The emotion that flows from teacher to student is unique. This is why most teachers are not able to enjoy their much-deserved break, either because of the guilt of missing classes or the stress of completing the syllabus after they join back. Even the school authorities have to face extra pressure from managing a different class. A class without a classroom teacher is bound to create trouble. Added to that is the learning gap that a student, especially the below-average student, develops during the teacher’s absence. So, how to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as ever? The students’ learning process is on track, as usual, there is no disturbance in the teacher’s classroom, and the teacher can enjoy her break. This blog post has got the solution covered. Read on to uncover our list of ten strategies to support students learning even when the teacher is absent.
Get a colleague to cover for you.
This is by far the most effective strategy used by a classroom teacher. Getting a friend or colleague to substitute for you depends on your rapport with the school authorities and your interpersonal skills to maintain a good work relationship with your colleagues. Be proactive in offering help to your fellow teachers when they need help. This will help you establish a good work culture and ensure you get help for students when you need it.
Assign your students with group projects
Especially when you terrific learning activities to ensure that they continue to learn even when they are absent, plan the activity or the project, the group members, and the group leader well in advance. Give an additional responsibility to the teacher to help keep the group disciplined. In addition to learning, they get to spend time with their friends.
Peer teaching
Prepare your class for peer teaching when you are away. Assign topics to your students well in advance so that they can research the topic. During your leave, you can either instruct your teacher to help or request a teacher to see that the peer presentation process goes on smoothly. Ensure that all the students get a turn to present to make the most of these learning activities.
Plan a movie
This may sound a bit too out of the box, but planning a few movies based on your subject would be a great learning experience for your students. The movie can be a documentary, an animation, or a feature film – you just have to be careful that it is age-appropriate for your students. If you are going for a week-long leave, your students can enjoy a film festival. They will be a terrific learning help for students.
Recorded video lectures
This is one of the best ways to ensure your students are on track and not missing out on their learning. You can record a few lectures on the topics supposed to be covered on the days of your leave and ask someone to stream them in your teacher’s classroom. This way, students don’t miss the bond that connects teachers to students.
Amalgamate classes
A teacher helping a student is a great asset. If, however, none is around to help you, you can arrange to merge your class with another teacher’s class for a few sessions. The students get to learn something new in a new class environment. Besides, they get exposed to a new teacher learning method that will help them to learn the skill of adaptation and comprehension. They get to make new friends as well.
Assign your students SUPW
SUPW or Socially Useful and Productive Work is a brilliant strategy to equip your students with the very important learning lesson of life skills. In addition to being productive, they get to spend quality time with each other and learn new skills from their friends. As a teacher, you understand that learning doesn’t only mean academics. It encompasses wholesome student education. SUPW will help you in meeting this goal of yours.
Entrusting them with their responsibility
It may sound weird, but a student behaves more responsibly when we trust them rather than another teacher helping a student. If you are planning for a short, just one or two days break, you can assign your students some classwork and tell them that you trust them to complete the classwork and stay disciplined in the classroom. Alternatively, you can get the classwork printed and ask a fellow teacher to distribute it in the class. Do not forget to reward your students when you are back. A little trust and appreciation will help them become more responsible.
Take the help of technology.
There are a lot of teacher learning apps that can help you when you are absent. With the advent of smart classrooms and digital boards, every teacher uses these apps invariably. You can pre-set some tasks or a learning lesson on these apps so that technology will keep teaching your class students in your absence.
Online sessions
If you have the time and resources, then not being present physically in the classroom is not a hurdle to students’ education. You can take live classes from any corner of the world. Your students will not miss you, and neither will you miss the deadline for completing the syllabus.
The FInal Word
With the help of your customized teaching app, there is no constraint on your teaching or your student’s learning. The Classplus team can help you design a custom-built app through which you can conduct live sessions, publish your video or audio lectures, track the attendance of your class students, assign them classwork and homework, get their assessments done, and track their performance as well. Taking leave was never easier. Connect with Classplus now.
