“Covid 19” Strategies & Resources For Educators

WOW … A couple of weeks have gone by and so much has changed… AGAIN

Last time I wrote, we were heading into certain Online learning for Term 2 and all of the challenges that that brought. Now as we head to the end of Week One, our focus is back again on Face-to-Face learning.

Whilst the holidays were an emotional rollercoaster, I feel I have actually come out of it a more knowledgeable and equipped educator with a wider breadth of strategies under my belt to cope with both online, face-to-face learning and a mixture of both. I can’t deny that at times I have felt considerably frustrated and exhausted, but as the dust settles, I can see a way forward to using some amazing online resources and strategies to allow my teaching to be strengthened in a face to face manner through the use of tools such as One Note and Office 365 and other platforms. It has actually re-ignited my excitement for learning as I have developed my own learning.

As I move forward, I would like to take the opportunity to share some of the key strategies that have been effective in supporting our staff through this crisis and sharing some resources I have created that could be useful both now and into the future as things return to somewhat normal.

KEY STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT STAFF (based on my reflections as an educator)

1. Allow staff to have an emotional reaction (without attacking others)

# Sometimes in order to move forward and start planning actionable changes, time needs to be given to just react.                        Acknowledge the emotions and then focus on making changes with things that are in our control.

2. Whenever possible, create routines and guidelines to provide staff with the structure that they are craving

# One of the elements I struggled with initially was the loss of the ability to plan ahead (as each day brought new                              challenges). Just like our children, we as adults need structure and routine to feel calm and in control of the situation.                  Of course, this is challenging as things have continually changed, but if we focus on creating routine with elements                     within our limited control we can gain back some sense of routine and structure.

3. Provide a once a week opportunity for staff to discuss challenges/provide feedback (with guidelines to ensure                      respect for others)

# By doing this as a weekly opportunity, it provides staff with an opportunity to vent and problem solve while keeping it                (hopefully) limited to once a week rather than every day which leads to a cycle of complaining and focus on frustration                  and negativity.

Useful Resources

These are some resources I have created during this period to support staff and others during this challenging crisis. Whilst some of the aspects now seem irrelevant due to changes to delivery of education, there are still many uses of each that may be helpful to individual teachers and administrators.

Please use the download button to the right to access the FREE PDF resources.

1. Positive Education – Geelong Grammar Wellbeing Series link

https://teachpeec.com/curriculum/primary/remote-learning-resources/1-2-week-1/

https://teachpeec.com/curriculum/secondary/free-remote-learning-resources/1-2-week-1/

         # We have created a Whole School Connect (similar to Seesaw/Seqta) page that we are utilizing for general                                        communication to all families. Within this I have created a Wellbeing section to share resources for families to access.                  This has benefits for now but also moving forward. This link provides some excellent PDF resources for educators to                    share with families. They are all FREE and very well presented.

2. Home Schooling & Online Learning Resources

            # Day planner for kids and parents                                                                                                                                                                     # Online Learning tips and techniques (for educators)                                                                                                                                   # Staff Expectations for Webex                                                                                                                                                                           # Staff Expectations for Connect                                                                                                                                                                         # Student Services Flowchart for Supporting Students @ Home

3. Covid 19 Staff Protocols Poster

 Obviously it is hard to know where we will be next week or in a month, but I have decided to continue delivering my Behaviour Improvement in Schools Blog series. I may have intermittent information or useful resources for Covid 19, but will just do these as needed (depending on the current situation).

In the meantime if you or anyone else you think may be interested in how to effectively implement Behaviour Initiatives in school have a look at my blog posts following this link 

https://thinkeffective.com.au/2020/01/19/implementing-behaviour-initiatives-effectively-in-schools/

(this will take you back to the start of the series or you can start wherever is relevant to you).

Next week I will move on from strategies for collecting baseline behavioural data to how to identify 3 or 4 clear whole school behaviour expectations to be the focus of behavioural improvement.

Please contact with me with any blog posts ideas or items you would like discussed at renee@thinkeffective.com.au

As always, please feel free to share my blog post with friends and colleagues and contact me with any questions.

Have a great day!

Renee Knapp