The Secret Sauce of Virtual School Capacity

            

Adjusting teacher captivity in an online school is tricky. It is difficult to “see” when the classroom is “full.” However, schools can consider several factors. 

First, define all of the jobs a teacher is responsible for. Remember that teaching online and writing an online curriculum are two jobs and should be factored in as such. Then, define what “full time” would look like for each job. 

If teaching Algebra 1 on a certain platform is full-time, on its own, at 120 students, create a formula that factors the portion of full time that a teacher has in that category. Repeat for each category. Remember that the number of different jobs reduces a teacher’s efficiency. If teaching 120 students in Algebra is full time, teaching 80 students in 6 classes may be comparable. This will vary by school. Lastly, identify the sweet spot for teachers. 100% capacity would indicate a completely maxed out teacher and this is not an ideal place to live. 

We have identified 80% as the ideal spot for a teacher to operate. This allows for some time for flexibility and flux within a year. Once a teacher exceeds 80%, we begin to consider posting a job and interviewing candidates, knowing the teacher’s capacity will continue to grow as we move through that often tedious and slow process. Realize that the first year after a new teacher is added, two teachers may operate at 50%. This is necessary for growth. You may minimize this by combining two positions or hiring a part-time staff member, but this can negatively impact the candidate pool. 

Keep a catalog of tasks any staff member could do, such as additional tutoring, in order to fill a
schedule that is below the ideal cut-off. Finally, ensure teachers that this formula is meant to guide additions, but should not alone justify reductions. When a teacher falls below a minimum caseload, say 50%, start with a conversation about that teacher’s actual workload. Individual classes may justify this, such as AP courses or large numbers of SPED cases. Also consider: what is the cost of reducing a position to less than full-time? It may be better to retain a teacher through a brief slump if program growth is overall increasing. 

What strategies do you have for handling staffing capacity? Please share below.

Digital Stickers for more than Motivation

     While many studies point to the superior power of intrinsic motivation, every classroom teacher still reaches for rewards as a form of extrinsic motivation and rapport building. Classroom rewards don’t only offer motivation, but they offer a way to connect with students, especially if the rewards can highlight the personal interest of the students. Rewards can also offer a way to connect to a specific student's "love language." By giving a tangible reward that reflects a student’s personal preferences, a teacher acknowledges that he or she has learned something specific about that student. 

    In the online classroom, it is tricky to connect with students in this way. 

One of the first methods I developed was to send personalized birthday wishes. During the first week of school, I send the students a survey that asks them, among other things, about their birthday. Then, as responses come in, I schedule a Gmail message with a birthday Bitmoji to go out to that student on their birthday. This task that takes just a moment on my part generates, at last, a handful of positive remarks from students and zero negative responses throughout the year. It is clearly a worthwhile endeavor. 

    A slightly more involved thing I do is order a set of “water bottle stickers” from Amazon. Then, when I send kudos cards home to students, I include a sticker. I send kudos cards for students who show improvement or meet a goal that I know they sent. 

    Finally, the most involved reward item I sent was a small prize. When I host a group game, like a Zoom

Kahoot game, I will send the winner a small prize from Amazon. I have found several items to send for less than $5 with free Prime shipping. I look up the student’s address in the SIS and send it to their house. If I know something the student likes, I try to personalize the prize. For instance, I sent hot cocoa candy canes to a student that had mentioned it. I send a horse bracelet to a student who took horseback riding as her PE application. 

   Just one effort to connect with students in this way creates a strong connection between students and teachers. Comment below ideas you have used.

Using Testing Data for MTSS in Virtual ELA

    Utilizing student assessments to guide teaching and learning can be one of the most impactful yet daunting tasks a teacher faces in any environment. In the virtual environment, this can be compounded by the time and space that separates the teacher from the student.

    One way that I apply this approach is to use benchmark data to differentiate literacy instruction for middle schoolers. After encouraging students to complete the fall benchmark in reading, I keep an eye out for the results. Then, I review students who appear to be struggling with grade-level reading tasks. Next, I invite that student to meet with me one on one in a video chat. I incentivize this meeting by offering to skip an assignment of my choosing in the student’s ELA course. In that meeting, after getting to know the student’s interests, if I haven’t already done so, I will ask them to read a passage aloud to me. Then, I will review a few comprehension questions with the student. This allows me to gauge both their oral fluency and their comprehension. 

