Remote Learning - Tips For Teachers

The aim of this post is to offer some crowdsourced tips for teachers to consider in developing their approach to remote learning in response to this post: See it from their perspective! which asks us to consider what remote learning looks like for our learners. The post is a deeper look at the points raised in the graphics created based on teacher feedback and other sources that have been shared so kindly to inform the content of this post. Please feel free to share the graphics and blogpost to any educators developing their pedagogy and approaches to remote learning; and asynchronous approaches in particular.

> Minimise the range of platforms used

There are a whole range of platforms and apps available and they can all be very useful in meeting different needs. Alongside the big hitters such as Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams and Apple Classroom, we also have Purple Mash, Class Dojo, J2E and a whole range of additional apps such as Flipgrid, Adobe Spark, Show My Homework and many more. Whilst having the choice is very positive on one hand this can be problematic for the learners on the other. If the work being set requires multiple logins then it's causing an additional layer of struggle. In practice, this means that individual schools need to make a clear decision on what platforms are used. Consider the learner having to use one platform for one subject and a different platform for another! If we add some apps on top of this, the demands on the learner can be high and especially if they are new to them. Developing a bank of basic how to videos and explanations of how the platform works and how to complete the tasks can go a long way both for learners and parents. Building familiarity and good habits with learners is key to successful learning experiences. Less is more and any change or introduction of a new platform needs to be thought through and managed at school level. Of course, if you're confident your learners can use an app or platform confidently because you have used it in class as part of their normal lessons then this aspect is less of a concern. A simple audit of what platforms staff are currently using to share work with learners can help to provide a realistic picture of what it's like for them.

> Break it down to realistic 'chunks'

This is a crucial aspect not only for remote learning but for learning in general but is even more important when setting work remotely. The general advice provided by teachers on this aspect advise breaking the whole task down into steps. These steps contain one or maybe two activities to be completed. These can be set as separate assignment and should be clearly labelled in the title. This can also be achieved by creating a document with the steps broken down into sections. Doing this before sharing the work allows the teacher to organise the learning into realistic steps and prevent the learner from having to work out how to do the task and in what order.

> Make instructions specific

The general advice of less is more is so important when wording and presenting the instructions to the learner. Short, memorable and clear. 'Read the paragraph' works but is not as good as 'Read the paragraph twice carefully and slowly' It's important to ensure the learner is not second guessing what they need to do. Another example to drive the point home is 'Write your answer in the box'! Again, this works but can be improved by adding specific detail, 'Write two sentences in the box accurately to answer the question'. Aim to leave no area for misconception or misunderstanding. Without that face to face contact, it's really difficult to know if the words you're using are understood so the instructions need to be bullet proof. Some teachers have also suggested that a video talk through and explanation with demonstrating and modelling the work to be completed with your familiar face can have a very positive effect and clear up any potential areas of confusion. Embed this video in the document or hyperlink to it into a new window to avoid additional resources in the assignment. 

> Make instruction concrete, clear and actionable

This links clearly with the point above but asks us to consider at a deeper level what exactly we want the learners to do. The main consideration here has to be can they easily access what they need to do without any prior knowledge. If prior knowledge is needed, has it been provided with it. I have said things like, 'If you're not sure, then look back to the previous assignment.' I realise now that this is another layer of hassle and could be prevented by providing this in the form of a link or text call-out box. Reducing any possible confusion about what to do exactly will free the learner to focus on the learning and not second guess what needs to be done. In a classroom situation this would be addressed with questions. Pre-empt those questions and fill in the gaps. This is a powerful tip that will allow you to get right down to what you want the learner to do and enable them to do it confidently.

> Sequence the work carefully

This tip is about pedagogy and is key to remote learning being effective. There have been many comments recently about one of the main barriers our learners are facing is organising all the work and organising themselves to complete the tasks. Organising the work into chunks and setting these out clearly in the order you want things done with clear and concise instructions will remove this barrier many of our learners are facing. Thinking about this in designing the assignment will enable the learner to focus on the work. In our PLN before the closure, we decided to use an adapted form of Rosenshine's Principles to help us design the work. This roughly boiled down to:

1. A recall quiz of prior learning

2. A short video presenting the assignment and any new content and including the assignment resources

3. Practice or activities to scaffold any new content - gap fills, missing words, short listening tasks etc

4. Produce something - paragraph, diagram etc

5. Reflection or exit ticket

This is only a suggestion and then raises other issues such as quality of videos and careful scaffolding of tasks. However, managing the challenge is much more difficult remotely so be sure to make it easy and build in the habits. This will build confidence and the reflections should tell you if you're pitching the work at the right level. Learner feedback from each assignment either via the work produced or their reflections should be a constant guide to the teacher. 

