5 Must Haves: Remote Teacher Checklist [Interactive]

5MustHaves 1

This podcast will share a check list of 5 important teaching components to consider while teaching remotely.

[0:03] I’ve been teaching remote now for the past four weeks and one of the things that I’ve noticed with the students is that they are all experiencing the same emotions that I am, as we all are, as educators and as students alike. And coping with this pandemic – not to mention all the other things going on in the world has affected us differently.

[0:43] So how do we approach teaching today? What are we going to add in addition to what we’re already thinking? We’re responsible for doing in regards to curriculum to make sure that we’re checking in with our students, with ourselves and approaching the SEL element that is so desperately needed. One of the things I’ve done is I’ve created a checklist of five things I want to make sure I do in every class, every day with my students.

5 Must-Haves for Remote Teaching

[1:11] The five things on my checklist and they’re in this order is keep them safe, lower their anxiety, make them laugh, make them feel loved, and teach them something and it’s really important to me that I have this sheet right in front of me every day when I click on that computer and go live in front of all these little squares and all these little faces looking at me that I’m covering all of those areas because I believe this is really, really important right now. It’s not what we’re teaching them right now in regards to curriculum and PE, it’s all of these other things.

1. Teach them how to be safe

[1:45] Are we teaching them how to be safe? Washing their hands, social distancing, wearing a mask, staying home, those kinds of things and preparing them now for when we go back to school. Some of the things that they’re gonna have to consider about disinfecting the equipment, disinfecting their hands/themselves, keeping away from others, wearing that mask, being diligent about all of those protocols.

2. Lower anxiety

[2:10] The other one I want to do is lower their anxiety. I feel anxious quite often to be frank. I wake up feeling anxious, and I know it’s just everything-  teaching remote, not being at school, worrying about the virus for myself, for my children, for my students, for other faculty members. There’s just a lot of things going on. I’m sure they’re experiencing the same thing. We’re all human. So I really wanna make sure I throw in some light activity, some team-building things, some ice breaker things, checking in with them. Just very simple. How you guys doing today before I dive into anything related to PE.

3. Get them to laugh!

[2:51] The next thing is I try at least a few times throughout each lesson is to get them to laugh. You know, they log onto the computer and their rooms are dark, and they look like they just woke up. They have this sense of gloom and I get it. I have to shake myself with the very same thing. So I try to get them to laugh. We do some activities that can do that. We’ve been playing games like Kahoot!. We’ve been sharing experiences that we’re doing at home. I’ll do a show and tell, run around your house, find something that you can share. And just to lighten the mood, lighten things up, I’ll say some silly things or play a silly game to get him to laugh a little bit.

4. Make them feel loved

[3:32] The other one, number four is make them feel loved. I really want them to know that we’re all in this together. I genuinely care about them. I care about their well being. We’re gonna get through this and we’re all in this together as Mesa High Jack Rabbits. So let them know that they don’t have to go through this alone and if they need anything, they can reach out to me and I give him all the avenues for the communication, whether it’s email, phone and what not.

5. Teach them something

[4:01] Then the last thing is, teach them something. So I do want to still have that sense of school. They’re still held to some expectations. I want to keep things as normal as possible, that they’re on a routine. They wake up, they take a shower, they get dressed, they make their bed, they go to class and I’m still their PE teacher. So we do some physical activity the best we can from our homes and teach them some things about nutrition and wellness and the importance of Physical Activity.

[4:28] So all of those things together, I think have helped me to keep my mental psyche as a teacher in check. I really believe that incorporating these five things has helped the students and helped me as well. I hope this was useful for you. Stay safe out there and thanks for listening.

One Response

  1. One thing: We should call it “Physical Distancing” rather than “Social Distancing”. Even though most people know both terms have the same meaning, Physical Distancing is more accurate (and the W.H.O. is using it now as well). The misnamed “Social Distancing” can contribute to mental health issues – especially in terms of isolation with youth.

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