# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Online classes make some kids anxious, but building relationships with them can go a long way toward helping them feel secure.

Teachers, as an instructional coach, I hear you when you ask, "What do we do about those kids who didn't show up to remote learning sessions last spring if we are still teaching remotely in the fall?" How do we get them to show up, to do the work-in essence, to comply?

My daughter was one of those kids who, because of anxiety, refused to participate in virtual learning. Some of her teachers may have figured that she was one of those noncompliant kids, and of course, it looked that way. But for her, the issue wasn't about compliance. It was about feeling safe and understood.

Most educators understand the importance of establishing respectful relationships with students, but it is often difficult to put that theory into action without a model or plan. The five steps below serve as a relationship framework for teachers to consider as they prepare for the possibility of remote learning this fall and when trying to establish lasting and meaningful relationships with their students.

Step One: Let's Get to Know One Another

A personal connection makes us feel as if we matter. Building relationships on a human level is the first and most powerful move we can do as educators, and it is fairly simple to do. Write a letter. Send a survey that you will later respond to personally, or simply call students to say hello. Help them to understand that you'd truly like to get to know them, to establish a rapport and mutual respect. Getting to know our students as humans will give teachers a better understanding of what makes them tick and perhaps help us understand why remote learning may be tough for them.

In my shy daughter's case, she absolutely loved her teachers but had massive anxiety around whole-class Google Meets and all those people seemingly staring at her. Luckily, her fourth-grade teacher knew the value of putting aside work in order to prioritize the students' need to feel safe, seen, and understood. They spent several days on one-to-one Google Meets chatting about our child's pets, her love of writing, and their mutual admiration of all things Harry Potter. Seeing that her teacher was truly interested in who she was and how she was doing made her willing to try, albeit in small ways, to participate in virtual learning.

Step Two: Using What You Know About Students to Spark Engagement

If teachers know who their learners are, they can find texts they will read and tasks they will care about, thereby motivating them to participate. My daughter's band teacher did this masterfully. After discovering our tween's current Star Wars obsession, she gave our daughter the trombone music to Darth Vader's theme song, "The Imperial March."

For the first time in weeks, low and warbly blasts of bass permeated our small home as our thrilled and motivated child immersed herself in perfecting the piece. Embedding learning within the structures of something she cared deeply about became a potent way to get her involved and to ease her wariness of remote education.

Step Three: Student Partnerships Can Advance Participation

Teachers inherently know that peer relationships are just as important as teacher-student relationships. So how can we use that knowledge to help students move on to the next step in our relationship framework? Once again, teachers should rely on what they've learned about the student, but this time in order to create meaningful partnerships.

Our daughter's writing-club teacher used what she knew about our child's favorite pastime-writing comics and short graphic stories-and facilitated a beautiful online-writing partnership with one of her friends, an equally enthusiastic writer. These relationships with her teacher and her writing partner made her feel valued, and that was beginning to make all the difference.

Step Four: Using Small Groups to Increase Engagement

The power of a partnership naturally lends itself to the next step in the framework, which sets out to get students to interact remotely in larger peer groups. These groups should be highly engaging in order to motivate students to attend. For example, some teachers hold fun days where kids get together to play games online.

When our daughter was still having anxiety attending whole-class meetings, her teacher created a book club in which our daughter took part. The more she attended club meetings with a few trusted friends, the easier it was to share her ideas. She had come a long way in a short time, and that was directly correlated to the effort her teachers put into establishing a genuine connection with her.

Step Five: Checking In and Letting the Students Lead

It's important to remember that a genuine connection has to be seen as an ongoing process. In the final step of our relationship-building framework, educators should leave space for lots of scaffolding and practice. They should find ways to remind students that they care about who they are and what they need, all year long. This can be accomplished with periodic check-ins.

On her first try at participating in a whole-class meet, even with the beautiful relationship she had built with her teacher and the knowledge that her writing partner and some of her reading-club friends would be attending, our daughter didn't make it. When she heard the teacher begin speaking, she ran out the front door. When her teacher reached out to ask her what she needed to feel safe, the thoroughness of the first four steps of this relationship model meant that our daughter felt secure and could articulate what she needed.

In his book Personal & Authentic, Future Ready Schools founder Thomas C. Murray says, "The best thing we can give kids this school year is not a new curriculum or technology. It's an empathetic heart that sees and hears theirs." This five-step relationship framework aims to achieve just that: educators with empathetic hearts seeing and hearing their students-taking the time to know them utterly and completely.

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Connecting With Reluctant Remote Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Online classes make some kids anxious, but building relationships with them can go a long way toward helping them feel secure. Teachers, as an instructional coach, I hear you when you ask, "What do we do about those kids who didn't show up to remote learning sessions last spring if we are still teaching remotely in the fall?"

