minutes before signing off. This gives students a chance to ask questions as they get started. 
• Use videoconferencing break out rooms and take turns checking in on the groups. It is much easier to see who needs additional support in a small group dynamic. 
• Partner with families to better understand how students are doing. Unlike typical years, teachers cannot possibly see all of the frustrations and struggles or celebrations and growth among their students. Ask parents and caregivers for regular feedback, and be sure that they know their feedback is welcome and appreciated. 

Be sure to include social-emotional check-ins throughout learning. You might use different lessons or events to talk about feelings as a class and provide a relevant vocabulary to describe different emotions. You might also create opportunities for students to share how they are feeling via quick, visual check-ins, surveys, or emails. 

Engaging, Productive, and Meaningful Distance Learning 

As schools and districts across the nation are working to engage students in virtual learning, many are proving that through hard work, preparation, and creative thinking, educators can ensure that all of our students have a year filled with learning, growth, and development. In the spring, given the abrupt transition to distance learning, longer-term planning and preparation was not possible. 

Throughout this school year, we can be much more thoughtful and intentional about the distance learning experience. We can communicate with students and families about both short-term plans and long-term goals. We can provide engaging experiences and personalized pathways to learning for all students. We can create productive two-way channels with students and families for communication and support that can expand the reach and impact of the learning. And we can work to ensure that this year’s distance learning experience is rigorous, relevant, and has strong relationships at the core.

For more, see:

• ACT’s Next Act: Mosaic 
• The Role of Student Roles 
• Leaders Are Not the Chief Decider, They Are Decision Architects 

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.

The post Strategies for Fostering a Productive Distance Learning Experience appeared first on Getting Smart.

Decades of research and practical experience have shown that family engagement in student learning is an important component for positive outcomes. With so many school districts around the country beginning the fall with distance learning, the role of families has become even more critical. Parents and caregivers are now serving as the conduits connecting students to school and learning, the facilitators ensuring that learning experiences are productive, and the managers of the school routine. At the same time, the pandemic has disrupted many of the traditional opportunities teachers have to connect and engage with families such as back-to-school nights or open house events.

As schools plan for a virtual reopening, educators must consider and plan for how to connect, engage, and support as they partner with families within this unique context. In doing this, it is essential that both schools and classrooms immediately build strong relationships, establish two-way communication channels, and ensure that their family engagement strategies are ongoing and equitable for all families.

Introduce students and families to the classroom and school. Feeling part of a classroom and school community is important for students and families. Being able to visualize the physical space of the school and the classroom, even while learning from home, establishes a common point of connection and conveys a sense of structure. Some districts around the country are encouraging school leaders and teachers to conduct virtual learning from classrooms within the school building, so familiarizing students with this setup helps to organize their learning routines. Educators can consider hosting live video conferences or sharing pre-recorded videos to orient students and families with the physical spaces.

Share photos and video messages to introduce school leaders and support staff. The experience for families facilitating virtual learning can be isolating. Without the beginning of the year introductions, families might not realize that there is a broader team working behind the scenes to support learning and growth for each student. Take care to introduce school leaders and building-wide specialists and share relevant contact information. It is important for families to proactively get to know the team of support available for their child’s learning. Similarly, consider including photos to identify individuals with introductory messaging and on the school’s website. This is a great way to personalize messaging and help parents feel a greater sense of community.

Take time to educate families on how they can best support learning. Teachers have built their professional knowledge base over years of training and classroom experiences. Most parents and caregivers do not have this background knowledge. Beyond communicating the logistics of virtual learning, it is important to invest time in educating parents and caregivers on developmentally appropriate strategies and expectations for learning. Guide parents on the importance of taking breaks from learning and communicate that it is both necessary and productive for children to take learning breaks throughout the day. You might share how to recognize some cues that a child needs a break and give strategies on how to structure a quick break. Throughout the year, as you introduce new content, parents and caregivers may also require more detailed academic information given this structure of learning in order to support their children. You might include how-to guides for math and reading work at home in your parent outreach.

Value input from parents to inform teaching and learning. Given parents’ increased role in student learning, it is very important to create a two-way communication channel so that they can reach out with questions or share information and concerns. In the classroom, teachers rely on many informal observations and assessments to gauge student learning and progress. With learning happening virtually, teachers must partner with parents and caregivers to better understand student needs.

