How students can succeed during the COVID-19 shutdown

With schools around the country shutting down, you might be worried about how your teen will manage an online classroom environment with limited interaction with teachers and classmates. Your teen might have no idea where to begin with online learning.  

This is going to be a huge change for a lot of students and their families, but there are ways to make the process easier. 

To help make this transition as seamless as possible for your teen, here are some tactical tips for how students can set themselves up for success in this online environment and use this unprecedented experience to their advantage.

Tips for Transitioning to Online Classes:

• Clarify expectations. Make sure you read and understand the latest updates from your school. Some colleges  are extending students’ spring breaks to 2 weeks, and resuming classes on March 30th. Other schools are giving students assignments to work on, but not asking them to submit anything until the end of the week.. Others are giving out daily assignments students can do on their own time, with due dates at 3 or 6 pm each day – sometimes with the additional requirement of filling out online “attendance” forms every day to confirm that they are online during the required times.. Still other schools are running virtual classes during the day, and providing online instruction in real-time through video meeting platforms like Zoom. Make sure you check email, the school’s main website, and the teachers’ websites for details and read through everything carefully so you know exactly what to expect.

• Communicate early and often. Make sure you know exactly how to get in touch with your classmates and teachers, and are signed up for any reminder systems your teacher has set up through Remind, Google Classroom, and other similar systems. If you’re not sure when your teachers will be available to answer questions, reach out to them to ask. Many of them are hosting “office hours” virtually, through zoom, Google Meet, or by responding to questions through Remind or email.  Some schools are also moving resources like writing centers and tutoring support online, as well. Do your best to check your email and course websites at the start of each day, and reach out to your teachers right away if you have a question. This schedule is new for everyone, so teachers are expecting lots of questions and will be happy to help you out!

• Create a daily schedule. Since you won’t be at school, it will be important to create a structure for your virtual “school day” at home. Depending on your school, this schedule may be built in – for example, if you have Zoom classes meeting at specific times – OR assignments may be self-paced throughout the day or the week. If your school doesn’t have a specific school schedule, create structured “school hours” for yourself, and do your best to stick to them. If you’re not sure how long you’ll need to spend on different classes, create a prioritized list of classes you’ll work on each day, and plan to move on to the next one as soon as you’re finished with all of the work that’s been assigned for that day, OR set up a checklist of actions to take each day to stay on top of your work. The more visual you can make this plan, the better. For example, here are some examples of plans we’ve created with some of our students this week to give you an idea of what these plans can look like:

• Set up a focused study environment. If it’s too hard to stay focused in one place for the whole school day, consider moving between different spaces within your home when it’s time to change classes. (For more on effective study environments, check out this blog post.) Just like phones should be turned off during class time at school, create a plan for what you’ll do with your phone to keep it from distracting you during the “school day” at home. If you are tempted to get distracted by other websites, consider using focus apps like ColdTurkey or Freedom, and scheduling them to turn on during “school hours, to help you eliminate distractions while you’re trying to work.

• Make your work feel as tangible and “real” as possible. It can be even easier to “zone out” during an online class than it is in person; taking notes on paper will help you process the information as effectively as possible. Many teachers are willing to accept pictures of hand-written assignments, so if you think this will work better for you than doing everything online, don’t be afraid to ask. And consider looking for additional ways to make your work more tangible too – like printing out readings or reading a physical textbook (if you have one) rather than an e-book, and/or writing out a to-do list for the day on a whiteboard or sticky note.

• Be strategic with breaks. Normally, students switch classes during the day, which gives them an opportunity to get up, move around, and re-engage their brain. Students who are working from home won’t have this activity built into the day automatically and may end up sitting for longer periods of time, which can leave them feeling sluggish and tired. So, try to make an effort to get up and move after completing work for each subject, or during the last 10 minutes of each “class period”, in order to keep your blood flowing and your brain actively engaged throughout the day.

• Stay organized. For students who are not used to learning online, it can take awhile to adjust to this new environment and keep track of where to find all of the links, resources, and information they need. Make an effort to start off with a good organization system, by creating folders on your computer or in Google Drive for each class, creating a naming convention for all of the files you create so they’re easy to find later (for example: ClassName_Date_AssignmentName) organizing all of the website links you need in a bookmarks folder, and keeping a to-do list of assignments that need to be completed so you can check them off when they’re done and make sure everything gets turned in. Since teachers won’t be reminding you to turn in assignments when you get to class, you may want to set extra reminders for yourself to submit any assignments that are due to ensure that they all get submitted on time.