# data[].attributes.headline
Create a sense of belonging so that students feel a part of the class.

# data[].attributes.subject
Create a sense of belonging so that students feel a part of the class.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The sudden, unplanned move to distance learning during spring 2020 drove a wedge into the middle of the school year-disrupting academic schedules, putting an end to extracurriculars, and undercutting the assessment and academic feedback cycles in most schools. Student motivation, predictably, foundered.

As one of our students put it, online school "is just like in-person school but with all the fun bits removed." Without the ambient social interactions that are such a rich part of a regular day at school, and without in-person guidance from teachers, coaches, and counselors, many of the key motivational drivers were suddenly gone. In most K-12 schools, there were no fully formed distance-learning alternatives waiting in the wings. Indeed, glaring holes and inequities were exposed in the first days and weeks of distance learning: families with sporadic or no connection to Wi-Fi; students who lacked a calm place to study; siblings who needed to chip in to take care of brothers and sisters, or needed to contribute money by getting a job. Over and above it all were increased levels of trauma.

In short order, the move to online learning also laid bare some of the instructional flaws in our traditional structures of accountability, evaluation, and standardized testing. We hope for intrinsically motivated students, but we tend to design for the opposite, often with the best of intentions in mind. But motivating students with carrots and sticks-through endless, demoralizing cycles of high-stakes testing and assessment-is not getting us the deep learning and love of learning we desire.

Fortunately there is a science of motivation, and we need to design it into the very fiber of our virtual courses. There is a pressing need to do so now in order to help keep students engaged through the challenges of distance learning, and to avoid exacerbating the previously existing gaps in learning opportunities born of systemic inequities.

A Two-Stage Approach to Motivation

You may have heard of the major theories of motivation that researchers discuss, like self-determination theory and expectancy-value-cost theory. We will discuss these in a second article coming soon. For now, we think that learning mindsets-students' beliefs about themselves, their potential, and the learning context-are a better starting point that we can understand and implement relatively quickly in classrooms. Once we get proficient at learning mindsets, then we can go take the next step toward an understanding of the deeper structure of motivation, and how it can be applied to create fundamental structural reform in schools.

Researchers talk about three learning mindsets: sense of belonging, purpose and relevance, and growth mindset. If we want to design for intrinsic motivation, this is where we need to start. Some of these learning mindsets may be familiar to you, but they are often misunderstood and misapplied in schools.

Creating a Sense of Belonging

Make students feel heard: Include activities, topics, and examples that students identify with so they feel it's OK to bring their authentic self to class each day. Work hard at eliminating identity threat. Every child deserves to feel seen, listened to, and respected, and that their unique story is a part of the larger story of the class.

For example, you can create a ritual for starting your online class in which every child speaks and every child hears their name spoken by somebody else; incorporate fishbowl discussions online and encourage students to "speak from the I perspective"; co-create class rules and norms with your students and post them on the first page of each unit on your learning management system (LMS), and revisit and renew the norms periodically; have each child share their preferred pronouns with you instead of making assumptions.

Reduce barriers to connecting online: Let students know that there is an easy way to communicate with you outside of class-you can manage expectations by telling them how quickly you'll respond-and that they are welcome to do so. While setting clear expectations for the whole class, it's also important to be creative and proactive in identifying and finding solutions to challenges-emotional or academic-that individual students are facing. For example, you can set up one-on-one phone or video calls with each child on a rotating basis, or offer them the ability to text or call you directly.

Remind yourself that social time is as important as academic time: If you are teaching online, deliberately use some of your precious time for social connection. For example, begin your class time with a social ritual: try a short "mental stretch" break; offer some monitored hangout time before class starts; or create small groups that meet socially asynchronously. This isn't wasted class time-it's an investment to help keep them motivated and present for the long haul.

Connecting Work to Purpose and Relevance

Work hard to articulate purpose: Teachers often underestimate the importance of purpose and relevance in building motivation, and overestimate how good a job they are doing making the purpose clear. Deliberately and regularly state the purpose of assignments and activities-this is especially important when you are distanced from your students.

Use online surveys to solicit-and leverage-student interests: Ask students about their interests and passions, and design activities that target things that your students genuinely find personally relevant. It's not always necessary to make the activities academic: During distance learning, you should cut down some of your traditional content in order to forge deep connections-the goal is to boost students' long term buy-in for the year.

Build connections to real life: Research suggests that students' motivation toward education is improved when they take the time to link their learning to their existing interests-or to the world around them.

Try having students complete this activity, which asks students to connect recent academic insights to their interests, by interviewing each other, perhaps over Zoom.

Give students choice: Adding well-chosen, constrained elements of choice in topic or medium are great options to help boost motivation during distance learning-students feel empowered while also learning how to improve their ability to choose. But be mindful that too much choice creates decision fatigue. Example activities: Choose from one of these four essay prompts; select a renowned leader that meets a set of criteria to study for your project; produce your work in the form of a podcast, children's book, 2- to 3-minute video, art installation, or paper.

