“Inspect what you expect.” Years ago when I was a network marketing rep, one of our leaders shared this concept. She shared how it is important to check on your team throughout the week to ensure that they were on target for their personal goals and the team goals. This idea came to mind as I thought about how to share with you how necessary it is to do the same in the virtual learning atmosphere.
Yes, you are teaching students who are typically 17 and older. And, yes, they should be responsible for their learning and study habits, but the reality is that the 21st century is like no other and students need support like never before. There are so many distractions via the multitude of social media platforms, cable channels, viewing subscriptions, etc. and the pandemic has created stressors that are affecting students mentally, financially, and socially.
With that in mind, one of the best ways to keep students abreast of upcoming events, tasks, and assignments in the course is by posting “looking ahead” announcements. These announcements go out at the end of the week and give students specifics about how to maximize their study time over the weekend so that they begin the next week prepared.
Let’s face it. Most students have not been taught how to study, productively. They may spend hours (or not) reading their textbooks or attempting to complete assignments without a strategic plan.
When I talk to students, I often find that they will say, “But, I studied and studied. I just can’t seem to get everything done.” After hearing these sentiments over and over in different ways, I decided that it was time for me to offer even more support than I do within the assignment folders where I sometimes provide a pacing guide. I realized that I needed to remind my students of what was coming down the pipes and “advise” them on how to get things done.
In this post’s video, I share with you briefly how I use “Looking Ahead” announcements promote good study habits. These announcements may be written and/or presented via video or audio.
Do you include weekend announcements in your course to support students? If not, what do you think about this idea? Feel free to share in the comments below or over on YouTube. Also, please be sure to subscribe to my channel so that you can be notified when new content is available. I would love for you to join my YouTube family.