Where To Find Motivation for Remote Learning During The Pandemic

In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the globe are forced to stay at home. Businesses suffer from losses. Students have no motivation to learn. Their parents are worried as most recent studies show that only 35% of all students have the motivation to study out-of-school. Is there a way to focus on studying at home? How should parents motivate their kids to study remotely? How can students plan their learning sessions and homework? Both sides will find some of the useful recommendations in the article below.

Set Up Goals

Parents: Before writing a lesson plan, meet with the child’s teacher via Skype or another similar tool to discuss the learning objectives and strategies. Based on that, try to come up with the so-called S.M.A.R.T. goals. This abbreviation stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based.

Students: Do not set up unrealistic goals that you will not achieve - keep in mind the limited time. You should leave enough time for breaks in an individual schedule and make sure that you do not overwork.

Set Milestones

Parents: Just like you do at your work (most probably), set up KPIs for your kid. Imagine that he or she is your employee, and decide on how to evaluate their performance. You may need to consult their tutor for professional advice. How much homework should your child do overnight? What is the amount of pages to read weekly? What are the deadlines for specific tasks?

Students: If you are not a freshman, you definitely know that there are too many papers to accomplish. Even though it seems that you have more time when studying at home, you have only 24 hours per day, and nothing can change that. You may look for help online by entering keywords like “edit my essay in 2 hours” or “do my PowerPoint for me.” You will find some solutions for sure!

Track Progress

Parents: Discuss the tracking approaches with the child’s tutor. Do you agree or disagree with them? Feel free to ask as many questions as necessary to create a learning atmosphere at home. You should talk to your kid at the beginning of every day and in the evening to stay on track with the learning process.

Students: Get up early as it is better to start the educational process in the morning when our brain functions the best. Create a daily plan and follow it precisely. If possible, talk to your teachers and parents all the time to discuss your progress. This way, you'll develop ownership of the objective.

Prepare Bonuses and Rewards

Parents: The best way to motivate your child is to offer something in return. If they manage to finish the lesson and do homework, come up with the corresponding prize for them. It could be anything: from a movie night or cookies.

Students: Ask for different rewards based on the grades you receive. For instance, for each A, it can be playing video games for an hour. For B, you may get some pocket money, etc.

Select Priorities

Parents: Every subject matters. Sure, if your kid plans to become a professional artist one day, he or she might not have much interest in the sciences. However, you should then explain why the basic knowledge of chemistry and physics is useful. Stress that a student will choose disciplines in college while the school provides the fundamental skills that everyone needs. The higher literacy rates must have at least the basic knowledge in various fields.

Students: A student may look for the benefits of studying the specific subject on their own. For instance, a future chef might benefit from learning biology and anatomy to create new recipes based on healthy ingredients or combine cooking with art and design.

Keep in Touch

Both students and their parents should keep in touch with the tutors while staying at home. Ask more questions, discuss the schedule, receive feedback, and more. This will help you feel the presence as if you study in a class. As for teachers, they should think about organizing live sessions via different messengers to create an atmosphere. It will help support the educational process and stimulate kids to learn. They should feel like in class rather than on a holiday. Many apps for PC and mobile exist to help you get in touch.

Use Learning Apps

Educational software may replace a teacher. For instance, various AI-based content generating tools can assist students with mastering writing skills. It is even possible to learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO). While some apps are for grammar, others are perfect organizers. Students who hate studying may find plenty of games that develop certain skills and knowledge.

Read Instructions Carefully

This rule works for both sides. Only by reading the prompt attentively and highlighting the buzzwords and main question is it possible to understand what the teacher expects to see. After analyzing the question in-depth, a student should create an outline - an action plan for completing a paper. Usually, it consists of research, intro, body, conclusion, references, and draft review. However, one can change the steps based on personal preferences and the task itself.

When involving communication and rewards in the learning process, it is possible to motivate students to study distantly. Remember to get rid of any distractions like phones or gaming consoles and get to books. Use your devices only for educational purposes!