> All work should be purposeful and clear

This is a very interesting point raised in a comment on Twitter and in reflecting on it I had to include it in the graphic. There has to be a purpose to the work! This has to be clear to the learner! If they cannot see how this work links to their learning or wellbeing, then why would they be motivated to complete it? I think it would be very interesting to survey the tasks teachers are setting. I'm the first to admit that sometimes I throw in a time filler in class or go off-piste and develop a random fun activity just to have a break from the norm. I have also been in the situation where I'm dry and cannot think of a suitable activity to do and just thrown something in because I'm burned out. The advice here is hard but fair - take a look at the assignment and activities and reflect on the purpose, the learning goals, the links to the curriculum and the assessment criteria. Is it purposeful and worth the investment of time for the learner?

> Connect new content with prior learning

In reality there is nothing new in this tip but is really important and also interlinks with many of the other tips. If you're attempting to present new content you must link this to prior knowledge or it will be lost in moving forward. Any new content should be delivered in small bitesize chunks and clearly linked to knowledge they have already acquired. This is where retrieval self-marking quizzes can be very helpful in deciding how to manage new content as they and other completed work tell us a story about the knowledge they've acquired and when it's appropriate to introduce new content. Scaffolding can also be used to address this issue but be aware of the potential issues of wasted opportunity.

> Give clear due dates and times to complete tasks

Each platform has its own particular way of setting the due dates. If you do not set a due date then how will our students know when it needs to be done. I have seen teachers write the due date on the assignment but not put them in the assignment settings. This can also prevent any notifications reaching the students and also does not show up on their calendar and to do list, so it's quite easy for them to go missing. Some teachers have also suggested that adding approximate times for each of the steps is a good idea to further guide students. They are potentially getting even more screen time than usual and this situation has been going on for quite a few months now so giving them approximate times to spend on each step will help them manage that time and workload. 

> Ensure rubrics are specific and short

When using rubrics or assessment criteria to guide learners in their thinking and work then make them short and very specific to the task. Avoid putting them as a separate resource in the assignment and put them in a call out box on the document you're using exactly where the work is to be completed. This reduces the amount of clicking or simply ignoring. Target the strands, knowledge and skills specifically for the specific task and make it very accessible.

Here are two graphics that are very similar to each other simply because the issues are not specific to the platform but are quite general. There are simply two clear messages contained in the tips.

1. Set all work as an assignment and fill in as much detail as possible. Think carefully about how you label the assignments and use the topics/categories to organise the assignments so learners can access the structure over them over time by using the classwork tab in Classroom. Using numbers for the assignment is also a very good tip. One teacher has also suggested that this is really important in terms of naming the classes or team. If you put the subject first, it makes it much easier for the learner to identify the correct class/team without getting distracted.

2. Use the right tools for the platform. If using Google Classroom then use Google products. If you as the teacher have Microsoft documents and PowerPoints then convert them yourself and sort out any formatting issues before sharing with your learners and make sure you create a copy for each learner using the drop down box in Classroom. I would also add that if completing writing tasks then create a document with a title and all the information needed and then share this with students with a template if appropriate. This is also true of any PDF or any other formats being used. Take the time to convert them to Google yourself before sharing. This is also true of Teams and Microsoft tools. Select the right tool for the platform you are using to minimise problems for the learner. 

A good rule of thumb is to create a pupil account or ask a colleague to check the assignments from the student end. There are ways around this like having a shared classroom or collaborative classroom/Team so you can check each others assignments before going live. The danger lays in assuming it will be OK and please spare a thought for those working on mobile phones or tablets. I have learners who still convert Google Docs into a PDF to annotate when using an iPad. If they just download the app, it will work but getting the message to them is difficult. Check and double check if you can. 

I hope this is helpful to teachers in getting to grips with remote learning and some of the issues faced by learners. 

I owe a massive thank you to everyone who has responded to Tweets and freely shared their tips for me to include in this post. #Poblwc #StaySafe