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The article provides many resources for the classroom teacher to provide a supportive classroom environment. The work here is a hands-on way for teachers to assess their practice and make actionable plans to improve their classrooms to become supportive environments. This tool provides readings, individual and group reflection questions, and activities for small groups to discuss and support each other to implement practices that strengthen learning environments

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The article provides many resources for the classroom teacher to provide a supportive classroom environment. The work here is a hands-on way for teachers to assess their practice and make actionable plans to improve their classrooms to become supportive environments. This tool provides readings, individual and group reflection questions, and activities for small groups to discuss and support each other to implement practices that strengthen learning environments

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At the core of a supportive classroom is a caring, engaging teacher who establishes authentic trusting relationships with each student.

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At the core of a supportive classroom is a caring, engaging teacher who establishes authentic trusting relationships with each student.

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A supportive and equitable environment in all classrooms serves as a platform for all academic, social and emotional learning. At the core of a supportive classroom is a caring, engaging teacher who establishes authentic trusting relationships with each student.

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The article discusses the importance of academic feedback for emotional wellness for students. One way to implement this in the classroom is to review student performance of assessments frequently. In this way, students make deeper connections to their learning, and the examinations will hold more intrinsic value for the students.

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The article discusses the importance of academic feedback for emotional wellness for students. One way to implement this in the classroom is to review student performance of assessments frequently. In this way, students make deeper connections to their learning, and the examinations will hold more intrinsic value for the students.

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Supportive learning environments can validatethe presence of individuals and encourage participation and involvement

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Supportive learning environments can validatethe presence of individuals and encourage participation and involvement

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The article talks about honoring the homelife and culture of all students. Culturally responsive and socially aware—schools recognize and celebrate cultural identity and familial norms. An example of this in the elementary school setting is cultural nights, where students showcase their family and culture with projects that the entire school community can view.

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The article talks about honoring the homelife and culture of all students. Culturally responsive and socially aware—schools recognize and celebrate cultural identity and familial norms. An example of this in the elementary school setting is cultural nights, where students showcase their family and culture with projects that the entire school community can view.

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Schools must focus on the health of the whole child and contribute to building kids’ physical and emotional resilience in order for academics and extracurriculars to have lasting and meaningful impact.

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Schools must focus on the health of the whole child and contribute to building kids’ physical and emotional resilience in order for academics and extracurriculars to have lasting and meaningful impact.

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Fill in the blank. Kids go to school to _____________.

Did you say "learn?" Yes! In an ideal world, kids go to school to get a well-rounded education-from civics to art to biology and a host of other academic and life skills subjects, school should be a place to enrich minds.

But imagine trying to learn geometry when you are under-nourished. Imagine trying to learn verb forms when you are being bullied. Imagine trying to learn American history when you have trauma at home. Because kids endure so much adversity, school can't simply be a place to learn in a vacuum. Schools must focus on the health of the whole child and contribute to building kids' physical and emotional resilience in order for academics and extracurriculars to have lasting and meaningful impact.

One of the most important pillars of child health and well-being is building safe and supportive learning environments. A safe and supportive learning environment is conducive to the overall health of the child in these ways:

Engagement

There are strong relationships between students, teachers, families, and schools and amongst the broader school community. Family and community engagement should be:

Culturally responsive and socially aware-schools recognize and celebrate cultural identity and familial norms.

Relationship-building-nurturing adults embrace positive attitudes and acknowledge and validate students' lived experiences and needs.

Inclusive and participatory-the community should be invited to participate in school activities and shown their engagement is valuable.

Safety

Schools and school-related activities are safe from violence, bullying, harassment, and controlled-substance use.

Emotional Safety

The school adopts and practices core components of social emotional learning.

Instruction includes experiential learning, behavior modeling, mindfulness, and more.

Staff is well versed in trauma sensitivity.

Physical Safety

There is a culture of awareness and prevention around bullying and digital harassment.

Substance misuse prevention education is included in health curriculum.

Emergency readiness and management, such as drills and safety plans, exist and are understood by all.

Environment

The physical, academic, and disciplinary environments are well-managed, supportive, and fair.

Physical Environment

The building is clean, well-lit, and kept at a comfortable temperature.

There is access to clean water.

School grounds include access to play space.

Overcrowding is prevented.

Instructional Environment
Classroom management includes restorative practices, creative spaces, and engaging, interactive instruction.

Physical Health

Students have access to school health services and programs.