Hard Work, Failure, and Growth Mindset

Explain how learning works: Begin by talking to your students. Tell them that studying is hard, but it gets easier over time when you begin to use effective study strategies. Teach them about neuroplasticity-that effortful practice over time helps rewire their brains.

Give them effective study strategies: Students should favor study strategies like articulating key concepts in their own words, active retrieval, and spaced practice over rereading and highlighting-and you should build in time to let them practice and refine those strategies. During distance learning it is especially important to be deliberate about this because students are on their own more often and need strategies for self-regulation.

Help them get unstuck: Be concrete with students about the fact that they will periodically get stuck, so they'll need tactics to get over the hump. Have you created a class climate where kids feel comfortable asking peers for help-or considered setting up small study groups to facilitate better communication? Have you given your students easy ways to contact you during business hours, and even urged them to do so when they're stuck? Have you created a useful, easily accessed list of class resources in your LMS?

Use tech to create a low-stakes environment: Create low-stakes quizzes in your LMS, or use tech tools like Pear Deck, Quizlet Live, and Poll Everywhere to support frequent but gradeless retrieval practice and formative assessments. Reposition these "quizzes" as part of continuous learning, and help students see them as useful tools to get a sense of where they are, how well their study strategies are working, and what they need to do next. Finally, don't confuse low-stakes with easy; students work harder and learn more deeply when they are challenged. Build time for getting things wrong and learning from those mistakes into every class.

Alter your grading systems and structures: Despite the conventional wisdom in education, grades don't motivate students to do their best work, nor do they lead to better learning or performance.

What better time than now to adjust your grading structure to reward growth, development, and improvement? Even if summative assessments are beyond your control, consider adjusting your mid-unit grading by awarding points and grades based on student work related to continuous improvement. This not only helps the struggling learners, but also pushes the top achievers to show that they are putting in the effort needed to demonstrate clear improvement in their skill levels.

Be constantly ready to adjust your teaching: Because it's hard to "read the room" and determine what your students know in a virtual classroom, use your formative assessments to continually adjust your own teaching. This is a great way to model the growth mindset behaviors that you'd like your students to adopt.

Create a digital record of competence: Motivation can be boosted when students notice their growing competence. Create short activities to promote this rather than leaving it to chance-for example, bring back a piece of older work and do a then-and-now comparison, or create a simple online portfolio that can be regularly updated and revisited. Be sure that students link their competence to hard work and the right strategies, not to innate ability.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Science of Keeping Kids Engaged-Even From Home

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The upcoming school year will be filled with uncertainty, but the need to keep students engaged while working from home feels like a sure thing. Fortunately, there is a science of motivation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Don't be afraid of using the tech they already have in their hands!

# data[].attributes.subject
Don't be afraid of using the tech they already have in their hands!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Tips for Creating an Effective Virtual Field Trip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students can connect what’s happening in the classroom to real-world locations by using digital tools to gain new perspectives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The sudden, unplanned move to distance learning during spring 2020 drove a wedge into the middle of the school year-disrupting academic schedules, putting an end to extracurriculars, and undercutting the assessment and academic feedback cycles in most schools. Student motivation, predictably, foundered.

As one of our students put it, online school "is just like in-person school but with all the fun bits removed." Without the ambient social interactions that are such a rich part of a regular day at school, and without in-person guidance from teachers, coaches, and counselors, many of the key motivational drivers were suddenly gone. In most K-12 schools, there were no fully formed distance-learning alternatives waiting in the wings. Indeed, glaring holes and inequities were exposed in the first days and weeks of distance learning: families with sporadic or no connection to Wi-Fi; students who lacked a calm place to study; siblings who needed to chip in to take care of brothers and sisters, or needed to contribute money by getting a job. Over and above it all were increased levels of trauma.

In short order, the move to online learning also laid bare some of the instructional flaws in our traditional structures of accountability, evaluation, and standardized testing. We hope for intrinsically motivated students, but we tend to design for the opposite, often with the best of intentions in mind. But motivating students with carrots and sticks-through endless, demoralizing cycles of high-stakes testing and assessment-is not getting us the deep learning and love of learning we desire.

Fortunately there is a science of motivation, and we need to design it into the very fiber of our virtual courses. There is a pressing need to do so now in order to help keep students engaged through the challenges of distance learning, and to avoid exacerbating the previously existing gaps in learning opportunities born of systemic inequities.