Find ways to cultivate relationships. Relationships and shared experiences among students, families, and staff are at the heart of a vibrant school community. Find ways to connect new families to the school community. Use virtual school-wide morning announcements, theme days, and scheduled bedtime stories to add points of connection with staff and community members. You might also partner veteran parents with new families to serve as a resource for questions and guidance or connect families from the same classroom by hosting a virtual event.

Create opportunities for parent contribution and volunteering. Each school community is filled with individuals who have a variety of skills and interests along with a desire to contribute to the classroom and school community. Educators can still utilize these contributions of time and talent. You might invite parents to join a virtual lesson and play a musical instrument for the class, share information about their job, or even lead an art project. This is a great way to extend the resources available to students and strengthen the classroom and school community.

Investing in Family Engagement. Both educators and families are actively preparing for a back-to-school season like no other. Educators are figuring out how to migrate the dynamic process of teaching and learning to the digital realm. Families are redesigning their home spaces and schedules to accommodate virtual learning. Practices and routines that in prior years were taken for granted are now having to be reimagined and designed to fit this new structure. And all of this work is happening within a broader context of health concerns and financial impacts.

As educators and families prepare for this school year, we cannot forget to invest time and energy into building and fortifying the relationships between home and school. For within this context, those relationships and communication channels will be the foundation that makes the rest of the work possible and productive. With the recognition of the importance of these family-school partnerships, educators may even develop best practices and strategies that will serve students and families well beyond the return to in-person schooling. And with the recognition that family engagement is an essential rather than ancillary component of schooling, we might finally realize the potential of true partnerships between families and schools described in decades of research.

The post Engaging Families During Distance Learning appeared first on Getting Smart.

The beginning of the school year is a time for building friendships, establishing rules and routines, looking forward to exciting experiences, and settling into new surroundings. In schools across the country, there is common, palpable energy that fills hallways and classrooms and unites students and teachers. These shared experiences and feelings work to set the context for building relationships among students and teachers and provide the foundation for learning and growth in the year to come.

During normal circumstances, these connections are developed through in-person ice breakers, getting-to-know-you games at circle time, and, most importantly, organic, informal interactions at recess, lunch, and within the classroom. But this year, school communities participating in distance learning cannot rely on these experiences to support the development of a strong school and classroom community.

Given the current context of social distancing and new learning modalities, educators must work to explicitly foster community-building among and with their students in order for students to be ready to engage in learning. Though these circumstances create new challenges and require nontraditional approaches, they also allow for the possibility to connect with students in unique and deeper ways.

To get started, help students get used to the modalities that will be used during distance learning and work to develop rules and routines. Ensure that the instruction is developmentally appropriate and repeat and review as necessary. This is important so that technology is not a barrier to participating in learning. During the first days of school, establish the community rules that will help structure and guide the distance learning. Just as you would in a classroom, it is important to invite student collaboration and input as you develop these classroom rules and routines in order for students to feel invested in the community.

• Establish and share rules that are important for communication and collaboration. You might teach students to mute their microphones if they are not talking to eliminate background noise. You might share the rules of messaging during class conversations. You might develop rules around virtual backgrounds. You might teach students how to make sure their first name shows on their screen. Because routines and expectations differed among classrooms in the spring, it is important not to assume any shared or common experiences.

• As a class, discuss how you might show that you are actively listening to one another during virtual learning. You might learn and practice silent cheers, find ways to show agreement using hand signs, or talk about how to use whiteboards to share feedback. Students might also benefit from explicit teaching on how to be an active listener with appropriate facial expressions and head nodding.

• Think through and communicate how students and families can connect with you for support and help. Is it best for students to use chat options? Should families email or communicate through a classroom communication app?  Make sure to share with students and families, through multiple communication channels, how this process will work.

Spend time helping your students get to know you and one another. Unlike the transition to distance learning in the spring, when there were pre-established relationships from the classroom, most students will have a brand new teacher and set of classmates. Therefore, it is especially important to take time to get to know one another as these relationships are built. Utilize the unique context of students interacting from their homes to get to know one another on an even more personal level. Keep in mind that any game or activity that requires items or guests from home should be communicated out to families well ahead of time and through multiple communication channels.