Meals and food meet optimal nutrition standards.

Physical activity and movement are integrated throughout the day.

Mental Health

Students have access to mental health programs and services (i.e. professionals such as counselors and/or social workers are in the school building).

Staff members are trained in de-escalation strategies and crisis intervention.

Discipline

Discipline is positive (such as school-wide climate improvements, empathy role playing, circle time, and conflict resolution) versus punitive (such as suspension and expulsion).

The school encourages self-discipline through self-management.

This is a long list, and it may seem impossible to achieve all of the above. But just understanding and working toward safe and supportive learning environments is a step toward helping kids thrive. Whether you're a parent or educator striving to make your school a healthier place, you can simplify things by choosing a couple of these practices to advocate for and implement. Gather (or fight for) the resources you need, and get others on your team. Kids benefit when we all work together to make change happen.

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What Makes a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment? - Action for Healthy Kids

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Fill in the blank. Kids go to school to _____________. Did you say "learn?" Yes! In an ideal world, kids go to school to get a well-rounded education-from civics to art to biology and a host of other academic and life skills subjects, school should be a place to enrich minds.

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The article gives hands-on ways to build supportive learning environments for all stakeholders in the school. An example so how to implement is the use of a mentor for each student. Mentors should establish routines and meet regularly with students, discussing progress and tracking grades and assignment completion. Being available for students when they have questions and need support is a crucial responsibility of a mentor.

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The article gives hands-on ways to build supportive learning environments for all stakeholders in the school. An example so how to implement is the use of a mentor for each student. Mentors should establish routines and meet regularly with students, discussing progress and tracking grades and assignment completion. Being available for students when they have questions and need support is a crucial responsibility of a mentor.

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Creating supportive online learning requires a team. Those should include administrators, parents, mentors, and teachers must work together and communicate effectively. This team will help create an online learning environment conducive to student success.

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Creating supportive online learning requires a team. Those should include administrators, parents, mentors, and teachers must work together and communicate effectively. This team will help create an online learning environment conducive to student success.

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In our Success in Online Learning blog series, we covered many topics such as setting up online learners for success, commonalities between successful K-12 online programs, and the hidden heroes of successful online courses among others. We discussed supporting online students through enrichment, orientation modules, and the triangle of student success.

We explored eLearning days, communities of practice, and communication and engagement in an online classroom. And we insisted that online teachers need support from their instructional leaders and ongoing professional development.

We conclude this series by discussing how an online learning program can create a supportive learning environment for online students.

Below, we highlight some best practices and advice in terms of effectively managing relationships and maintaining regular and meaningful communications between administrators, students, parents, mentors, and teachers, all with the intent of creating a supportive learning environment for online students.

What does a supportive online learning environment look like?

According to the standard of "learner and parent/guardian support" found in the National Standards for Quality Online Programs, establishing standards for teacher communications with learners and parents/guardians is a key component to a supportive online program.

Examples of this may include some form of monthly communication to parents and students, weekly pacing charts, a Student Information System that provides parents with access to student data, and/or communication regarding course pacing guides.

On-site mentors usually help to facilitate some of the communication between teachers, parents/guardians, and students. However, it is important to note that a supportive partnership between online teachers, parents, and students will not look the same in each online learning environment.

Relationship management, responsibilities, and communication

In order to create a supportive online learning environment for students, administrators, mentors, teachers, and parents must work together. Relationships amongst these key stakeholders must be nurtured and are essential to ensuring students receive the support they need, when they need it.

Administrators: Be involved

Being involved in the online learning program is one of the most important ways in which an administrator can help to create a supportive online learning environment for students. Administrators can encourage parent involvement by letting them know how they can get involved-making sure they know pacing guides exist, communicating deadlines and expectations, and sharing student course data points.

Administrators should understand the opportunities that online learning affords students and the reasons why students may want to take an online course. It is up to an administrator to provide the structure for an online learning program and to be flexible enough to adapt and change that structure as needed.

Administrators must also be willing to address the challenges that mentors face and provide them with the support they need. Establishing clear expectations and defining responsibilities for mentors will set the framework for a supportive online learning environment.

Mentors: Build relationships

As mentors are typically the face-to-face support students receive when working in their online course during school hours, building relationships with students is the most impactful way in which they can create a supportive learning environment.

Mentors should establish routines and meet regularly with students, discussing progress on course pacing guides as well as tracking grades and assignment completion. Being available for students when they have questions and need support is a key responsibility of a mentor; however, support may be needed outside of typical school hours.