A Two-Stage Approach to Motivation

You may have heard of the major theories of motivation that researchers discuss, like self-determination theory and expectancy-value-cost theory. We will discuss these in a second article coming soon. For now, we think that learning mindsets-students' beliefs about themselves, their potential, and the learning context-are a better starting point that we can understand and implement relatively quickly in classrooms. Once we get proficient at learning mindsets, then we can go take the next step toward an understanding of the deeper structure of motivation, and how it can be applied to create fundamental structural reform in schools.

Researchers talk about three learning mindsets: sense of belonging, purpose and relevance, and growth mindset. If we want to design for intrinsic motivation, this is where we need to start. Some of these learning mindsets may be familiar to you, but they are often misunderstood and misapplied in schools.

Creating a Sense of Belonging

Make students feel heard: Include activities, topics, and examples that students identify with so they feel it's OK to bring their authentic self to class each day. Work hard at eliminating identity threat. Every child deserves to feel seen, listened to, and respected, and that their unique story is a part of the larger story of the class.

For example, you can create a ritual for starting your online class in which every child speaks and every child hears their name spoken by somebody else; incorporate fishbowl discussions online and encourage students to "speak from the I perspective"; co-create class rules and norms with your students and post them on the first page of each unit on your learning management system (LMS), and revisit and renew the norms periodically; have each child share their preferred pronouns with you instead of making assumptions.

Reduce barriers to connecting online: Let students know that there is an easy way to communicate with you outside of class-you can manage expectations by telling them how quickly you'll respond-and that they are welcome to do so. While setting clear expectations for the whole class, it's also important to be creative and proactive in identifying and finding solutions to challenges-emotional or academic-that individual students are facing. For example, you can set up one-on-one phone or video calls with each child on a rotating basis, or offer them the ability to text or call you directly.

Remind yourself that social time is as important as academic time: If you are teaching online, deliberately use some of your precious time for social connection. For example, begin your class time with a social ritual: try a short "mental stretch" break; offer some monitored hangout time before class starts; or create small groups that meet socially asynchronously. This isn't wasted class time-it's an investment to help keep them motivated and present for the long haul.

Connecting Work to Purpose and Relevance

Work hard to articulate purpose: Teachers often underestimate the importance of purpose and relevance in building motivation, and overestimate how good a job they are doing making the purpose clear. Deliberately and regularly state the purpose of assignments and activities-this is especially important when you are distanced from your students.

Use online surveys to solicit-and leverage-student interests: Ask students about their interests and passions, and design activities that target things that your students genuinely find personally relevant. It's not always necessary to make the activities academic: During distance learning, you should cut down some of your traditional content in order to forge deep connections-the goal is to boost students' long term buy-in for the year.

Build connections to real life: Research suggests that students' motivation toward education is improved when they take the time to link their learning to their existing interests-or to the world around them.

Try having students complete this activity, which asks students to connect recent academic insights to their interests, by interviewing each other, perhaps over Zoom.

Give students choice: Adding well-chosen, constrained elements of choice in topic or medium are great options to help boost motivation during distance learning-students feel empowered while also learning how to improve their ability to choose. But be mindful that too much choice creates decision fatigue. Example activities: Choose from one of these four essay prompts; select a renowned leader that meets a set of criteria to study for your project; produce your work in the form of a podcast, children's book, 2- to 3-minute video, art installation, or paper.

Hard Work, Failure, and Growth Mindset

Explain how learning works: Begin by talking to your students. Tell them that studying is hard, but it gets easier over time when you begin to use effective study strategies. Teach them about neuroplasticity-that effortful practice over time helps rewire their brains.

Give them effective study strategies: Students should favor study strategies like articulating key concepts in their own words, active retrieval, and spaced practice over rereading and highlighting-and you should build in time to let them practice and refine those strategies. During distance learning it is especially important to be deliberate about this because students are on their own more often and need strategies for self-regulation.

Help them get unstuck: Be concrete with students about the fact that they will periodically get stuck, so they'll need tactics to get over the hump. Have you created a class climate where kids feel comfortable asking peers for help-or considered setting up small study groups to facilitate better communication? Have you given your students easy ways to contact you during business hours, and even urged them to do so when they're stuck? Have you created a useful, easily accessed list of class resources in your LMS?

Use tech to create a low-stakes environment: Create low-stakes quizzes in your LMS, or use tech tools like Pear Deck, Quizlet Live, and Poll Everywhere to support frequent but gradeless retrieval practice and formative assessments. Reposition these "quizzes" as part of continuous learning, and help students see them as useful tools to get a sense of where they are, how well their study strategies are working, and what they need to do next. Finally, don't confuse low-stakes with easy; students work harder and learn more deeply when they are challenged. Build time for getting things wrong and learning from those mistakes into every class.

Alter your grading systems and structures: Despite the conventional wisdom in education, grades don't motivate students to do their best work, nor do they lead to better learning or performance.