    Based on the results of this exercise, I will make recommendations to aid them in their course. If the
results show a student who is reading far below grade level, I may reach out to his or her advisor to suggest a curriculum change. This is why doing this differentiation early in the semester is so important. 

Finally, I send the student an email summarizing the tips and copy parents and mentors.

What to do when a Classroom isn't a Room

 As much as I enjoy reading inspiring books about great pedagogy, most likely they describe a learning environment much different from my own. All the blogs about building relationships, all the Pinterest boards with cute decor ideas, and all the podcasts about great, tech-filled lesson plans are geared toward the face-to-face environment. Rather than let this get me down, I try to ask myself the following questions:

1. Is there an aspect of this technique I could use in my virtual classroom?

2. If not, is there another way to create the same result using the tools I have at my disposal? 

    In the case of step one, I have created asynchronous Kahoot games that I emailed to my online students. I leave the quiz open for one week and then email “winners.” See my previous post on building rapport through rewards. 

    Step two can be a bit less straightforward. In order to give my students a choice within an online classroom that is largely prewritten, I will design a project with several options and then a “describe your own project” option in step one. Then, I will modify the instructions in subsequent steps to be broad enough to apply to whatever the student chose. Another class is designed as a “buffet” where 200 points is full credit, but about 240 points are offered. Students can choose which 20 activities they are most interested in to complete the course. In order to structure a course like this in the LMS, though, extra communication is necessary to avoid unmerited anxiety on the part of students who see remaining assignments marked as “incomplete.” Any time extra communication is needed in a course, remember to copy parents on the communication. 

    Researchers have long predicted virtual education will eclipse face-to-face education. While this hasn’t happened on a meaningful scale yet, virtual educators have many resources available. With an open mind, they can mine ideas even from areas that don’t appear to be geared towards their teaching environments. 

Another caveat to mention is that nontraditional teachers (and traditional teachers, for that matter) can look to nontraditional sources for inspiration. I find inspiration from books on entrepreneurship, homeschooling, and even computer science. Reading from out-of-the-box thinkers in any field can serve as inspiration to the out-of-the-box educator.

The Real Key to "Doing It All"

  

   People sometimes ask me the key to “doing it all.” The key is very simple: Don’t. I don’t do it all, all the time. In fact, this is something I had to come to terms with as my oldest two children have birthdays at the end of August. Invariably, back-to-school duties conflict with their birthdays. It’s almost always falling on the first day of school for one and teacher PD for another. Also, funds seem to run short at this time. The mom guilt is real, y’all. I had to come to terms with this. We had to carefully plan. Some years, we celebrate early. Some years, we celebrate later, but bigger, like a girl’s trip to Chicago (close enough for a day trip), mid-September. 

    So don’t. Don’t do it all. Don’t try. No one should be expecting that. Recognize seasons. One of the great truths about teaching online is that is it so seasonal. Back to school is nuts. Nearly around the clock getting all my plates spinning at the same time. But November? That’s pretty tame. I can usually breathe, even reclaim some of that time I lost. End of the semester? Crazytown. But getting away a week before spring break and working from the road? That’s a good trade-off. 

Plan carefully. A few tips:

    I have tried the last few years to get all our doctor checkups done in the summer. Dentist? Eye Doctor? Physical for sports or needed medication refills? July is packed. 

    

    Have a space for work and leave it there. When I tried to work from a desk in the family room, or, worse, from the dining room table, it was a mess. Nothing was ever done. If work was caught up, supper was late, and vice versa. Once I converted a “cave” in the basement to work from, it was easier to close the door and leave work there for the evening. 

    Put EVERYTHING on a calendar. Whether is paper or digital, schedule times for phone calls, blog

writing, and dates with your kids. I schedule times I’m available for students and share a link for them to sign up. 

    Schedule emails. In September, I’ll schedule birthday greetings for students. One day of marathon email scheduling (use an email template) and they go out for 12 months. This is the single engagement piece that gets the most feedback. 

    While you are at it, schedule messages for coworkers, friends, and even yourself. If I know a friend has a rough anniversary day, I’ll put that on my calendar and check on them. 

    Communicate early and often. I remind my family if I have a zoom call in the evening. I might make that a great night to get pizza, so everyone has something to look forward to. And remind family as often as needed. Don’t assume they remember. 

    Make your schedule work for you. While I’m available during school hours, as needed, I may flex some grading time to the evening or Saturday morning if needed. Recognize this ability, but don’t get sucked into working around the clock. 

    You can do it all! But you can’t do it all at once. And that’s ok.