Welcome back to TeachBoost’s Coaching Roundup! As remote learning continues, educators are being forced to deal with unexpected shifts in processes, routines, and all of the stress that comes with them. Learn from your peers on how they’re finding ways to deal with the stress and anxiety in September’s topic roundup.

Tips for Checking-In with Teachers Remotely

Kelly Batts shares how promoting teacher feedback and communication among all organizational levels was their district’s biggest win while shifting to distance learning.

“In the midst of the crisis, communication between all levels of our organization has been our biggest win.
What started out as a strategic way to check in on our teachers has turned into the foundation by which we are guiding our entire curriculum and instruction plans for the district moving forwards. . . . We dug deep into what we were observing during online instruction and shared our own perceptions about the needs of our educational community.”

Helping Teachers Succeed Remotely

Mellisa Roy provides four strategies that admins can use to increase their teachers’ confidence in remote learning.

“The most powerful way for a person to build self-efficacy is to master a task.
Create a space where teachers feel safe to take risks, but make sure to set them up for success with the right support. Research suggests that planning responsive professional learning as an effective way to support mastery experiences. Providing multiple layers of support for learning new technology would be the best place to start. Be careful to avoid overload by breaking the learning into smaller chunks and providing coaching support for teachers who are technology novices.”

How to Make Teaching Online Less Lonely

Zachary Scott Robbins emphasizes why teachers should practice self-wellness and daily routines when working remote.

“Fear of failure and feelings of guilt may intensify this fall. Increased training, their desire to improve, and the pressure to perform well may be sources of stress. . . .
Times like these necessitate that teachers make care, connection, and community part of their daily routines, so they don’t lose themselves while helping others. For teachers who work with the most disenfranchised students, such as incarcerated youth, maintaining one’s sense of self is essential.”

Teaching Through a Pandemic

Stephen Merrill passes along 6 ways you can shift your mindset to deal with working from a distance.

“Start by being reasonable with yourself. It is, in fact,
impossible to shift to distance learning overnight without lots of trial and error. Expect it, plan for it, and do your best to make peace with it. . . . Make a concerted effort to speak to other colleagues and trusted professionals to provide emotional and psychological context to your work. Teaching at this moment is extraordinarily hard, and you’ll need the virtual company of people who are experiencing what you are.”

Three Ts: Toss, Tweak, and Treasure

Anabel Gonzalez asks educators to take a second to reflect on their current routines, practices, and health in order to stay positive this school year.

“Most of us could have never imagined having to teach through such challenging times. And while we may feel as if we barely have time to breathe,
rethinking and prioritizing our workload will not only be good for our health, it will make us better educators, and impact our personal lives as well. Being intentional and reflective, figuring out what can be tossed or tweaked will help us to find the treasures in our practice that will restore our energy and love of teaching and learning.”

How to Improve Remote Learning Experiences

Eileen Belastock believes a team approach and starting with what you know are key components of distance learning.

“Educators and support professionals collaborate, share data and support students on an ongoing basis through department, grade-level and team meetings. These invaluable opportunities result in increased attendance, reduced numbers of discipline issues, improved academic performance and better identification of high-risk students. . . . It is important to keep three things in mind:
Take time to reflect on the experiences gained, the skills learned and the more robust relationships with colleagues, students and parents.”

Feeling Stuck with Distance Learning

Katherine Goyette provides a framework for lesson planning, built around collaboration, that can empower students while reducing teacher stress.

“Educators are entering new classrooms – virtual classrooms. They are called to connect with students in a new way, devoid of physical proximity.
The environment has changed, the content standards remain, but our planning must change. Distance is different than proximity. Our preparation must be altered to meet this new context.”

Bonus Roundup: Self-Care and Growth

A few months ago, we looked at how you can grow professionally and mentally while working remotely. Take a moment to relax, reflect, and learn from your peers.

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