What better time than now to adjust your grading structure to reward growth, development, and improvement? Even if summative assessments are beyond your control, consider adjusting your mid-unit grading by awarding points and grades based on student work related to continuous improvement. This not only helps the struggling learners, but also pushes the top achievers to show that they are putting in the effort needed to demonstrate clear improvement in their skill levels.

Be constantly ready to adjust your teaching: Because it's hard to "read the room" and determine what your students know in a virtual classroom, use your formative assessments to continually adjust your own teaching. This is a great way to model the growth mindset behaviors that you'd like your students to adopt.

Create a digital record of competence: Motivation can be boosted when students notice their growing competence. Create short activities to promote this rather than leaving it to chance-for example, bring back a piece of older work and do a then-and-now comparison, or create a simple online portfolio that can be regularly updated and revisited. Be sure that students link their competence to hard work and the right strategies, not to innate ability.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Science of Keeping Kids Engaged-Even From Home

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The upcoming school year will be filled with uncertainty, but the need to keep students engaged while working from home feels like a sure thing. Fortunately, there is a science of motivation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Create opportunities for peer to peer relationships in small groups or paired sharing

# data[].attributes.subject
Create opportunities for peer to peer relationships in small groups or paired sharing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Online classes make some kids anxious, but building relationships with them can go a long way toward helping them feel secure.

Teachers, as an instructional coach, I hear you when you ask, "What do we do about those kids who didn't show up to remote learning sessions last spring if we are still teaching remotely in the fall?" How do we get them to show up, to do the work-in essence, to comply?

My daughter was one of those kids who, because of anxiety, refused to participate in virtual learning. Some of her teachers may have figured that she was one of those noncompliant kids, and of course, it looked that way. But for her, the issue wasn't about compliance. It was about feeling safe and understood.

Most educators understand the importance of establishing respectful relationships with students, but it is often difficult to put that theory into action without a model or plan. The five steps below serve as a relationship framework for teachers to consider as they prepare for the possibility of remote learning this fall and when trying to establish lasting and meaningful relationships with their students.

Step One: Let's Get to Know One Another

A personal connection makes us feel as if we matter. Building relationships on a human level is the first and most powerful move we can do as educators, and it is fairly simple to do. Write a letter. Send a survey that you will later respond to personally, or simply call students to say hello. Help them to understand that you'd truly like to get to know them, to establish a rapport and mutual respect. Getting to know our students as humans will give teachers a better understanding of what makes them tick and perhaps help us understand why remote learning may be tough for them.

In my shy daughter's case, she absolutely loved her teachers but had massive anxiety around whole-class Google Meets and all those people seemingly staring at her. Luckily, her fourth-grade teacher knew the value of putting aside work in order to prioritize the students' need to feel safe, seen, and understood. They spent several days on one-to-one Google Meets chatting about our child's pets, her love of writing, and their mutual admiration of all things Harry Potter. Seeing that her teacher was truly interested in who she was and how she was doing made her willing to try, albeit in small ways, to participate in virtual learning.

Step Two: Using What You Know About Students to Spark Engagement

If teachers know who their learners are, they can find texts they will read and tasks they will care about, thereby motivating them to participate. My daughter's band teacher did this masterfully. After discovering our tween's current Star Wars obsession, she gave our daughter the trombone music to Darth Vader's theme song, "The Imperial March."

For the first time in weeks, low and warbly blasts of bass permeated our small home as our thrilled and motivated child immersed herself in perfecting the piece. Embedding learning within the structures of something she cared deeply about became a potent way to get her involved and to ease her wariness of remote education.

Step Three: Student Partnerships Can Advance Participation

Teachers inherently know that peer relationships are just as important as teacher-student relationships. So how can we use that knowledge to help students move on to the next step in our relationship framework? Once again, teachers should rely on what they've learned about the student, but this time in order to create meaningful partnerships.

Our daughter's writing-club teacher used what she knew about our child's favorite pastime-writing comics and short graphic stories-and facilitated a beautiful online-writing partnership with one of her friends, an equally enthusiastic writer. These relationships with her teacher and her writing partner made her feel valued, and that was beginning to make all the difference.

Step Four: Using Small Groups to Increase Engagement

The power of a partnership naturally lends itself to the next step in the framework, which sets out to get students to interact remotely in larger peer groups. These groups should be highly engaging in order to motivate students to attend. For example, some teachers hold fun days where kids get together to play games online.

When our daughter was still having anxiety attending whole-class meetings, her teacher created a book club in which our daughter took part. The more she attended club meetings with a few trusted friends, the easier it was to share her ideas. She had come a long way in a short time, and that was directly correlated to the effort her teachers put into establishing a genuine connection with her.

Step Five: Checking In and Letting the Students Lead

It's important to remember that a genuine connection has to be seen as an ongoing process. In the final step of our relationship-building framework, educators should leave space for lots of scaffolding and practice. They should find ways to remind students that they care about who they are and what they need, all year long. This can be accomplished with periodic check-ins.