In creating a supportive online learning environment, the mentor can play a significant role in helping to bridge communication gaps between students, parents, and online instructors.

Teachers: Focus on communication

The most important way in which an online instructor can create a supportive learning environment is to communicate frequently and in a timely manner with both students and mentors. When students have to wait too long for a response to their question, issue, or for feedback, they begin to feel unimportant and frustrated.

Getting to know their students, and at the same time, making sure students know their online instructor is a real person who genuinely cares about their success are crucial components of a supportive online learning environment.

Monitoring student progress and motivating students as they advance through their course are additional ways teachers can ensure students feel supported. Teachers should consider reaching out to both the student and the mentor to communicate issues and concerns as they arise.

Online teachers should provide structure within their courses, communicating deadlines and expectations clearly and up front. Consider copying parents on emails to students and communicating behavior policies (for example, anti-bullying policies) to both parents and students, as well.

Parents: Be present

Just as the mentor is the face-to-face support for students when completing online coursework in a school setting, parents are the face-to-face support when students complete online coursework outside of school or at home.

Educational support at home from parents is important in any online course, but especially when learning remotely due to the current pandemic.

It is important that parents understand the differences and similarities between online and traditional face-to-face courses. Know what makes a successful online student and understand the challenges that online courses present.

While online courses can be convenient in terms of scheduling, some students find themselves unprepared for the reality of online learning. Because online courses require students to be more responsible in terms of managing their time and completing assignments, it is crucial that parents understand what is expected of students, both from their online instructor and their mentor.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully it is evident that a supportive learning environment for online students requires school administrators, online instructors, mentors, and parents to work together.

Each stakeholder is responsible for different aspects of support, but there is clearly a lot of overlap between the roles. These individuals who support students in their online coursework must not only communicate with the student, but communicate with each other.

Most importantly, there should be unified expectations in terms of assignment completion, quality of work, behavior, and academic integrity that are communicated not only to the students, but to all parties involved.

The more cohesively that school administrators, online instructors, mentors, and parents communicate and work together, the more supported students will feel and the more successful they will be in their online courses.

In what capacity will you serve to create and shape a supportive learning environment for online learners?

Additional resources

Success in Online Learning blog series

In our Success in Online Learning blog series, we discuss all things K-12 online learning in Michigan and across the nation. Our hope with this series is to provide a primer on K-12 online learning, cover established and emerging topics, and provide relevant research and resources. Stay up to date on future blogs in this series by signing up for email notifications!

About the Authors

Christa Green

Christa received her master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She taught middle school language arts and social studies for seven years before coming to work for Michigan Virtual in 2018. As a research specialist with the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, Christa enjoys using her passion for education, curriculum, research, and writing to share and shape best practices in online and blended learning with other educators within and beyond Michigan.

Kristen DeBruler

Dr. DeBruler is the Research Manager at Michigan Virtual. She has been in the field of K-12 online education for nearly a decade and joined Michigan Virtual in 2012. During that time, she conducted research on preparing K-12 online teachers and supporting K-12 students. Some of that work focused specifically on K-12 online teacher preparation, K-12 online learner demographics and success at several state virtual schools, and learning trajectories in K-12 online mathematics courses. Dr. DeBruler received her doctorate in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology from Michigan State University and has experience teaching at the Master's level, both face-to-face and online.

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Creating a Supportive Learning Environment for Online Students: Communication is Key | Michigan Virtual

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What does a supportive online learning environment look like? Administrators, parents, mentors, and teachers must work together and communicate effectively. While overlap in responsibilities is inevitable, each has a defined role in shaping an online learning environment conducive to student success.

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This blogpost is part of a three-part series that addresses how to promote SEL in elementary middle , and high schools. In this post, we share an overview of how students develop social and emotional competencies in their high school years and offer strategies for promoting SEL in high schools and classrooms, in partnership with families and communities, and in alignment with elementary and middle schools.