• Invite students to share a family picture and tell the class about the members of their family. Early in the year, videoconferencing can feel overwhelming. Having children share something familiar provides a comfortable on-ramp for connecting with others.

• Invite your students to make cards that say Yes and No. Ask yes or no questions to students about their hobbies, interests, and experiences and invite them to simultaneously show their responses. This is a quick way for students to see who shares common interests and to learn about their peers. This is also a great way for students to connect their classmates’ faces and names in a fun, low-pressure scenario.

• Consider playing Show and Tell. Students of all ages often enjoy sharing things that are special to them. You might invite them to share a pet, a special gift they received, or a favorite stuffed animal. Be sure to share your Show and Tell item as well!

Find creative ways to establish a virtual classroom culture. A large part of creating a classroom culture is collectively participating in shared experiences. These experiences help to connect students on a social-emotional level. Though students are physically apart, it is both possible and important to find ways to do this in order to build camaraderie and help them to learn and grow together.

• Hold a class design challenge. Invite your students to design some kind of structure (e.g., roller coaster, boat, or playground) offline. Have them use anything they would like, from Legos to blocks to drawing tools, to create their structure. Then, have them share their creation on a videoconference. During the discussion, you might encourage the class to share compliments for each student’s design.

• To add an element of joy and celebration to distance learning or as a reward for a week of hard work, invite students to participate in a dress-up or theme day. Students might vote to have a hat day, pajama day, sports day, or fancy dress day. Again, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate, give ample notice, and share information with families through multiple modalities. It is also important to make sure the special theme is accessible for all families.

• Remember to be active and allow for brain breaks. You might have a two-minute dance party and play some upbeat music. If your students need more guidance for movement activities, you might lead some stretching or yoga. These spontaneous breaks can provide a needed release of energy or a quick infusion of laughter.

Seeing Opportunity in the Challenges of Distance Learning

It is human nature to focus on the limitations that come with distance learning and the barriers it creates for a normal beginning-of-the-year routine. But, reframing our thinking around these circumstances has the potential to actually strengthen classroom community-building and relationships with and among students.

When teachers facilitate explicit engagement activities, combined with the more personal contributions from students enabled by virtual instruction, the classroom community is more inclusive. The explicit instruction gives students models for positive communication and collaboration with one another; and connecting with students from their home environments builds a bridge between families and schools. The resulting classroom community is built on stronger and deeper relationships, setting a solid foundation for learning and growth throughout the school year, whether it continues online or transitions to in-person teaching and learning.

The post Building School and Classroom Community During Distance Learning appeared first on Getting Smart.

Throughout this time, this virtual education has evolved and matured as educators, students, and families have gained more experience, discovered what works through trial and error, and expanded their skills. As we collectively welcome summer, the educational community can pause and reflect on lessons learned. And though we do not know what the fall will bring, we can share these lessons with one another to inform practices for any future distance learning.

For Schools:

• School-wide Approach: It is essential to take a whole-school approach when developing distance learning schedules and plans. Many families have multiple children of varying ages and balancing several individual plans on various platforms with different logins and unique work requirements are cumbersome and leads to unnecessary frustration. Utilizing system-wide approaches to distance learning eases learning for students and their families. Further, universal systems make it easier to access teaching and learning from art, music, library, and physical education teachers.

• Building Community: Building a sense of community in many ways is more important than ever as families are isolated at home. Use video morning announcements to add a piece of normalcy and connectedness to each day. Have teachers and staff members share virtual bedtime stories to add a sense of warmth and shared experiences. Encourage families to submit pictures of home learning that schools can turn into a video or collage. These provide common points of reference for students when they come together on video conference conversations and instill within students that they are all in this together.

• Guidance to Parents: Teachers have built their professional expertise and knowledge over years in teacher preparation courses and through practical experience in classrooms. Schools and districts must acknowledge that parents and caregivers do not have this background knowledge and experience. Beyond coaching parents on how to facilitate the logistics of distance learning, it is essential to provide families with guidance on developmentally appropriate expectations and strategies. Schools might share tips on the importance of taking breaks while learning and offer ways to implement those strategies at home. They might guide parents to break up lessons into more accessible sections or add an element of fun by allowing children to utilize different tools, markers, or paper to increase engagement.

