Source: https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-3-1-scheduling-the-work

[Revision notes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes.md) › [Teacher CPD](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd.md) › [CPD: The Teaching Online Handbook - Seneca Certified](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified.md) › Scheduling the Work

# Scheduling the Work

CPD: The Teaching Online Handbook (by Courtney Ostaff), topic 1.3.1

## Scheduling the Work

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

### Equity

![Equity](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-08/9b4b0345-f42a-45c7-8f85-22e4d2aca14d/calendar-january.jpg)

- 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

![Burden for parents](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-03/9381fd4c-323c-4b5e-9f3f-5df5480ea98b/shutterstock_653360116.jpg)

- 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

![Chaos for families](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-07/5848bb25-57b9-4dbe-a975-f4ec8cb1920b/traditional_muslim_family.jpg)

- 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

![Predictability and anxiety](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-09/ffadc07f-2d75-4c28-be69-9160662d28ed/anxiety-2019928_1920.jpg)

- 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

![Content, not context](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2019-07/8f6dcc9e-3d30-4a62-bc84-35399e5ba8f8/-confused-.jpg)

- 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

![Planning ahead](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2019-05/5ff38c0c-1575-43dc-bede-b4e9c1a15104/plan-.jpg)

- 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.

## Test yourself on Scheduling the Work

- What are some of the consequences of scheduling assignments two weeks in advance?
- What usually happens when a teacher assigns last-minute work for their online students?
- Which word best completes the sentence:“[-----] is very important for anxious
children,”

[Practise this topic for free](https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/59aed537-a796-4e04-b608-2b026755abe8/section/1ba5e3ce-896b-4391-ae59-cede9163b6d8/session)

- Previous topic: [1.2.3 Challenges and Tips](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-2-3-challenges-and-tips.md)
- Next topic: [1.3.2 Repetitive Assignment Types](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-3-2-repetitive-assignment-types.md)

## CPD: The Teaching Online Handbook (by Courtney Ostaff) contents

### 1 The Teaching Online Handbook
- 1.1 Common Online Assessments
  - [1.1.1 Guided Notes &  Weekly Quizzes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-1-1-guided-notes-and-weekly-quizzes.md)
  - [1.1.2 Deliberate Memorization 1](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-1-2-deliberate-memorization-1.md)
  - [1.1.3 Deliberate Memorization 2](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-1-3-deliberate-memorization-2.md)
  - [1.1.4 Hands-on Activities](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-1-4-hands-on-activities.md)
  - [1.1.5 Journals](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-1-5-journals.md)
- 1.2 Conducting a Synchronous Class
  - [1.2.1 Conducting a Synchronous Class](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-2-1-conducting-a-synchronous-class.md)
  - [1.2.2 Synchronous Class Discussions](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-2-2-synchronous-class-discussions.md)
  - [1.2.3 Challenges and Tips](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-2-3-challenges-and-tips.md)
- 1.3 Scheduling the Work
  - [1.3.1 Scheduling the Work](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-3-1-scheduling-the-work.md)
  - [1.3.2 Repetitive Assignment Types](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-3-2-repetitive-assignment-types.md)
  - [1.3.3 Challenges and Solutions](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-the-teaching-online-handbook-seneca-certified/1-3-3-challenges-and-solutions.md)