Mindset strategies to support your teen with this transition

In addition to these practical tips for how students can succeed in an online environment, I also wanted to talk about how to help your teen maintain a hopeful and optimistic mindset during this time of so much change and uncertainty.

I know that a lot of students are feeling stressed about these changes, and frustrated that their sports, activities, and relationships with friends have been disrupted. But as tough as this time is, there are also a lot of benefits and opportunities that students can focus on and take advantage of while schools are shut down.

For many students, they’ll be saving a lot of time every day now that they’re not driving to and from school and sitting in classes all day. If students with online classes can focus on getting their schoolwork completed early in the day, most of them will end up with a lot more free time available than usual, which they can use to their advantage in SO many ways! Here are just a few ideas to consider… 

This extra time could give students an opportunity to…

• Make up on any work they’re missing from earlier in the semester (many teachers are being more forgiving with deadlines this Spring, so it’s worthwhile to ask for any available makeup or extra credit opportunities in any classes with low grades)
• Study harder concepts from earlier in the semester that they haven’t mastered yet
• Get ahead on reading or assignments (since many of these are posted online now)
• Study for standardized tests (SAT, ACT, AP’s, GRE’s, etc.)
• Create a resume
• Research colleges and go on virtual campus visits (through sites like YouVisit or Campus Reel)
• Find and apply for scholarships
• Start brainstorming ideas for college essays
• Look for and apply to summer jobs and internships
• Take interest inventories & research potential careers
• Get into a consistent exercise routine
• Reduce stress by taking time to meditate, journal, or pray
• Get more sleep
• Learn helpful life skills (cooking, financial management, etc.)
• Pursue a passion or hobby
• Write a story
• Create an artistic project (scrapbook, photo journal, etc.)
• Organize / declutter their room
• Create a YouTube channel or website
• Start an online business
• Learn a language
• Plan a volunteer activity or passion service project
• Connect and strengthen relationships with family members
• …or anything else they think could be fun and engaging!

For many students, this will be one of the first times they’ve ever had the freedom to create their own ideal school day, so encourage your teen to take advantage of it! Do they want to go on a run before classes? Take a walk outside during lunch? Work on a creative project every day after dinner? Great! Why not plan to make that part of their online school day?

In addition to this unprecedented time freedom, the shutdown is also going to provide a wonderful chance for students to practice developing some really valuable skills and character strengths that will help them succeed – in high school, college, and beyond.

Navigating this transition to virtual learning will help students to develop skills and abilities like…

• Self-motivation
• Problem-solving
• Focus
• Self-awareness
• Time management
• Resourcefulness
• Persistence
• Attention to detail
• Communication skills
• Self-advocacy
• Resilience
• Confidence
• Self-efficacy
• Organization
• Independence

Developing these skills will help students feel more confident and willing to grow and explore – which is key to their ability to succeed in the challenging and uncertain environments they will face in the future, during college and their career. Who knows? What your teen learns about him or herself during this period of adversity might help them become the person they have always wanted to be.

Finally, here are 4 powerful coaching questions that my team and I have been enjoying asking our students this week…

1. If you could design your ideal school day, what would it look like?
2. If you had an extra hour in your day to do something fascinating, meaningful, or fulfilling, what would you spend it on?
3. What skills or abilities are you going to improve for you as a result of this transition to online learning?
4. What strengths or character traits do you already have that will help you succeed in this new learning environment?

If you get a chance to ask your teen any of these questions, I would love to hear how they respond! So, please leave a comment below and keep me posted about how it goes.

Despite all of the chaos going on in the world right now, I am confident that you AND your teen will be able to get through this…and come out on the other side even more resilient, confident, capable, and connected than ever before.

I’m happy to help support you with the transition, so if you have any questions at all about how to help your teen adjust to this new online learning environment, just let me know. You can always reach out to me by email or set up a time to talk with me about getting some more support for your teen. So, please feel free to reach out anytime!

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About The Author

Dr. Maggie Wray is a certified ADHD Coach & Academic Life Coach with a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell and a Bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics from Princeton. She founded Creating Positive Futures in 2012 to help high school and college students learn how to earn better grades with less stress. Her team of dedicated coaches is on a mission to empower students to develop the mindset, organization, time management, and study skills they need to achieve their goals.