• Flexible Access to Instruction and Materials: Teaching and materials should be available asynchronously to meet varying family circumstances of time and schedule. Having instructional videos and learning materials available at any time allows students and their families time to reread, rewatch, and review. The speed of live learning on video conferencing is too fast for some students. Providing a chance for students to pause and go back to review alleviates frustration.

• Share School Supplies & Manipulatives with Families: Schools are filled with specialty tools and resources that are fundamental to student learning, many of which are not common in households. They have book rooms filled with leveled readers, math manipulatives that help children visualize mathematical concepts, dry erase boards and markers that facilitate easy feedback for teachers and novelty in learning, libraries filled with diverse selection of high-quality books, and countless other supplies that increase engagement and make learning happen. When schools must shut their doors, in addition to distributing devices, districts and schools should find processes to distribute these other important supplies. A lack of doing so risks amplifying inequities as many families are unable to curate a selection of learning tools on demand.

For Classrooms:

• Virtual Classroom Culture: With the beginning of any new school year, teachers must work with their students to develop rules and routines and establish the overall culture of the classroom community. Starting a school year virtually requires even more attention to these details. Teachers must work to create community by helping students get to know one another through virtual team building games and conversations. Using the circumstance of students being at home, teachers can facilitate team building in meaningful ways not possible in a classroom. Students might bring their pet to Zoom, showcase a favorite toy, or chat from their favorite place in the home. And teachers should prepare explicit lessons about the rules of their new virtual classroom–from when to use the mute button to the best way to get feedback on their work.

• Small-Group Videoconferencing: Whole-class videoconferencing is a valuable tool for building connections and community. However, that dynamic can feel overwhelming for some children and is not always the best platform for two-way conversations and learning. Teachers might consider balancing whole group conversations with a small group or even 1:1 conversations. These provide a more accessible opportunity for students to participate in a learning conversation and build camaraderie within a group.

• Partner with Parents: In a physical classroom, teachers are regularly receiving feedback, formally and informally, about students’ academic understanding and their social-emotional response to the learning. And with that information, teachers make instructional decisions and pivot their teaching to meet students’ academic and social-emotional needs. In distance learning, we must entrust parents and caregivers with that role. Teachers must ask for feedback and create a virtual open-door policy for any and all questions and concerns. And when parents articulate that their child has had enough (on a particular assignment, day, or week), or that they need a break from videoconferencing, teachers should respect that feedback and use it to inform their lesson planning.

• Special Considerations For Young Learners: For our youngest learners who are used to hands-on manipulatives and highly engaging instruction and educational experiences, the migration to distance learning is particularly challenging. Teachers should find ways to replicate the style of teaching and learning that we know works best with young students. Use video conferencing to share learning songs, create lessons that incorporate items and objects from the home environment, and make sure that each videoconference is short and has a clear, directed purpose to respect young children’s attention spans.

Looking to the Fall

All of these successes in navigating this unprecedented year of social distance and virtual learning would not have occurred without the remarkable work of both educators and parents. Through daily effort, extraordinary patience, inspiring resourcefulness, constant resiliency, nuanced discernment, and most of all, intentional, open presence in students’ days, the nation’s children are successfully completing a school year unlike any other. Educators should proudly acknowledge this journey, the challenges overcome, the successes achieved, and appreciate the astonishing efforts and remarkable strength of our school communities.

As districts and schools across the nation prepare for many potential learning structures in the fall, we must remember to utilize what we have learned. We must continue to do what is working well, shift practices that are ineffective, and most importantly, build on the capacity that has been developed through hard work and effort from teachers, parents, and students.

For more, see:

• Empowering Students Through Choice, Voice, and Action 
• Resources to Supplement and Enhance Distance Learning in the Elementary Grades 
• Voices from the Field: Best Practices 

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.

The post Lessons from the Spring: Tips to Inform Future Distance Learning appeared first on Getting Smart.

