Navigating a Virtual World
January 2021 | Issue #20
So many ZOOM meetings!! I bet that even if we played Proper Noun Scrabble, the word ‘zoom’ would still make many of us pause, but we would still use the letter Z for 10 points! Don’t get me wrong, working remotely is an answer many of us have been able to utilize to keep our jobs, as well as to keep our families safe, however, have you been on a call and heard (or said) something like this during a check in?
“Hi, My name is ____ and I work in education and have been in many roles in and out of the classroom for years… oh and my new role is teaching my 6th grader as well as my 5 year old, so I am now a teacher.” Cue background of the children on their calls, and or running around the room.
Educators and families are having to tackle new ways of work and building classrooms in their homes, and this may be you as well! A useful tool, SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AT SCHOOL AND HOME: A Guide for Teachers to Support Families and Students, created during this pandemic, connects classroom and family practices to ease the oftentimes “burden” of making these systems of work and home more effective. The tips are for every classroom and family, students with a disability or not, because a good practice, is a good practice.
The Five Key Practices
- Develop, teach, review, remind, and reinforce predictable routines and expectations.
- Teacher Tip: Create a classroom environment (in person or online) that is predictable, positive, and safe to support social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive growth.
- Example: Use positive calm redirections or corrective feedback, reminding the student what they should do, when students make mistakes or behave in ways not consistent with classroom expectations.
- Home Tip: Ensure your home is a predictable, positive, and safe environment to support social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive growth.
- Example: Use positive calm redirections or corrective feedback, reminding the student what they should do, when students make mistakes or behave in ways not consistent with classroom expectations.
- Use efficient and effective instructional strategies to maximize benefit.
- Teacher Tip: Set challenging goals for students, use research-based approaches, collect and use data to drive adjustments to instruction, and celebrate successes.
- Example: Use research-based instructional practices, like explicit instruction, to efficiently support students in developing and re-establishing basic skills.
- Home Tip: During learning times in your family schedule, set reasonable goals for what you and your child will be able to accomplish, do your best, and celebrate successes.
- Example: Add academic content and practice into everyday activities in your home (e.g., involve your child in measurement during cooking, play “quiz” games during a family meal, read with your child before bed).
- If your student/child has more intensive needs, provide targeted or intensive support.
- Teacher Tip: To support students with more intensive support needs, target or individualize support, collect and use data to drive adjustments to instruction, and celebrate successes.
- Example: Increase practice opportunities for key skills during daily routines and provide feedback to support growth.
- Home Tip: To support children with more intensive support needs, try to be more intentional in your approach. Still, set reasonable goals, do your best, and celebrate successes.
- Example: Increase practice opportunities and provide feedback to support growth.
- Enhance relationships between home and school to support your student (and each other).
- Teacher Tip: Collaborating with your student and their family is important for their success. Establish a positive, open, and reciprocal relationship from the beginning; celebrate successes; and anticipate and address challenges.
- Example: Ask your student what they see as a need and what would be helpful.
- Home Tip: Collaborating with your child and their teacher(s) is important for their success. Help the teacher(s) understand your child’s strengths and needs, and have a positive open dialogue to anticipate and address challenges.
- Example: Ask your child what they see as a need and what would be helpful.
- If your student/child is not being successful, ask for help.
- Teacher Tip: As described in practice 4, partner with your student’s family in implementing practices 1-3. If your student needs additional support, ask for help from a mentor, school psychologist, social worker, counselor, or administrator in your school or district.
- Example: Request help to ensure you are implementing support as intended (i.e., with fidelity) and that supports are contextually appropriate for your student, their family, and your classroom.
- Home Tip: As described in practice 4, partner with your child’s teacher(s) in implementing practices 1-3. If your child needs additional support, ask for more help from a school psychologist, social worker, counselor, or administrator in your school or district.
- Example: Ask for help so you know how to correctly implement the support needed and make sure it fits into your family context.
Utilizing these teacher and family tips will help us become more time efficient and competent in our jobs and as family members. Building consistent systems through good practices, one practice at a time, will help ease our need to “make something up” when a concern arises.
What will you say is a “positive strategy you are implementing” the next time you have to introduce yourself during a check in online? Now you have 5 more detailed ideas!
See full guide, SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AT SCHOOL AND HOME: A Guide for Teachers to Support Families and Students.
(CENTER ON POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS,NATIONAL CENTER ON INTENSIVE INTERVENTION,NATIONAL INTEGRATED MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT RESEARCH NETWORK, 2020)