Student Online Learning: Recommendations from a Teacher

Please thank your teachers/instructors. This is a new situation for everyone  – and teachers are doing their best to make this time a positive experience!

Below is feedback in Q&A format from a teacher in Utah about this situation.

Q:  How are teachers and students doing now that classes had to move online?

A:  We are ALL learning to do our best in this new situation. Both teachers and students had to learn – and are still learning – new ways to effectively teach and learn in this difficult time.

 We only had a few days to decide what would work best for our students. Some of my colleagues prefer a soft approach where assignments occupy their students and review skills already presented in class prior to the confinement. Others attempt to present new concepts and continue to advance their curriculum in order to not get too far behind. As you might guess, both approaches bring different challenges to students.

Q;  How does a student know if they are asking too many questions related to homework you have assigned?

A:  There are never too many questions to ask in relation to homework. If the student really wants to learn and try to do his/her best, he/she must ask questions to make sure they understand the material and how the material is set up digitally. I appreciate hearing from students.

Q:  What is the biggest challenge you are finding with online assignments?

A:  Unfortunately, what happens so often, is that students do not read instructions explaining the assignment of the day, the purpose for it, the explanations of the lesson, the slides and the video (for example). They have been directly jumping into the graded assignments, which, of course, causes frustration if you don’t have the context or the objective at hand. As teachers, we need to teach our students to better read instructions in order to become better students.

This problem is not particular to online learning, however. This is a problem I found EVERY TIME we had an assessment IN CLASS, too. They see the task and jump into it, thinking they know how to do it, not paying attention to the directions or the examples provided.

Q:  Are there students that are not handling online work very well?

A:  Yes, some kids are not handling online work very well. Some students have said they usually could use their time in school efficiently enough to do most of their work there, and many now feel paralyzed with the amount of tasks to do outside of school on their own.  To me, this is the biggest problem because we are expecting students to be natural self-learners, which as we know is not the case.

Other students are having problems using the tech tools offered, although I would say less than 1% among my students. Unfortunately, some students have been facing personal anxiety and emotional issues which are exacerbated by the online platform and certainly by the social distancing we have to comply with. 

What can we do as teachers to help our students? I follow up with them as often as possible to see how they are doing and feeling, reassuring them that (as teachers) we are there for them, to help them feel successful in this endeavor, and finally, review our curriculum constantly to best meet the needs of our students.

Q:  Have students reached out to you for help? I’m wondering how they might feel about asking questions directly.

A:  Feedback for my curriculum/assignments is welcomed. This has helped me gauge the value of some activities versus others and measure the level of engagement of students. Several of my students reach out to me often. Some email me, asking for help or clarification. Others will communicate through the assignment portal. I spend hours giving personal feedback to all of my students. I have found it to be the best way to support them individually. But some students haven’t reached out or responded to my emails.

Q:  Does it take a long time to assign the work, put it online, grade the work, and email students?

A:  Yes, it takes me an enormous amount of time to try to recreate formative assessments that I usually do orally in class, in an online setting. For this, I will be using the quizzes, and discussion functions of Canvas, but also try to look for other tools to bring variety to the table while promoting mastery of content. On average, I spend 12-14 hours a day on a normal week.

Q:  What would you recommend for students to stay organized, especially when time seems to be a blur?

A:  Students (in any school) have automated tools to show students what they need to do. Because I want to be lenient and not add to student stress, I have given extended deadlines for all my assignments and do not penalize students for turning things late. One student has expressed to me that she likes the new flexibility of online learning because it allows her to have free time and she can choose when to work on assignments (for the most part).

This has certainly relieved stress for some students, but it has also caused a problem of desperation when at the end of the “procrastination” period, a student then realizes there are an overwhelming number of assignments due on the same day (when 3 weeks have been provided to do them all). For students that can’t manage their time, this has been difficult.

Because online learning is new for everyone, we are all learning as we go. I am now planning to adjust what I’ve been doing and provide my students with a shorter and firmer deadline period.

I think some students do really well with creating a routine but others struggle. They have no idea what they are going to do when they wake up each morning because they have not thought about creating a schedule to adhere to. Many students might feel stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. It would help if each student created a “general schedule” that works best for them to be productive, to get their work done before deadlines, and still have free, non-school time.

Teaching online is very different than teaching face to face, but I am always ready to hear new suggestions, new ideas to better my craft, and better help our students.

Please thank your teachers and please reach out to them if you need help!