As people around the world have been asked to stay home in response to the pandemic and its impacts, familiar doors have closed, events have been cancelled, and routines have been disrupted. Families are struggling with how to fill the day while also continuing to offer their children memorable and fulfilling experiences. Fortunately, many individuals, organizations, and institutions around the globe have stepped up to this challenge and are making available resources and opportunities that were once only accessible with a membership or ticket fee or at a specific location and time. Award-winning illustrators are offering drawing courses and sessions; zoos and aquariums are broadcasting encounters with unique animals narrated by zoologists and marine biologists; and world-famous museums are offering virtual tours of their collections and exhibits.

As districts and schools across the country shift to distance learning, they are primarily focusing on supporting students in core academic areas. For families looking to broaden their children’s learning experiences or add variety to the daily schedule, the links below offer rich opportunities for exploring interests, delving into passions, and facilitating unique engagement with our broader world. These are vetted resources families might enjoy with their preschool and elementary-school aged children:

Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM)

• Take your kids on an adventure (from the safety of your home) through virtual field trips from We Are Teachers and Discovery Education.
• DK Find Out! offers informational texts about animals and nature, space, computer coding, dinosaurs, transportation, the human body, and so much more.
• Amazon Future Engineer is offering free access to their platform where students in grades 2-12 can program a virtual robot.
• National Geographic Kids provides games, videos, and open exploration to help kids learn about the world around them.
• Science Fun for Everyone provides science experiments that can be done at home.
• Cool Math Games includes puzzles, logic activities, and other math games.
• Khan Academy offers content created by experts that include both instructional videos and practice exercises for a variety of subjects including math, science, and computer programming.

Social Studies

• BrainPOP is an animated, educational site for kids that provides science, health, reading and writing, social studies, math, arts, and technology. To request free access, use this link. Visit BrainPOP Jr. (K-3), BrainPOP, and BrainPOP ELL.
• Time for Kids is offering access to a grade-specific digital library that includes multiple issues. Once you register, you will receive an email that links to your library, which provides resources and articles designed for kids about current global events.
• Visit the Smithsonian for kid-friendly art, history, and culture resources.

Reading & Writing

• Scholastic: Learn at Home offers many digital books, resources, and projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.
• Harry Potter at Home: Wizarding World official website includes quizzes, games, and information for all Harry Potter fans to explore from home.
• Story Pirates is a podcast where professional improvisers and actors act out imaginative story submissions from kids around the world. Children can submit their own creations through the Story Pirates website.
• Several children’s authors are finding ways to connect through websites and social media. Peter Reynolds is sharing his books through virtual read aloud. Matt de la Pena is writing letters to students and families at home.

Movement & Mindfulness

• Cosmic Kids Yoga provides yoga, movement, and mindfulness videos geared towards children.
• Go Noodle offers quick, fun, and silly movement and dance videos that are perfect for a mid-learning brain break.
• Download the Inner Explorer App to link to free mindfulness resources that include 5 to 10 minute audio-guided lessons.

Art & Music

• For fans of Elephant and Piggie or those who just love a good doodle session, check out Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems. Tune in live at 1:00 PM ET or watch recorded videos.
• The Laurie Berkner Band is doing live concerts most weekdays at 10:00am ET on her Facebook Live Page.

Inspiring Joy and Fostering Connectedness

These days at home managing distance learning, children’s emotions, basic needs, and general down time are incredibly challenging for children and families. As we miss the rhythm of our traditional school days, let us pause and find moments to appreciate new avenues for learning and exploration. Use these resources to provide breaks from more traditional work assigned by schools, to extend and explore interests, or to add levity and joy to family experiences. For within these moments, you might be surprised to have experiences that ignite new passions, cultivate stronger relationships with one another, or create pathways for learning that your child can build upon for years to come.

For more, see:

• Engaging Families in Distance Learning: Supporting From Afar
• Fostering Connectedness During Remote Learning
• On the Move to Online Learning

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.

Getting Smart has launched the Getting Through series to support educators, leaders, and families on the path forward during such an uncertain time. This series will provide resources and inspiration as we face long term school closures, new learning environments, and address equity and access from a new lens. Whether you are just getting started with distance or online learning, or you’ve had plans in place and have the opportunity to share your work and guidance with others, there is a place for your voice and an opportunity to learn.

We’re going to get through this together, and we invite you to join us. Please email Editor@GettingSmart.com with any questions or content you’d like considered for publication. We also invite you to join the conversation and on social media using #GettingThrough.

