Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic that has forced a number of schools in Malaysia to close, students have no choice but to attend classes online. These online classes definitely will never be easy for the teacher and also the students. Attending class remotely, of course, means it is easier to slack and be distracted. Because of that, there are several ways that can be done by the parents to make sure that their children be more attentive to their classes.
These are 5 ways to make sure your children really pay attention during online digital learning:
1) Provide a dedicated and consistent learning space especially for them.
Sarah Brown Wessling who is the 2010 National Teacher of the Year said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s the kitchen, living room or basement, but it should be free of distractions such as phones and TV, and most importantly it should be consistent”. She also stated, “Consistency is key for at-home learning because it signals to your child that it’s time to learn and be engaged”. This might be hard for families with limited space at home but it really is important for them.
2) Allow them to fidget once in a while.
Allow your children to stand or even fidget once in a while so that they can pay more attention to the online classes that they are having. This behavior of your children does not mean that they are entirely lost their interest in the online classes, but they are turning themselves to be more focused. Megan Allen who is the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year said, “For many of us, we can pay attention better when we are rubbing a piece of sandpaper in our pocket, playing with a rubber band or even moving our hands or feet”.
3) Talk to your children’s teacher more than ever before.
Teachers and also parents should work hand in hand so that they can give the most conducive learning experience for their own children during this “new normal” type of learning. This should not be the responsibility of the teachers alone because they do not fully comprehend how the children act when they are at home. A parent that help all the teachers to get to know their children and also cementing the idea that parents are going to really tackle online digital learning as a team could absolutely go a long way in making sure this type of learning clicks. Parents also have got to practice grace and also compassion with all the teachers that are teaching their children now more than ever.
4) Do not discipline your children.
It could be stressful for parents and also children to really focus during online digital learning but do not discipline your kid if they’re struggling. Sarah Brown Wessling who is the 2010 National Teacher of the Year said, “Avoid attaching immediate consequences to not paying attention. Especially early on in this experience, we don’t want our children to associate negativity with the desired behavior”. She added, “Instead, affirm their good choices, model the behavior you’d most like to see, praise the small things, and keep nudging them towards higher expectations”.
5) Know the real meaning of “pay attention”.
As parents, they have to clear up all the expectations towards their own children on how the children wanted to “pay attention” towards online digital learning. Megan Allen who is the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year said, “Break down what it means to pay attention. We say the phrase, but what does it mean? How does one ‘pay attention’ when they’re 7?”. She also added, “Sometimes we say things as adults that don’t translate to kids. This is one of them”.
Sources: HuffPost.