While we may be tempted to only provide one path forward during these unprecedented times, we can still honor individual choice and personalization by creating modules that can be re-used. Asking students for ideas of what they would like to learn, providing them with different opportunities and supporting them through pre-recorded videos means that we can give them different modules that they can choose from in the coming weeks. Asking students, “How do you learn best?” while giving them opportunities to explore different types of assignments means that students will feel heard, supported, and also be able to manage their stress better. This may seem hard but it’s not.

In order to stay connected with our students, one of the most authentic tools that we have is our voice. While written feedback is important and useful, by recording and sharing our voice -- with the emotional resonance that it brings -- we can let students know that we care about them as writers, and as people. Using a simple online voice recording tool, Vocaroo (vocaroo.com), this brief tutorial from Dr. Troy Hicks, Routledge/Eye on Education author and Professor of English and Education at Central Michigan University, demonstrates how to create and share these voice recordings.

Kathryn Murphy-Judy has 20+ years of experience teaching language online. In this short video, she demonstrates how to foster learner buy-in when teaching online in expected or unexpected online teaching environments. Particularly in unexpected circumstances where teaching online is the only option, she demonstrates how to give students choice. Her methods promote learner autonomy, motivation, and signal to the students that their input into their own learning is valued.

Teachers can be helpers to their school families in emergency learning time by showing compassion and providing lessons with much choice and flexibility.

There has never been a better time to think about children’s education holistically. Developing motivation to learn, a positive mindset and healthy study habits are more important now than they ever were.

The current UK lockdown means that all children in the country are expected to be educated at home, at least for the foreseeable future. Whilst there are lots of amazing educational resources out there, with schools offering access to various virtual learning platforms, their effectiveness will depend so much on whether the child or teenager is physically and mentally in the right space to learn.

In this video I introduce 10 key strategies to support motivation and learning when trying to home-school. Free resources to support some of the areas I mention in the video will also be available via the Routledge site.