The post Resources to Supplement and Enhance Distance Learning in the Elementary Grades appeared first on Getting Smart.

Throughout our world, families are facing the reality that schools—a source of structure, continuity, and growth—must close for several weeks, and possibly longer, as we seek to flatten the curve of COVID-19. Our entire system, including administrators, educators, parents, and students, finds itself in uncharted territory. A major area of concern as we navigate these uncertain and evolving circumstances is how to proceed given that the locus of learning has shifted from schools to homes and the modality of instruction, for most, is transitioning from face-to-face to online. These transitions are occurring in a general context of stress and worry, and are happening simultaneously with many parents making similar shifts in their professional lives.

Research and practice have long recognized the importance of engaging families in learning. This is true now more than ever as a strong and supportive partnership between schools and families is the lynchpin upon which success for this new kind of learning rests. As families work through the challenges of making these transitions, educators must use best practices for family engagement in order to provide emotional and technical support, compassion, and encouragement as they partner on facilitating learning from the home.

Take Into Account Large Variations Among Families

As districts and schools create distance learning plans, it is essential they take into account variations among families. Solutions and resources must be flexible enough to accommodate these differences. For example, many families have children of different ages, which creates additional challenges when trying to engage in grade- or age-specific learning. If there are scheduled times for any part of your distance learning plan, consider spacing them out by grade level.

When developing family engagement plans and strategies under traditional circumstances, schools and districts must not have expectations for advanced literacy levels in the home. The same care must be taken for digital literacy skills. Schools and districts must structure directions and expectations for parents who are novice technology users. They must also expect a wide variation in access to devices and internet connectivity across many communities. Even families who are fortunate enough to have a device their kids can use either at home or from school may not have multiple devices available for their children to use simultaneously. Finally, distance learning cannot have the same expectations as classroom learning. Educators cannot presume any certain materials or prior knowledge. We must create multiple pathways for learning to meet each family’s unique circumstances, backgrounds, and experiences.

Families Need Clear, Effective, and Supportive Communication

Though schools are moving to different modalities to facilitate learning, they should continue to utilize many of their existing channels of communication in order to engage families. Tools such as Seesaw, Class Dojo, and Remind provide effective ways for schools and teachers to continue to connect with students. With the daily or weekly school pickup and dropoff routines gone and a lack of face-to-face interactions between schools and families, regular, frequent, multimodal communications will be fundamental for families to feel connected and supported.

Just as educators are in uncharted waters, most families are nervous about managing the logistics and content of their children’s education. They need messaging and interactions from educators that are supportive, positive, compassionate, and encouraging in order to effectively facilitate this learning at home. If expectations feel rigid or learning feels pressured, students and families will not be able to keep up for long. Instead, praise small steps. Remind families that learning and technology hiccups will occur, just as they do in classrooms.

Recognize the Unique Potential of At-Home Learning

Most narratives in recent days have focused on what might be lost as learning transitions to be digital- and home-based. However, educators and families alike should recognize that the home environment allows for unique opportunities for embedded, organic learning that is not always possible in the classroom. And it is important to remember that activities that spark learning need not feel like traditional homework in order to create high-quality, effective learning experiences.

Life Skills: Parents are students’ first teachers and they already do a great deal of teaching in their natural day-to-day routines and activities. Remind parents that doing chores—such as cleaning, sorting laundry, washing dishes, making beds, and other ways to contribute—are meaningful, real-world learning experiences. Families might cook or bake together or encourage their kids to take on making their own lunches. Teaching kids to do yard work or gardening are additional, valuable life skills that this extra time at home can foster.

Nontraditional Academic Learning: Educators can encourage families to engage in critical thinking activities that bolster cross-curricular skills as our children plan a dinner meal using the ingredients in our kitchens, set up a grocery store where they have to calculate cost and change as they sell their goods, or create an original board game for their family to play in the extra hours at home. Older students might research and write letters or emails to elected officials or companies advocating for a particular policy or position. And to build academic skills together, families might listen to an Audible audiobook (many selections have now been made free) or watch zoologists broadcasting from national zoos and aquariums.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Homes are ripe with opportunities for SEL growth. SEL is rooted in creating and maintaining relationships and friendships through managing emotions and making responsible decisions, all of which happen regularly through family interactions. To teach SEL, use opportunities such as playing a board game, learning to patiently wait, or other experiences that happen every day. Encourage parents to notice and recognize when their children show perseverance, flexibility, independence, or generosity within their day-to-day interactions. Recognizing and praising these qualities incentivizes these kinds of positive behaviors.

