Ten Steps To Better Remote Learning For Teens

When the lockdown hit, many people were forced to work from home. For students this means that they had no choice but to study in isolation. This also meant they could often work at their own pace and without any distractions. For parents, choosing remote learning for teenagers is a tough decision and it is us who will ultimately be responsible if something goes wrong! We’ve found ten steps how you can help your teen succeed when studying from home.

Ten Steps To Help Your Teen Learn From Home

Step One: Establish A Schedule

We all know how important it is to establish and maintain a schedule, and so does your teen! By establishing a set time to study each day, students can maintain their performance levels without the stress of deadlines or assignments hanging over their heads.

Step Two: Set A Routine

When you have your daily study time, consider making it part of a routine. Take the same route every day so that students get into the habit of studying in a quiet environment, within the framework of a daily schedule with regular, recurring tasks. This can help create a rhythm for them to follow and will help when adapting to any kind of situational or social change in future.

Step Three: Create A Study Space

Consider setting up a “home study area” for your teen complete with lighting, temperature, and sound control. While this may not be possible in every household, try to make it as academic an environment as you can. With the right resources you could muster up some school-themed decor to make the experience as close to the real thing as possible.

Step Four: Have A Backup Plan For Internet Issues

This is probably one of the biggest issues that students face when studying from home, so be sure you have an internet plan that will sustain your teen’s ‘school-life’ without interruption. You might even want to consider having an additional broadband source or add data for mobile hotspots just for this purpose.

Step Five: Make Your Teen Do Homework Efficiently

Help your teen out by letting them work on homework at the same time they’re working on school-related tasks. This way, you can keep track of their progress and make sure complex topics are understood more easily. If possible, try to get other family members or friends to help out too to keep up the social interaction and group work.

Step Six: Create A Positive Environment

Many teens study best in an environment where they feel safe and supported, so be sure you create one at home. As mentioned, provide them with proper, comfortable lighting on top of additional study aids to promote positive learning. Try reducing distractions like TV, (not so) smart phones outside of set-times for these. Most importantly, minimise the interruptions of other family members doing their own thing, which can be noisy and disruptive.

Step Seven: Set Realistic Goals

You don’t want to set your teen up for failure. Be sure you set realistic goals that they can achieve in a certain amount of time. If the goal is too small or too large, it may not be practical enough. Finding the middle part – the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is tricky but most certainly achievable. And without a doubt, the last thing you want is to give them unnecessary stress along the way.

Step Eight: Teach Your Teen Time Management Skills

This means you’ll have to help your teen prioritize their household, schoolwork and homework while also making sure that each task gets done. Be supportive without taking over, and make sure they know how to handle all of the tasks on their own.

Step Nine: Provide Extra Encouragement

Along with setting goals for them, be sure to give your teen extra encouragement whenever they need it. This will help build their self-esteem and confidence, and motivate them to work harder than ever before. It can take up to seven positive comments to offset the impact of just one negative one!

Step Ten: Be Patient

Our teens have a lot on their plates right now so be patient if they don’t always get things done as quickly or as perfectly as you’d like. Try not to hover or criticise as this may trigger feelings of inadequacy and guilt.

Narrow Your Scope and Set Clear Expectations

Undoubtedly, sitting at home with nothing to do is a recipe for disaster. If your teen is going to study from home, you must provide them with specific tasks that they should be completing. Otherwise, they will likely spend their time on unproductive things such as social media or TV shows. The devil indeed makes work for idle thumbs… Before starting their school work, homework or chores, parents should make sure to set clear expectations on when they should be expected to finish their tasks.

Giving Them Something To Do

This is the flip side of setting clear expectations. Once you’ve decided on a study routine and explained that this must be followed every day, the tricky part is giving your teen something productive and useful to do in between. Here we elaborate on the recommended options:

• Team-homework other school-related tasks: in this case, though the teen will be in charge of completing and submitting their school assignments on-time, they can also ask for help if needed. Teaming up on tricky work helps both parent and teen, especially when they can adopt both student and teacher roles. Some of the strongest bonds are formed through facing challenges together. Again patience is the key to achieving the goals and making sure your teen gets maximum benefit.
• Completing chores around the house: This task is just as important as it is productive and cannot be overstated. Completing chores teaches teens essential life skills which are needed as they push towards adulthood and have to face home-building on their own terms.
• Computer games and downtime: It might sound strange but there are benefits in playing video games. Nowadays, these are a favourite pastime for most youngsters and gives them much needed escapism where pressures of teen life fade away amongst pixels.

Studies have shown that moderate gaming keeps their minds fresh and ready to learn when it’s time, while at the same time allowing them to explore a hobby or two. Parents can make sure their teen does all set tasks, but also offer the fun stuff, including seeing a movie or play together – or with friends.

Adaptable Parents = Happy Teens

Be Flexible And Stay Close By

This is one of the most important aspects, since it will avoid all kinds of discomfort for everyone. While they should know what to do on a daily basis, there will be times when they struggle to meet the expectations you’ve set. In such cases, parents should be close by to offer help and support.

Don’t Expect Perfect Results Overnight

It’s easy to get carried away when it comes to working from home and think that your child will start studying like a pro in just a couple of days. This is why you always need to keep your expectations in check, since this will make you more patient and understanding with your teen.

Being On Top Of Things Is More Important Than Being Strict

If something goes wrong, don’t allow it to turn into a big discussion or argument. The point of studying at home is to foster independent learning, while also giving them an opportunity to explore other hobbies and ways to be productive. So parents should always be encouraging and supportive of the choices they make while at home. Studying should be fun yet challenging. This means that it’s okay for them to take regular breaks and divide time among a variety of tasks and endeavours . However, if they’re spending too much time on social networks or watching TV (instead of studying), parents should always be there to let them know what’s okay and what isn’t.

Remember That This Is A Trial

 

Finally, you always need to remember that this is a trial that can either end or continue based on whether it proves beneficial or not for your kid. So if something doesn’t go as planned, don’t worry and instead give them a boost and see if they need any help.

We hope you enjoyed these ten steps on how to help your teen succeed at studying from home. For more information about school, college, and their professional programs visit www.onlinesupertutors.org. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter and download the resources we have available to aid your student in their academic pursuits.