Planning for Isolating Learners

As we prepare to welcome back our students into the classroom this term, we must also strongly consider the possibility that some of our students will be asked to self-isolate, especially with the roll out of asymptomatic testing. It is important that we consider how we can effectively plan for students that are having to learn from home, whilst their peers are in the classroom being taught face to face.

Obviously, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, it will very much depend upon the context - who you are teaching, what you are teaching, where you are in the curriculum etc. - however, there are some key things to consider if we are to ensure that the experience of those working remotely, is as close as possible to that being experienced in the physical classroom.

Below is a list of 10 Self-Assessment Prompt Questions to support you in planning for your remote students (there is also a video of me explaining these above) However, for starters, I would like to make 2 key arguments:

1 - Proactive planning

Firstly, we would strongly advocate for proactive planning. We would pre-empt the inevitable, and purposefully plan for these learners when designing each of your lessons. Admittedly, this could mean that some of your lessons take longer to create, however we do believe that it will save you time in the long run. For example, you will not have to re-design your lesson or create additional resources, if and when you learn that one (or more) or your students are having to self-isolate immediately.

2 - Is it not just the same?

Secondly, we would like to reiterate that preparing a remote lesson is (pretty much) the same process as preparing a face-to-face experience for your learners. The lesson content is the same and your expectations remain high; it is likely to be your delivery method(s) and/or resources that need to be reconsidered. With this in mind, before starting a lesson, we would encourage you to double check that you have considered the following for ALL learners.