On her first try at participating in a whole-class meet, even with the beautiful relationship she had built with her teacher and the knowledge that her writing partner and some of her reading-club friends would be attending, our daughter didn't make it. When she heard the teacher begin speaking, she ran out the front door. When her teacher reached out to ask her what she needed to feel safe, the thoroughness of the first four steps of this relationship model meant that our daughter felt secure and could articulate what she needed.

In his book Personal & Authentic, Future Ready Schools founder Thomas C. Murray says, "The best thing we can give kids this school year is not a new curriculum or technology. It's an empathetic heart that sees and hears theirs." This five-step relationship framework aims to achieve just that: educators with empathetic hearts seeing and hearing their students-taking the time to know them utterly and completely.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Connecting With Reluctant Remote Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Online classes make some kids anxious, but building relationships with them can go a long way toward helping them feel secure. Teachers, as an instructional coach, I hear you when you ask, "What do we do about those kids who didn't show up to remote learning sessions last spring if we are still teaching remotely in the fall?"

# data[].attributes.headline
Figure out what students need to know and generate questions to guide them in their learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Figure out what students need to know and generate questions to guide them in their learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Tips for Creating an Effective Virtual Field Trip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students can connect what’s happening in the classroom to real-world locations by using digital tools to gain new perspectives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Tips for Creating an Effective Virtual Field Trip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students can connect what’s happening in the classroom to real-world locations by using digital tools to gain new perspectives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cutting back on things that wear teachers down can make a real difference in their well-being and professional outlook.

Chanelle-Nibblelink / The iSpot

As I hurriedly take a bite of my sandwich at my desk, the bell rings and students pour into the classroom. They are buzzing with questions about last night's homework. As the students settle into their desks, my email dings; it's a request from admin to download yet another new app. And then another ding, a meeting request for training on the new app. If this chaotic scene sounds familiar to you, ask yourself, "What can I subtract?"

Professor and author Leidy Klotz poses the concept of subtraction in his 2021 book Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less. Klotz's research finds that people tend to add rather than subtract. We see this often in schools in the form of added curriculum, added initiatives, added policies. Klotz admits that the idea of subtraction might be misinterpreted as easy, laid-back, or doing nothing. However, subtraction is an action-an action that teachers can use strategically.

Consider the following ways that we, as teachers, can subtract from our hectic workloads.

3 Ways to Cut Back Strategically

1. To subtract, add space. As a middle school math teacher, I often explain to my students that subtracting is "adding the negative." For example, 12 - 6 is equivalent to 12 + -6. This mathematical concept applies to our work schedules as well.

If you use an online calendar like Outlook or Google, add some space to your day. Book a time slot for lunch, taking a walk, or reflecting-and stick to it. If you find that your time is often interrupted, schedule time for the tasks that must be done, such as grading and planning. If you can carve out space in your day to grade papers, then that task is subtracted from work you might push to evenings or weekends.

Adding the negative applies to physical space as well. Edutopia's 2019 video " 5 Tips for Decorating Your Classroom" notes that too much decor and clutter can distract students and hinder learning. Consider what can be subtracted from your classroom walls and shelves. Do you really need 30 dictionaries? Following the advice of professional organizer Marie Kondo, "By avoiding the urge to fill every countertop and corner, you'll give yourself [and your students] the space to think and listen."

2. Think quality over quantity. As educators, we know that sometimes short essays can be impeccably written, and some long essays are quite lacking. Consider how quality over quantity might work in our classroom. Do students need to do 20 problems for homework, or will five quality problems suffice? Students can also exercise subtraction by having the option to omit unwanted questions from their tests and quizzes. On our school's algebra comprehensive final exam, students are directed to cross out any three problems they do not wish to have graded. For students, this subtraction is a time-saver and anxiety reducer.

Our communication can also benefit from subtraction. This does not mean to communicate less, but rather to communicate more effectively. Write parents/guardians succinct emails that ask for a brief but effective phone call. Writing, "Hello Dr. Rivas, can we schedule a brief phone call this afternoon to discuss Olivia's progress with adding integers?" followed by a five-to-10-minute call will take far less time and energy than a long and impersonal email chain.

Meetings are another task that many of us want to cut, but that can feel impossible. If you are in a position at your school to plan faculty meetings, omit unnecessary ones. We all know there are unnecessary meetings because of the popular meme, "Yet another meeting that could have been an email."

