TRANSCRIPT: 3 Tried-and-True Tips for Mentoring Online Learners (feat. Debbie Lynch from Michigan Virtual)
7:19PM Apr 13, +0000
Speakers:
Nikki
Debbie
Keywords:
students
mentor
teacher
class
virtual
online
michigan
kids
assignments
parents
learning
pacing guide
school
lynch
classroom
debbie
learners
summer
communication
expectations
Research has shown that students are twice as likely to succeed if they have a dedicated mentor. So twice as likely so that that's huge. And the mentor, the mentor is the person that they provide that personal connection for the students that are learning virtually. And I'm learning that's a new experience for students, maybe not since the pandemic. But taking the online class is really a new experience for most students. And having that connection, and support from the mentor is just crucial, they need to have that relationship.
I'm Nikki Herta., and this is bright stories of hope and innovation in Michigan classrooms, a podcast where we celebrate our state's educators, and explore the future of learning. Great is brought to you in part by Meemic insurance company, insuring the educational community for more than 70 years. teachers and school employees visit meemic.com/quote to see how much you can save. And today's episode of bright a chat with Debbie Lynch was responsible for supporting mentors across the entire state. Well, they in turn, provide guidance and encouragement to students at their school or taking Michigan Virtual online courses. And we share stories from her many years as a mentor of online learners, explains why having a dedicated mentor makes students twice as likely to succeed in their online courses. And our first three tried and true tips for supporting online learners as a mentor. Well, Debbie, it's awesome to have you finally on the bright Podcast. I'm so happy to have you here.
Thank you. Happy to be here.
So the season of right we've been asking everybody to kick off each episode, what the most interesting thing that they're doing professionally is right now. And I'm curious what yours will be especially knowing that spoiler but you're retiring at the end of this this year, the summer school year? Yep, the school year. So what's going on? That's interesting for you right now, in light of that? Well,
it's pretty bittersweet, because I love my job. And I love Michigan Virtual. And I really care about the people that I work with, at the office and the mentors. So it's a bittersweet moment to step away from my duties. But I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life of being a grandma and spending some time with my, my 87 year old mother, and just kind of doing whatever I want to do. For the for the first time in my life. But I'm, I'm leaving behind a great position. So that that part's hard, but I am looking forward to the next next stage.
Well, we've been so lucky to have you as our mentor, superb support person for so many years. And you've given what you said 40 years to education 40
I have, I was a teacher for over 33 years. And then I came to Michigan Virtual so almost 40 years to education. Totally
awesome. Another question I wanted to ask you before we dig in is just if you could tell me a moment that you vividly remember falling in love with education?
Wow. Well, my parents bought a set of school desks, like old school desks. And my dad made a huge chalkboard, like the size of our wall and our basement. Huge chalkboard. So my brother and sister and I would play school all the time downstairs and I was always the teacher. And then I don't know, I don't know that I really knew anybody growing up that were teachers that affected my life or anything. But since they bought us those desks and chalkboard, and just came natural, I guess to me, and then when I went to school, I love school. And as I'm going through school, I thought I want to be a teacher. So that's what I wanted to be my whole life was a teacher, I never looked back, I went to middle school, high school college, became a teacher. And that's the only thing I've ever done before I came to Michigan Virtual so it was ingrained in me from the beginning.
So today we're going to be talking about three tried and true tips for mentoring online learners. And before we dig into that, I just wanted to unpack, you know, a few key terms there. And like why this is so important and why the role of mentors and online learning is so important. So first off, can you tell us what are mentors of online learners? What do they do and how are they different from online teachers?
Sure, the online mentor is the person that supports and guides the students. And they're very dedicated and hardworking people. It's it's a tough job to be a very good dedicated mentor. But the mentors basically are the liaison between the student and the parent, and the online teacher. So they are an advocate for the student. But they are also the person that should teach the student to be an advocate for themselves, I always said, takes a village to raise a child. So the mentor alone can't do it. They need the parents, they need an online teacher to, you know, reach a higher success for those students. Mentors are not content experts. That's what our online teachers are. Our online teachers are the content experts. They're the teachers that will deliver the content to the students, the students will ask the online teacher questions about their course, the online teachers grade their assignments, and give feedback. The mentor is really the person that is there to teach students to be self directed learners, teach them time management skills, and motivate them to help keep them on pace. So they'll be successful. So they're, they're like their cheerleader in the background. You know, say good job, keep going, or we're struggling, what can I help you do? Where the online teacher is the person that really is helping support them in their content?
Thank you, that's really helpful. You know, I'm familiar with mentors, by working at Michigan Virtual for so many years. But, you know, I hadn't heard of that before I got here. So I just wanted to make sure if somebody, you know, is new to that terminology that they had a little bit of background. So this is another thing I learned when I came here. There's legislation in the state of Michigan that every online learner needs a mentor, correct? That is correct. Yep. So can you tell us why that's so important that every student has a mentor in addition to their online teacher?
