I’ve been a teacher with EdOptions Academy by Edmentum for three years now, and I can honestly say the last five months have been like nothing I have ever experienced. Truth- I was not the best teacher I could be. Like so many other teachers, I was in survival mode trying to juggle so many new online learners at one time.
As I sit here enjoying my winter break, for the first time I’m able to really reflect on my teaching this year. My ultimate goal is to provide my students and their families with more tools and resources, while also balancing their emotional needs. Below are my personal resolutions for my virtual classroom.
1. Make myself more available for my students. Every week I hold office hours to help students with assignments, but there are times where my students do not take advantage of this extra help. Going forward, I’m going to send out an invite for my students to attend my office hours for a hot chocolate get together just to talk. This will help me build trust with my students and allow me to get to know them on personal level. It will also provide them with a safe space to talk about what they are experiencing, especially since so many of them have been quarantining since August.
2. Provide more resources for my students. When I give my students feedback on their assignments oftentimes I include links to videos to help kids. For instance, if a student struggled with active and passive voice I will send them this video link. Going forward, I want to create a document for my students that includes all of the video links organized by category. I also want to create graphic organizers for some of the writing assignments that students can use to brainstorm their ideas.
3. Create a cheat sheet for parents. Parents receive sooo many emails from online teachers because it’s our main way of communication. It’s very easy to get lost in the sea of emails full of important information, so I created a cheat sheet for parents. The sheet has a place for them to record log in information, teachers, office hours days/times, links for meetings, and also a few important reminders about the courses. Click here to see my cheat sheet. Hopefully, parents will be able to save a few minutes and clicks to access information they use on a daily basis. For more parent information about online learning check out E-Learning: Setting Kids Up for Success and What Parents Should Know About Virtual Learning.
4. Host a monthly read aloud. Read alouds are without a doubt my favorite part of teaching, especially online. I used to host weekly read alouds with my students, and while my calendar doesn’t leave me time for a weekly one, I would like to host a monthly one. A few months ago, I hosted a read aloud for an hour and read Fantastic Mr. Fox to my kids just for fun. I had quite a few participants and many students thanked me for doing it. Going forward, I need to put the read aloud on my calendar and encourage students to attend. For more information on virtual read alouds, check out Effective Read Alouds in the Virtual Classroom and Incorporating Read Alouds for GradesK-12: Tips and Tricks from a Virtual Educator.
My resolutions are realistic for me to tackle as we start to gear up for second semester. While I wasn’t the best teacher first semester, I’m proud of myself for still providing quality feedback to my students and helping them earn credits towards their high school diplomas.
Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading, writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information click here.
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