TL;DR: This post shares strategies for helping students with special needs to stay social during COVID. Strategies include virtual playdates, virtual field trips, virtual yoga classes, and virtual celebrations. Playdates, storytime at the library, going out to eat with friends, having family over for a birthday celebration…these are wonderful opportunities for socialization! Every family is dealing with COVID in their … Read More
What IS Engagement?
TL;DR: When we engage students in the curriculum, we need to consider whether we are creating excitement, curiosity, and interest to want to learn more. Behavioral, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive are all types of engagement to consider in an educational setting. Engagement is another word that became overused in 2020. As schools transitioned to remote learning this spring, districts … Read More
Tired of Teaching to a Blank Screen? Start Teaching with Empathy
TL;DR: The decrease in interaction and participation rate with students in a virtual setting has been an issue but when we plan with empathy, it may make a difference. Make lessons more interesting or entertaining by adding music in the beginning or during your lesson, turning students into active participants by giving them a role, providing breaks or sending students … Read More
How to Handle Distance Learning’s “Ghost” Students
TL;DR: We must acknowledge the concerns about student engagement and attendance that may occur during remote learning. We don’t know everyone’s situation so we must offer grace. According to a meta-analysis of psychiatric research, social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic negatively affect children’s levels of anxiety and depression. Listed below are ways to reach out to students. Use any … Read More
Whichever Way You Cut It
TL;DR: There are many struggles with both in-person and remote learning during this time. Whichever way you cut it, there is no perfect solution given the circumstances. This year is not about replicating the norm. It is not about holding yourself to the same expectations you have of yourself in any other year. You have shown up for the future, … Read More