Contributing Editor: Lora Hodges, EdD, Executive Director at CRS
COVID-19 has affected all of our lives, and for educators in particular it has been challenging to find ways to maintain a positive classroom community through distance learning and sustain student engagement, all while helping students to recognize and appropriately manage the emotions they may be experiencing.
We are acutely aware that educators have had to pivot their practices and are looking for solutions to obstacles that they have not before encountered nor imagined. With this in mind, for our April 2020 issue, we have revisited some articles from past issues and updated them with new ways to support students’ social and emotional well-being during this time. We are also providing updated accompanying downloadable resources to reflect the shift to remote learning.
Our goal with this Journal issue is to provide the tools and information you need to maintain positive learning communities as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has many of us reevaluating our priorities. As resilient and creative people, our goal is to come out on the other side of this episode stronger than we were going in. Guiding students in setting short- and long-term goals can communicate hope to students, and we can use this current health crisis…
Incorporating play and movement into learning is a sound, developmentally responsive teaching practice that is critical for learners of all ages. Infusing the school day with movement and activity is essential for effective teaching under normal circumstances, and perhaps even more vital as teachers pivot to facilitate student engagement in distance learning. Regardless of the…
Imagine a typical day a couple of months ago. Within a couple of hours after waking up, you would have already experienced a range of emotions. Maybe you picked up a cup of your favorite coffee from the local deli, which made you happy, while more traffic than usual slowed your commute and caused you…
“Mind over matter” is a simple expression describing the ability to use our minds to self-regulate in those moments when situations seem out of our control. Under normal circumstances, the mind processes information through the prefrontal cortex region of the brain, the area responsible for executive functions that allow us to control our behavior and…
Communicating effectively with students can be a challenge for teachers, even in the best of times, and with current circumstances requiring many schools to teach remotely, it adds a new layer of complexity to this communication. But it can also provide a unique opportunity: Online teaching and learning parallels the first weeks of school, when…