COVID-19 forced schools to move some if not everything to online platforms last spring. Many schools just closed for the remainder of the year, while teachers and administrators figured out what the next steps would be.
The result is an overwhelming concern by parents that their children are falling being for their grade level. In fact, a poll from The Education Trust says that 9 out of 10 parents are worried about their children falling behind.
The concern is real. Many parents don’t have the resources or experience to support their children in a virtual learning environment. The same study says that approximately 51% of parents report challenges during distance learning. If you’re concerned, there are some things you can do to help make sure your kids don’t fall behind because of the pandemic.
Keeping online school active learning
Maintain a growth mindset
For parents trying to balance it all, it can be hard to think about anything other than just getting through the lesson plan. Windward reminds us that kids who have a growth mindset love to learn and that attitude can make all the difference.
“In any quality learning experience, students should be encouraged to learn from their mistakes,” she told Mom.com. “This could mean students are asked to redo questions they got wrong, write every single step to a math equation, or revise an English paper several times to ensure every spelling and grammar mistake is fixed.”
But the growth mindset goes beyond this — it’s also about reteaching things to show understanding. “Another effective technique is having students explain a concept in their own words or teach it to a sibling. This process pushes students to review material until they feel confident that they understand it well enough to explain to others,” Windward explained.
It can feel like extra work to do some of these things, but parents will have an easier time getting kids to sit down and do the work if they are engaged and feel like they are doing well. It’s also important to be kind to yourself as a parent. You might not do everything correctly when it comes to homeschooling or virtual classes, but learning from your own mistakes could be a great lesson for your kids as well.