It is important to anchor SEL efforts in evidence-based programs and practices that ensure all students have high-quality learning opportunities. Look for universal programs that align with local high school SEL standards, goals, and needs. SEL programs may focus on explicitly teaching social and emotional skills, embedding SEL into academic curriculum, promoting SEL through teaching practices, and/or using system-level strategies to promote SEL. (Review evidence-based high school SEL programs .)

students have opportunities to practice SEL through academic learning, relationship-building, and explicit lessons on social and emotional skills. Teaching practices that integrate a focus on SEL such as cooperative learning structures or youth-led discussions provide opportunities for students to use their voice, collaborate with peers, and make deeper connections to what they're learning. As high school students develop a deeper sense of who they are and what matters to them, it's also important that classroom learning reflects students' identities, communities, values, and concerns and that students can learn from others who have different backgrounds and perspectives. (See examples of SEL in high school English Language Arts and as part of discussions around community issues .)

SEL is also an important part of how high school students plan for post-secondary goals, and can integrate into career and technical education programs, dual enrollment, career pathways, and other learning opportunities focused on workforce preparation

SEL also plays an important role in how students connect and contribute to their school communities. In high school, it's especially important to create space for all students to engage as leaders, problem-solvers, and decision-makers. Schools can provide a variety of opportunities for all students - not just those who regularly volunteer - to lead and contribute to improving their schools. For example, students can take part in reviewing school climate data and make recommendations, facilitate community-building circles, or join SEL teams to advise on strategies. (Read more about promoting student voice through SEL and see examples from three high schools .)

It's also important to ensure that discipline policies and practices promote SEL and relationship-building. Disciplinary approaches that focus on punishment or control, such as suspensions or rules that prohibit talking during lunch, can often be damaging to students or undermine SEL efforts. In contrast, restorative approaches to discipline that focus on helping students understand the impact of their behavior and engaging students in problem-solving can help build their social and emotional competencies. (See what a restorative approach to discipline looks like in Chicago Public Schools

are essential partners in supporting high school students' SEL as they navigate life decisions and future plans. Families bring expertise about their young person's interests, experiences, and cultures, and their perspectives can inform how schools engage students and promote SEL. Schools can also help families open conversations with teenagers about how their social, emotional, and academic skills connect to their post-secondary goals. (See examples of how families can engage in discussions with teenagers about SEL and leadership opportunities.)

Community Partnerships can also play an important role in supporting SEL, often offering high schoolers the opportunities to form supportive relationships and engage in activities that are important to them. For example, service-learning opportunities can be an important way for high schoolers to learn about and contribute to their communities while building social and emotional competencies. By integrating SEL with service learning, schools can increase student engagement and create real-world learning opportunities. (Read more about integrating SEL and service learning .)

Work with students, families, staff, and community partners to review or develop a graduate profile that helps to define what all students should know and be able to do upon graduation. Speak with elementary and middle school leaders to identify how their goals and strategies can align with the graduate profile (See examples from Indian Prairie School District (IL) and Utah State Board of Education ).

Review existing SEL programs and practices from feeder elementary and middle schools and consider how high school SEL efforts can build upon what students have already learned. High schools can play an important role in bringing together all feeder schools in the community to discuss how best to align SEL practices and develop shared language.

Identify strengths and needs that students are bringing as they transition to high school, and work with feeder middle schools to strategize how SEL can support students in the transition.

Identify aligned sources of implementation and outcome data - such as school or classroom climate measures, social and emotional competence assessments, behavior, and attendance data - that will help measure progress toward high school SEL goals and continuously improve implementation.

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How can schools successfully build the social and emotional competencies of high school students?

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This blogpost is part of a three-part series that addresses how to promote SEL in elementary middle , and high schools. In this post, we share an overview of how students develop social and emotional competencies in their high school years and offer strategies for promoting SEL in high schools and classrooms, in partnership with families and communities, and in alignment with elementary and middle schools.

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This blog post is a three-part series—successful social and emotional learning competencies for elementary, middle, and high school students.

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This blog post is a three-part series—successful social and emotional learning competencies for elementary, middle, and high school students.

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This blog post is a three-part series—successful social and emotional learning competencies are essential for teachers. Many states, including South Carolina, had a standard and requirement for social, emotional learning with our school environments. This article will give you essential information on implementing this learning with your classroom. An implementation example is in the elementary setting, including time for the student to turn and talk to use their voice, collaborate with peers, and make deeper connections to what they’re learning. 

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This blog post is a three-part series—successful social and emotional learning competencies are essential for teachers. Many states, including South Carolina, had a standard and requirement for social, emotional learning with our school environments. This article will give you essential information on implementing this learning with your classroom. An implementation example is in the elementary setting, including time for the student to turn and talk to use their voice, collaborate with peers, and make deeper connections to what they’re learning. 