If you are not a meeting organizer but rather an invitee, consider the advice of career coach Caroline Castrillon in " How to Reduce Unnecessary Meetings at Work." She suggests that you "[g]et comfortable declining unnecessary meetings. Just because you are invited to a meeting, that doesn't mean you are required to attend. First, look at the topics being discussed. If you are only needed for the first 15 minutes, then let the organizer know that you will drop off after your part is finished. Or, if the agenda isn't relevant to your area of expertise, politely decline." For example, if you are invited to a meeting discussing students you do not teach or a project you're not involved in, and you have no information to share or glean, then this is probably a meeting you can subtract.

3. Delegate. We teachers often take on the lion's share of the thinking and tasks in a classroom. As a form of strategic subtraction, teachers can delegate the thinking and learning, where it truly belongs, onto the students.

Educator and podcaster Nick Moskaluk shares on the Learner-Centered Spaces podcast a clever way to grade less that increases student self-reflection. He glances at his students' completed quizzes but doesn't mark them. Instead he posts the answers around the room. Students compare their own quizzes with the posted answers while making corrections (in a different-color pen). By subtracting the task of marking quizzes, Moskaluk adds depth to the students' learning.

Beyond grading, other daily tasks can be easily delegated to students. As with math teacher Steve Reinhart's popular 2000 article " Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say," consider "Never do what a kid can do" as an approach to classroom jobs. Cleaning the boards, handing out papers, posting the agenda-a kid can do it and would most likely love to do it.

The next time you are faced with too much-too many assignments, too much grading, too many tasks, too many meetings, or too little time to think or reflect-consider what you can subtract from your to-do list. As a reminder, subtract some clutter from your desk and replace it with a single sticky note with this quote attributed to Lao Tzu, "To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day."

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What Can Teachers Subtract From Their Workloads?

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Too many papers to grade and too many meetings to attend. Find out how teachers can subtract from their hectic workloads.

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Be consistent with your practices and expectations

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Be consistent with your practices and expectations

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Many teachers are a few weeks into this remote learning and remote teaching experience. I asked my reading teacher friend, Julia, how she would describe her experience so far and she responded with a link to this video.

@makeshift.macaroni##ukulele ##uke ##originalsong ##teachersoftiktok ##tiktokteacher ##smallgestures♬ original sound - makeshift.macaroni

If you don't click through to watch the video, (I highly recommend it!) it is a teacher strumming her guitar in peace. Then she screams... a lot! You really have to watch to get the full comedic effect.

We asked our Facebook Group and other teachers their best practices for remote teaching, and we compiled and shared our favorites below. Here are some remote teaching tips for teachers.
Note: We understand that many teachers do not have the autonomy to do what they think is best for remote learning due to district or administration requirements. This list is intended to give you ideas from other teachers who are having success.
1. Create a FAQs Page on Your Class Website

This brilliant remote teaching tip was shared by Kelly. Are you getting tired of responding to the same questions about log in, passwords, and when assignments are posted or due? Only you know what logistical questions are taking away from your instructional or planning time. Create a FAQs page or slide that you can link or email when you are being asked the same question for the eighteenth time. Other ideas for your FAQs page include how to access assignments, office hour times, where to take notes, when grades are updated, late work policy etc.

2. Be Consistent

Many teachers commented that since students are receiving so many instructions from multiple teachers, it would be best for students and teachers to create standard procedures (perhaps even across schools or grade levels) by adapting consistency in the following ways:

Post assignments in the same place - Even if you are linking to Desmos or some other assignment, always post assignments to the same place - this could be a LMS or Google Classroom.

Post assignments at the same time each day - Since scheduling assignments is a feature most LMS have, it would be best to take advantage. Decide either that your assignments for the entire week will be posted every Monday at 8 am or that your assignments for the day will be posted everyday at 8 am. This helps students and parents plan for their week. One parent told me that her student's teacher post assignments on Sundays to help working parents plan for their week.

Keep a consistent due date - If you are grading assignments, choose a day of the week and time that everything is due.

One subject per day - My former school has dedicated one day of the week to each subject. Monday is reading. Tuesday is math. Wednesday is history. Thursday is science. Friday is for electives. Each teacher provides about 1-2 hours worth of either assignments, office hours, or live/recorded teaching for students.

3. Assign a Manageable Amount of Work

Many teachers shared that lowering your expectations for the amount of work students complete daily is acceptable and encouraged. As adults, my husband and I are getting much less done in our work day, and we have our own computers and rooms to work in with closed doors. Many of our students with working parents are now responsible for younger siblings or are sharing devices or coping with the drastic changes to their lives. And they are students! I would say about half of my students needed pretty heavy encouragement and reminders to stay on task and complete their work when I was standing next to them, so adjust your expectations if you haven't already to prevent frustration. Calling a student to kindly check in with them during this time would probably also encourage work completion.

4. Hold Office Hours

This remote teaching tip came up with teachers and parents I spoke electronically with. Even if just 1 or 2 students show up, that means your office hours were purposeful. Record or find a video lesson for students to watch on their own time with some questions ( Edpuzzle is perfect for this!) and then hold office hours (at the same time everyday) so students can ask questions and check their work. It's like a small group!

