Learning Coach Secrets: 5 Great Organization Tips
Lessons, portfolios, and assessments, oh my! When starting virtual school, many Learning Coaches worry they’ll have trouble managing the abundance of learning materials, projects, and scheduling details involved. Although there are quite a few things to keep track of, most parents do adjust to these new responsibilities. To help you succeed, here are a few simple planning and organization tips from some of the many experienced Learning Coaches who help “newbies” by sharing their ideas on the Connections Academy message boards. We hope they will help you succeed with this exciting new way for your children to learn!
- Every weekend, make a weekly assignment sheet for each subject for each child. Check items off as they are done; at the end of the week, use the list as a tool for double-checking that everything has been completed.
- Print course trees (the “table of contents” or outline for a virtual course’s lessons) and mark what’s completed on them offline. You’ll find these handy to use as checklists and for getting an overall view of your child’s progress.
- Create three files for each class. The first file is for notes and work in progress; the second is for completed assignments; and the third is for upcoming portfolios/rubrics, the course tree, and specific teacher requirements.
- Use color coding to help your child organize materials by course. For example, if you select yellow for your science materials, you might use a yellow pocket folder for organizing materials for current lessons, a yellow notebook for your student’s science notes, and a yellow hanging folder in your filing drawer for completed assignments.
- Watch live virtual classroom sessions (or recorded class sessions) with a notepad and pen/pencil to take notes on what the teacher shares. Make sure you have a notepad/paper for notes for both student and Learning Coach to take notes during all teacher calls.
Keep checking back for more helpful tips on organization, time management, motivation, and other topics relevant to Learning Coaches!
What kind of organization strategies have helped you succeed with virtual schooling? Share your creative and practical ideas in the comments.
Maybe these ideas are good for some people but they strike me as a lot of extra, and redundant, work. And we are VERY organized!! Create three files for each class…you’ve got to be kidding. I’d spend all my time keeping track of which file to use next. Why print the course trees or the lessons for the week when they are already online – they are there to help keep people organized. You can see a complete week or month of classes on your computer and the course trees are available for the student to see every time he/she opens a lesson. Thanks but think we’ll keep to our own system.
would you say this is applicable more for elementary then High School?? If it online, what is needing to be “kept up with” and “filed”..newby here 🙂