The Faculty of the Learning Support Department

Owing to the global pandemic, schools have transformed education into a far different model than what existed even eight months ago. During the current school year, Solebury has been a leader in the return to offering in-person education. Yet national, state, and local public health concerns may force us to temporarily return to fully remote learning.

The Solebury School Learning Support Department would like to share some strategies and tips to help make your student's transition to remote learning a more successful experience.

Home is naturally conducive to relaxation, fun, and downtime. However, it is important to keep your student on a routine. Establishing norms that attempt to recreate the structure of a school day will go far to enable your student's success. Your student should:

• Get up at the same time every day, and follow the same morning routine as if they were coming to Solebury's campus. These routines help prime the brain for learning.
• Create a workspace that is conducive to learning. With the entire family at home, space can be at a premium. However, students should have a dedicated workspace for school, ideally outside of their bedroom.
• Have a printed schedule or school planner at their desk so your student knows exactly which class to attend.
• Dress for online learning as if attending school in-person. While wearing pajamas and connecting to Zoom from bed is immensely comfortable, it may hinder your student's engagement with school.
• Participate! Our minds are not computers—we do not learn information by simply staring at it until it is stored in a hard drive. Human brains require active engagement with schoolwork in order to move the information into long-term memory. Answering questions during a Zoom call, chatting with a teacher, and posting to class discussion boards are key ways to stay engaged with the material.
• There are a number of assignment management apps available for computers and mobile devices, such as myHomework Student Planner and iStudiez Pro. Programs like these allow students to track their homework, papers, and tests, plan out when assignments are due, and help to make heavy workloads feel less stressful.
• A schedule is critically important for providing structure and dedicated time to work. Help your student create dedicated times for schoolwork.

Strategies like these can help to make your student's transition to online learning easier and more productive. Maintaining structure and consistency is key to ensuring a successful experience in a virtual education environment.