Parents and teachers are equal partners in the growing up process of a child. Research suggests that a healthy parent-teacher relationship is conducive to the overall growth of a child. Therefore, teachers and parents should strive to support each other, especially in remote learning classes.
Teachers should have the realization that not all parents are comfortable with technology. Even for those who are well conversant with technology, learning from home is a new concept. Consequently, the move toward virtual learning is challenging for parents. It is our duty, as partners in a child’s growth journey, to support parents during remote learning.
Strategies to support parents during remote learning
As teachers, we have often come across parents complaining about how difficult it is for the child to log in to the classroom or upload their assignments into a drive folder, or even how the child is not engaged and attentive enough. We can help create better virtual learning experiences for the parents by lending a helping hand.
- A training session for the parents
The best thing you could do is to train the parents to navigate through your learning management system or your online classroom. This way, your virtual education classroom will look familiar to them, and they wouldn’t experience anxiety logging into the system. You can either have a video conferencing session with your parents or, better still, hand over a detailed set of instructions to them. You can also record a video of all the navigation dos and don’ts through your learning management system and hand it over to them.
- Communicate often with the parents
Communicating with your student’s parents is a must in a virtual learning scenario. Psychology suggests that communication between parents and teachers is not only good for the parent-teacher relationship but also for the overall well-being of the teachers and the organization. Being in touch over some messaging app doesn’t take too much of your time. It helps you to be accessible to the parents for any query they might be having.
- Keep a structured classroom
Sometimes, we have too much in our hands, and class management seems to be the last thing you want to put your minds into. However, the converse is true. If you have a structured classroom, it helps parents and students manage their online learning better. This ultimately decreases your workload. Class management comes easy with Classplus. You can have your video conference, record your videos, post assignments, broadcast messages, and manage payment links – in short, anything and everything concerning virtual education through one customized app.
- Keep your students engaged
Students’ engagement and attention are one of the biggest concerns of the parents during virtual learning. You can alleviate this fear of theirs by planning some activities like peer teaching and role play. Plan some educational games for students. You can also get the parents involved in these games and activities. Students and teachers can together play these freely available educational games online. These will keep your students attentive. At the same time, parents will take a keen interest in the child’s education. Thus, it will be a win-win situation for everyone.
- Offer customized solutions to their concerns
Whether it is a virtual classroom or a physical classroom, parents are often concerned about their children’s habits, behaviors, or study patterns. You, as a teacher, come across many kids, each having his own unique personality. Therefore, you are naturally considered an expert in dealing with children. For example, a key concern for most parents regarding the remote learning process is their kids’ screen time. Instead of just advising them to be strict or setting a time limit for their kids, ask them to engage their kids in specific activities. For instance, you can help them in doing so by creating a reading or a calligraphy group amongst your students.
- Keep a keen eye
Kids, especially adolescents, may accidentally navigate into content that is meant to be harmful to them. At other times, they are engrossed in activities like playing educational games online. These educational games for students are harmless, sometimes even good for them. Still, they keep them away from being attentive in class which is wrong. Keep an observant eye on your students, both during class time and beyond class time. If you are a solo teacher, Classplus Lite can help you do so. Look out for specific traits like a sudden change in their attitude, their attentiveness in class, their language, and their company. Remember, as a teacher, you are their guardian inside the classroom and act accordingly.
By reaching out to parents and supporting them during their learning from home, you essentially involve them in their child’s virtual education. This contributes to a better learning experience for the child. Parents contributing to a child’s learning trajectory is always a piece of good news for teachers. It frees us from the constant reminders for overdue assignments and other extra work so that we can focus on the job we love to do, i.e., teaching.