5. School Culture Still Matters

If you aren't drowning, and you want to engage your students outside of math content, then encourage students to participate in picture taking challenges. Maybe if they participate, they receive bonus points or get an assignment/homework pass. Ideas include: taking a picture of yourself doing the following activities:

What is working for you? What is not working? What are some remote teaching tips that you would add to this list? If you need any more help with remote learning, please check out our free resources here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many teachers are a few weeks into this remote learning and remote teaching experience. I asked my reading teacher friend, Julia, how she would describe her experience so far and she responded with a link to this video.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many teachers are a few weeks into this remote learning and remote teaching experience. I asked my reading teacher friend, Julia, how she would describe her experience so far and she responded with a link to this video.

@makeshift.macaroni##ukulele ##uke ##originalsong ##teachersoftiktok ##tiktokteacher ##smallgestures♬ original sound - makeshift.macaroni

If you don't click through to watch the video, (I highly recommend it!) it is a teacher strumming her guitar in peace. Then she screams... a lot! You really have to watch to get the full comedic effect.

We asked our Facebook Group and other teachers their best practices for remote teaching, and we compiled and shared our favorites below. Here are some remote teaching tips for teachers.
Note: We understand that many teachers do not have the autonomy to do what they think is best for remote learning due to district or administration requirements. This list is intended to give you ideas from other teachers who are having success.
1. Create a FAQs Page on Your Class Website

This brilliant remote teaching tip was shared by Kelly. Are you getting tired of responding to the same questions about log in, passwords, and when assignments are posted or due? Only you know what logistical questions are taking away from your instructional or planning time. Create a FAQs page or slide that you can link or email when you are being asked the same question for the eighteenth time. Other ideas for your FAQs page include how to access assignments, office hour times, where to take notes, when grades are updated, late work policy etc.

2. Be Consistent

Many teachers commented that since students are receiving so many instructions from multiple teachers, it would be best for students and teachers to create standard procedures (perhaps even across schools or grade levels) by adapting consistency in the following ways:

Post assignments in the same place - Even if you are linking to Desmos or some other assignment, always post assignments to the same place - this could be a LMS or Google Classroom.

Post assignments at the same time each day - Since scheduling assignments is a feature most LMS have, it would be best to take advantage. Decide either that your assignments for the entire week will be posted every Monday at 8 am or that your assignments for the day will be posted everyday at 8 am. This helps students and parents plan for their week. One parent told me that her student's teacher post assignments on Sundays to help working parents plan for their week.

Keep a consistent due date - If you are grading assignments, choose a day of the week and time that everything is due.

One subject per day - My former school has dedicated one day of the week to each subject. Monday is reading. Tuesday is math. Wednesday is history. Thursday is science. Friday is for electives. Each teacher provides about 1-2 hours worth of either assignments, office hours, or live/recorded teaching for students.

3. Assign a Manageable Amount of Work

Many teachers shared that lowering your expectations for the amount of work students complete daily is acceptable and encouraged. As adults, my husband and I are getting much less done in our work day, and we have our own computers and rooms to work in with closed doors. Many of our students with working parents are now responsible for younger siblings or are sharing devices or coping with the drastic changes to their lives. And they are students! I would say about half of my students needed pretty heavy encouragement and reminders to stay on task and complete their work when I was standing next to them, so adjust your expectations if you haven't already to prevent frustration. Calling a student to kindly check in with them during this time would probably also encourage work completion.

4. Hold Office Hours

This remote teaching tip came up with teachers and parents I spoke electronically with. Even if just 1 or 2 students show up, that means your office hours were purposeful. Record or find a video lesson for students to watch on their own time with some questions ( Edpuzzle is perfect for this!) and then hold office hours (at the same time everyday) so students can ask questions and check their work. It's like a small group!

5. School Culture Still Matters

If you aren't drowning, and you want to engage your students outside of math content, then encourage students to participate in picture taking challenges. Maybe if they participate, they receive bonus points or get an assignment/homework pass. Ideas include: taking a picture of yourself doing the following activities:

What is working for you? What is not working? What are some remote teaching tips that you would add to this list? If you need any more help with remote learning, please check out our free resources here.

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Many teachers are a few weeks into this remote learning and remote teaching experience. I asked my reading teacher friend, Julia, how she would describe her experience so far and she responded with a link to this video.

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Time management - how to step away from the computer when you're always at home

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Time management - how to step away from the computer when you're always at home

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Creating opportunities for students to connect

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Creating opportunities for students to connect

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Preparing students for standardized testing

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Preparing students for standardized testing

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Helping students without proper access to tech

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Helping students without proper access to tech