Books are another platform for conversations around SEL. Many books families already have in their homes contain examples of friendship, conflict, and dialogue. These books can serve as visual models for social experiences. Talk about the characters and what is happening in the story to give your child access to the words and language used to describe different feelings.

The Arts: Encourage families to foster creative thinking by drawing pictures, writing poems, and jotting notes to friends and family. Families might also listen and dance to music to create some levity in tough moments. Further, art can be a creative outlet for all the big emotions that kids and families are experiencing at this time. Encourage families to draw, paint, or construct to create their story. This is an exceptional individual and collective experience and these creations provide artifacts for families to keep to document this time.

Tips to Share with Families

As schools and districts communicate with families about these new learning experiences to be done from the home, it would be helpful to include these overarching themes and messages:

• Encourage joy in learning. Learning at home will be more sustainable if it feels good for all–caregivers and students. Novelty also goes a long way. Learning under a tree, creating a closet learning station, or using stuffed animals as reading buddies can help to sustain feelings of happiness while learning.

• Know that home learning cannot perfectly mimic school learning. Encourage open or unstructured playtime, loosen restrictions on screen time, and if your child seems particularly interested in a topic, find ways to dive deeper into that area. While we want learning to happen, we also have to create space around it that allows for fun and relaxation. These are times when our standard sets of rules do not necessarily apply.

• Share with families that it is very important for students to take regular breaks. Guide them that If something is not working, walk away for a moment. Trying to push through a spike of frustration (for parents or children) around an assignment or activity rarely proves worthwhile in terms of skill-building. If families feel stress bubbling up, encourage them to initiate a few minutes of independent playtime, host a kitchen dance party, or set the pencils aside and trade them out for Play-Doh or markers.

• Empower families during a time when many feel powerless. Give guidance to families on how to integrate check-ins with their children into their days at home. Encourage parents to invite their children to ask questions about what is happening, and ask them questions about it, too. Remind them to offer reassurance that any range of emotions is okay. Consider providing conversation prompts for students to share how families can help others who are in need and ways to engage children in designing solutions. When kids work through the problem-solving process, they develop their abilities to think critically and in an action-oriented way.

Together, We Can Do This!

Right now, many families find themselves worried about health, finances, their children’s academic growth, and their family’s overall stability. There are few pieces of this experience that any can control. However, schools have the opportunity to provide continuity, maintain fundamental relationships, and most of all, through encouraging support, give families and students a sense of agency during this time. Families are hungry for guidance and are looking to schools and districts to lead them.

With the U.S. Department of Education allowing states flexibility on state test requirements, educators can facilitate deep engagement with content via distance learning without test preparation concerns. They can support and encourage meaningful ways for families to incorporate learning into the home in unique and dynamic ways. And they can provide an emotional lift for families as they navigate this uncertainty.

This is a Herculean ask of our educators. But, if done in a way that encourages partnership, creates space for grace and compassion, and builds new skills for students, caregivers, and educators, we can emerge from our physical distances with a developed mutual respect and stronger channels of family engagement.

For more, see:

• The Impact Of A Pandemic: What To Do As A Parent And What Will Happen In Higher Ed
• On the Move to Online Learning
• Fostering Connectedness During Remote Learning

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update.

Getting Smart has launched the Getting Through series to support educators, leaders, and families on the path forward during such an uncertain time. This series will provide resources and inspiration as we face long term school closures, new learning environments, and address equity and access from a new lens. Whether you are just getting started with distance or online learning, or you’ve had plans in place and have the opportunity to share your work and guidance with others, there is a place for your voice and an opportunity to learn.

We’re going to get through this together, and we invite you to join us. Please email Editor@GettingSmart.com with any questions or content you’d like considered for publication. We also invite you to join the conversation and on social media using #GettingThrough.

The post Engaging Families in Distance Learning: Supporting from Afar appeared first on Getting Smart.