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Category: Online Learning

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Building Your Resilience
From:   American Psychological Association

Like building a muscle, increasing your resilience takes time and intentionality. Focusing on four core components — building connections, fostering wellness, finding purpose and embracing healthy thinking — can empower you to withstand and learn from difficult experiences.

The important thing is to remember you’re not alone on the journey. While you may not be able to control all of your circumstances, you can grow by focusing on the aspects of life’s challenges that you can manage with the support of loved ones and trusted professionals.
https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience

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Teaching Students to Hope for the Best
By Mary Ellen Flannery, quoting Rick Miller

"Teachers can control the hope. As teachers we can control whether we believe in them, whether we have their back, and whether we can help them plan for the future.

Kids do better when they’re surrounded by adults who believe in them; kids do better when they have meaningful and sustainable relationships with adults; and kids do better when they can articulate their futures. That is hopefulness.

 Just like reading and math, hope is something that students need to practice—and adults need to teach. The more hope students have, the happier and healthier they are, the more they persist in academic lessons, and the likelier they are to graduate.”

Keep up the great work teachers!  You foster hope!

http://neatoday.org/2018/05/23/teaching-students-hope/

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With this sudden move to remote instruction, it is easy to view receptive types of media. It is also important to ask students to think critically about and to interact with what they are learning.

Ian Byrd, of byrdseed.com, has a good article on the difference between "remembering" and "thinking," something to think about in these interesting times of teaching and learning in a new format.

https://www.byrdseed.com/thinking-or-remembering/

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We are in a historic event.  The journals and reflections we keep will one day be primary source documents!  In the midst of all that is happening, try to find a few moments to record your thoughts and impressions.  It isn’t everyday one lives during a pandemic!

https://news.virginia.edu/content/write-it-down-historian-suggests-keeping-record-life-during-pandemic

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“The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.”  --John F. Kennedy

This is especially true during this period in time when teachers and students are participating in online schooling. We are advancing knowledge and the dissemination of truth in many ways that will change teaching and learning forever. In your own reflection, what transformations have you seen in your teaching?

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“We know that strong, secure bonds with teachers are really important in social-emotional development. To suddenly lose out on that under such strange and unprecedented circumstances can be really hard on kids.”

Teachers--  You are important!  Keep up the good work you are doing.  Your presence is needed as much as ever!

The quote is from Jamie Howard, a senior clinical psychologist in the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute and the director of the Center’s Trauma and Resilience Service.  For more information, please visit:

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/55595/staying-in-touch-why-kids-need-teachers-during-coronavirus-school-closings

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In this article from Smart Brief, Stacy Young shares 5 Keys for teaching effectively in an online setting: 

  1. Communicate Frequently
  2. Choose words carefully
  3. Give students structure
  4. Be quick to offer support
  5. Be flexible

For more information, see her article:
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2020/04/online-teaching-5-keys-effectiveness

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When education consultant and author John McCarthy Ed.Ms. began teaching online classes, he discovered four things about working from home. His discoveries may help you as you continue to do your best with online teaching. 

1) Separate your school time from your personal/family time

2) Sleep and exercise manage stress and help revitalize

3) Block out time just for yourself

4) Stay connected with people you care about

These four discoveries are all related to the health and wellness of the individual.We cannot give our best to students unless we stay emotionally and physically healthy. Our wish as mentor specialists is that you look out for yourself as much as you look after the learning of your students.

If you would like to read John McCarthy’s article you will find it at https://www.edutopia.org/article/prioritizing-self-care-while-working-home

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“If someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of encouragement, or attempts to understand, extraordinary things begin to happen.”  Loretta Girzartis

This is true for all people: teachers, students, parents, and especially children. Encouraging words affect the way people respond in all situations. Take a minute and send an encouraging message to someone you work with.