Scheduling the Work

Test yourself

Scheduling the Work

When teaching online, provide a written, posted schedule of repetitive assignments two weeks in advance.

Equity

Offering students a schedule well in advance increases equity in education because it gives low-income parents, who are often subject to severe time constraints, forewarning to plan for their child’s device access, internet access, and quiet space to work, as well as time to seek assistance for concepts their child doesn’t understand.

Burden for parents

In a face-to-face classroom, teachers often reserve the last part of the class for monitoring newly assigned student work.
But online, teachers cannot see students struggle and assist them. Instead, teachers who assign work at the last minute have made more work for parents, who must now teach the topic.

Chaos for families

When a teacher creates a last-minute assignment, they throw a wrench into the family’s plans.
Most families have some kind of evening routine, but with a last-minute assignment, a parent must change the routine for the family to provide internet access, a device, and space for the child to work.
Nearly 40% of school-age children in the US have no broadband internet access at home.

Creating a Weekly Calendar for Students

Teaching and learning online can be overwhelming for students and parents. So, daily and weekly calendars along a list of familiar assignments to be completed can be very helpful.

Predictability and anxiety

Especially for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, who often have difficulty with executive functioning and goals, a systematic plan with repetitive daily, weekly, and monthly objectives helps create success.
As many as one in five students suffer from anxiety, especially given recent world events.
“Predictability is very important for anxious children,” and creating a predictable routine helps them be successful.

Content, not context

Another benefit is that by completing a repetitive, limited set of assignments on the same day every week, students focus on the content, not the context.
For students who are new to learning online, figuring out how to do a task may take up more of their attention than the content of the task itself.
But students learn better when they’re thinking about content, not about their new tools.

Planning ahead

Learning is improved when teachers think clearly and carefully about goals and expectations for students.
When teachers are creating weekly modules and calendars in advance, scope and sequence are helpful.
Usually, teachers should have the topic of each weekly module planned months before school starts, along with a rough plan of what assignments they will use and when they will make them due.

1The Teaching Online Handbook

1.1Common Online Assessments

1.1.1Guided Notes & Weekly Quizzes

1.1.2Deliberate Memorization 1

1.1.3Deliberate Memorization 2

1.1.4Hands-on Activities

1.1.5Journals

1.2Conducting a Synchronous Class

1.2.1Conducting a Synchronous Class

1.2.2Synchronous Class Discussions

1.2.3Challenges and Tips

1.3Scheduling the Work

1.3.1Scheduling the Work

1.3.2Repetitive Assignment Types

1.3.3Challenges and Solutions

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