Teaching By Proxy

How to help parents and caregivers be "assistant teachers" at home

During virtual and/or hybrid learning, many teachers of K–2 students and students with special needs are now in the uniquely challenging position of having to "teach by proxy" — that is, having their lessons delivered through parents and caregivers acting as "assistant teachers" at home. If you're one of these teachers, most likely your training didn't include Adult Learning Methodology — so training parents how to be surrogate teachers can be tough. Getting coached in this area can help you gain a better understanding of how adults learn, and what they need to be effective as at-home educators. Teachers are accustomed to "managing mayhem" in person. But when students are separated by virtual technology, you've got kids who are in and out of the screen, and have technology they may not fully know how to use. You've got some parents who may not be attentive to students — often because they're busy working, or taking care of other children — so the kids decide to "cut class" and go play instead of remaining on the computer. Here are a few tips to help you prepare parents and other adult helpers so they understand how to teach their children, can overcome common challenges of teaching at home, and can better support you, the teacher. I'll also share some creative approaches that can help you capture and retain each student's interest. 1. Set the stage for the parent to focus their attention on you while you're training them, without distraction from their child. When scheduling training session appointments, ask parents to plan for their child to be otherwise occupied with an absorbing activity that doesn't require their help, such as coloring or watching a video. 2. Get down to basics: Make sure parents are aware of computer skills their children may need help with, and make it easy for them to access course material. Parents might not realize their young learners may need help with getting into a Zoom or Google Meet session, using basic virtual meeting functions, and/or with manual skills they haven't yet learned or don't have the dexterity for, such as mouse and touchpad skills (in which case, when possible you may want to encourage them to use a touchscreen device). With numerous online tools being used, it's essential to help students focus on learning classroom material, not wasting time trying to find it. For each lesson, provide parents with the date, time, link to the school calendar as well as website links and passwords for all needed resources, in a way that's easy for them to access and use. Putting that information in calendar invites — sent well in advance (not right before the class, please!) — is a great way to do this. Since not all calendar programs are compatible (Google Classroom generates Google Calendar invites, whereas MS Teams is integrated with Outlook), be sure to follow up with the same information by email. 3. Employ learning methods for adults, which are completely different than those for children. For adult learning to be successful, there are three key requirements: Adults need to be able to anticipate, plan, and not be anxious. So, in preparing them to be surrogate teachers you'll need to provide structure, written instructions, simplified processes — and humor. Parents are already anxious, under the circumstances, and fear of failure (which adults suffer from) is likely to make them really uptight. They will learn more easily when you use humor to get them to relax and breathe into it. 4. Help them understand what their children need to learn and what success looks like. Provide context, learning goals, ways for their kids to achieve those goals, and tools to assess student progress. Always let them know what's expected, in advance. Start with the big picture. Career educator Ben Johnson, Ed.D. points out that "defining for parents or guardians the...scope of what needs to be learned this year...can help families better prepare for individual lessons." Parents need clear, specific direction for each lesson — including an understanding of what the goal of the lesson is, and how to get there. For example, if at the end of a spelling lesson the student has correctly spelled the words but hasn't finished coloring in the page, that's a success. For children with special needs: The parent might not know the techniques that work best for teaching their own child — help them understand what approaches are most effective.

5. Everyone, stay calm. Change is messy. This experience is challenging for everyone in different ways, and stress impedes learning. In The Neuroscience of Learning & Development, applied neuroscientist and mindfulness coach Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith, MBSR offers some important tips you can share with parents on how to minimize stress on themselves and their children, including:

• Provide a supportive environment in which ‘failure’ on the part of the child (as well as the adult helper!) is part of the experience and not to be feared.

• Ensure adequate food, water, light, temperature, ventilation and physical space to meet physiological needs.

• Take ‘brain breaks’ for mental rest and to help process information, and physical activity breaks for blowing off steam.

• Make a point to relax, laugh and interact informally each day.

Harold Koplewicz, medical director of the Child Mind Institute in New York, emphasizes that predictability and routine is important to kids’ well-being — all the more so during a time of extreme unpredictability. He offers this advice: “I keep telling parents, ‘One week at a time. Wednesday we’re having pizza. Every day we’re going to put on clothes, not stay in our pajamas. You have to try to model calm, and when you’re not feeling calm, you say it: I’m feeling stressed right now. I’m going to read a book. I’m going to sit with my thoughts. I’m going to walk outside or do jumping jacks.”

6. Keep students engaged by using tools and techniques such as polls, games and incentives, improvisation, re-enactments, small group work, and flipping the classroom. My recent article 8 Tips for Teachers: How to Master Remote and Hybrid Teaching has some fun and creative suggestions that may be helpful! 7. Teach parents how they can better support you, the teacher. — Encourage them to assist their children by reading assignment instructions and checking the students' work. — For kids who need help focusing, let parents know you need their partnership to assist with this when in a virtual classroom. Share your expertise! Give them tips for capturing and keeping their child's interest, and guidance on how to redirect and refocus their child's attention as needed. For teachers who are busier than ever before, it can be overwhelming to think about having to teach parents and caregivers as well as your own students. We can help with training and support that simplifies the process. To learn more, please call 862-362-2M3E (2633) or schedule a free consultation today.