How to Help Students Learn Time Management Online
By Ashley White
“The New Normal”
Between the increase in online learning with the COVID pandemic and workplaces shifting offering more flexible, remote roles, how can schools increase opportunities to take ownership of their learning or “work schedule” to ensure students are successful when they graduate?
For families who choose online learning, teachers often see students flounder in the area of time management. This may manifest as students missing meetings with teachers or live class sessions, or turning in assignments late or not at all.
School Is Life-Practice
Students need space to try, fail, and try again. In elementary school, my teacher would use the analogy of learning skills to put in our toolbox for life post-high school. When something challenging happens, I still imagine myself taking a breath and digging in my Marry Poppins-like toolbox for “self-advocacy” or “flexibility” or whatever skill I need at the time.
In our 21st Century world, sometimes we lose sight of the skills students will need for their toolbox post-high school since the workplace they will enter may be entirely different that the one we did. Rethinking how we help students learn skills and giving them opportunities to practice while still in school, rather than forcing students to conform to a rigid, traditional model of schooling, will serve students for the rest of their lives.
Give Students the Reigns
The Apollo School is an example of a brick and mortar school that gives students the power to manage their time and practice real world skills. Though this is an extreme example of alternative learning, as students manage all of their own meetings and projects, think about the skills students are gaining in this model. Over time with lots and lots of practice and support, students learn to be self-directed, engaged, self-advocacy, communication, collaboration, and the list goes on. This is all with the basic premise of allowing students to make their own schedule for learning.
In an online learning environment, students gain these same skills as they, oftentimes, navigate their day on their own. Many older students may not have an adult reminding them to attend class or submit an assignment.
Getting Students Over the Learning Curve
Below are some systems and skills you can use to help online students master time management while navigating school at home.
Explicitly teach systems. AVID Open Access has a variety of curated resources that help students learn time management. Since some students may struggle with this skill because they are lacking organizational skills to keep track of their schedule and assignments, finding time to explicitly teach how to use a planner, make Google Calendar reminders, etc. can make a world of difference to some students who need to get organized.
Be flexible. School is life-practice, remember? How can teachers offer flexibility to truly offer students the space needed to master the academic and soft-skills of school? In your class, this may look like accepting late work if they were having a hard time asking for help.
Check in often. As teachers, we never know all of what is happening in our students’ lives that may present as poor time management. Offering open office hours, sending out a private survey to check in, or calling home to see how a student is feeling about class can all be positive ways to build relationships with students and open the line of communication for students to ask for help.
Assume the best. Oftentimes, there is a reason why students do not submit work or attend class, but I would like to think that all students want to be successful in school. Instead of penalizing, continue to have a solution-based approach with students and collaborate on how to remove barriers.
Poor time management in online learners may actually be related to a different barrier. With clear communication and positive relationships with students, students will build confidence to take ownership of their learning and self-advocacy to practice important life skills.
Ashley has taught for over fourteen years, half being in online education. Ashley’s literacy specialist background helps her understand the need for more differentiation and direct literacy instruction for all students and she works hard to build that into her curriculum. At SYS, she serves other teachers through her instructional coaching and is passionate about supporting teachers in developing the best possible learning experiences for their students.