Absolutely. So yes, 21 F legislation states that students must be assigned a mentor. And just so you know, a mentor can be any professional employee of the school district, it does not have to be a teacher, a certified teacher, especially for Michigan Virtual courses, because all of our courses have a certified Michigan highly qualified, certified teacher on the other end. So it could be a paraprofessional, could be a counselor could be a teacher, too. But research has shown that students are twice as likely to succeed if they have a dedicated mentor. So twice as likely so that that's huge. And the mentor, the mentor is the person that they provide that personal connection for the students that are learning virtually. And I'm learning that's a new experience for students, maybe not since the pandemic, but taking the online class is really a new experience for most students. And having that connection. And support from the mentor is just crucial. They need to have that relationship.
Yeah. What does it look like at its best? So like if somebody our mentors, often in the physical building with students, because, you know, so I know, some students are doing full time online learning, but a lot of the students we serve, for example, go to a physical building and take most of their classes through their public school district and then take some classes online. So what does it looks like when, from what you've experienced when it's most successful for students? What type of mentoring there?
Well, definitely, the most successful students are the ones that can come to a physical location in your building, such as a computer lab, when I was a mentor, they came to my computer lab, because you have your eyes on the student, right. So if a student has problems, you're right there to help them, and you're there to guide them, you're there to see if they're on pace. And you're kind of on top of what's going on, when the students are virtual, whether it's 100%, or just virtual, however much, you know, time they might be in the building, but not come to your physical location to take their online class. Those students there, it's a little bit harder to monitor and, and motivate those students. So the students that do not come to a physical location, really, really have to be self directed and self motivated, because they don't have someone all the time saying, Hey, what are you doing? How are you doing? Are you on pace? Can I help you? What are you working on now? They don't have that person, that the students that come to a physical place in the building have, so it just makes it a lot tougher. And when I was a mentor, my students that came to my class far exceeded, you know, far, far exceeded my expectations and did really, really well compared to the students that did not come to my class. Most of them did not do very well, when they were off on their own because sometimes, kids high school kids are like nobody's looking. They're probably not going to do a whole lot so that it just makes it really, really tough when they don't come to a physical location. In the building, right,
adds that kind of extra layer of like accountability, and support and guidance and everything that, you know, most of us Excel under when we have goals that we're trying to achieve. And there's something more self paced. Right,
right. And it's not just high school kids, it's human nature, right to procrastinate. And if nobody's pushing you, then you're probably not going to maybe work as hard as you know, you probably should work. So it's not, it's just a human nature thing. So absolute accountability is the one of the biggest pieces when it comes to motivating students and just keeping them holding them accountable, and making sure that they're progressing as they should.
Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciate all this. I was wondering, so you were a mentor yourself. You'd mentioned before coming to Michigan Virtual is our outreach specialist for mentors? Can you just tell us a little bit about your journey in supporting online learners? So how did that get started for you? And how did it you know, lead you into the role that you're in today?
I was, as I stated, I was a high school business and computer teacher. And one day my assistant principal said, Do you mind going into this Michigan Virtual workshop. And this was probably 20 years ago, he's I can't go I have another meeting. And I was like, Sure, I'll go, like I didn't really know a lot about Michigan Virtual. So I went to this workshop, and I spoke with several Michigan Virtual teachers and other staff. And let me just tell you, I was just hooked from from the minute from the get go, I'm not kidding. I was like, I am going back to my school and I'm implementing these Michigan Virtual courses at my school, I just thought it was really cool. I just think it's funny that I just happened to stumble on this because my system principal couldn't go to a workshop, you know. So I don't know how I mean, that just changed my life, just that one little thing. So who knows if I would have stumbled on it later, you know. But so anyway, I came back and told everybody I could how this is cool, we need to use Michigan Virtual. And my principal was totally on board. So I ended up becoming the Online Learning Coordinator at my school. So I was the person that enrolled students, and then I N ended up mentoring students at the same time. So I did both roles. Eventually, we got bigger. So we had other people in our building that would mentor students, but I was like the main person that, you know, that enrolled all the students and things. But as I said earlier, most of my students came to my lab. But I didn't have some that were 100% virtual, I had students that were hockey players, I had a figure skater that traveled all around the world. So and they were, you know, those kids I didn't have a lot of problems with because being an athlete, the when the capacity that they were in, they, they knew they had to get things done, and they knew how to schedule themselves. But so then all of a sudden, I decided that I would like to teach from Michigan Virtual, so I became a part time teacher, for Michigan Virtual. And I feel like that really made me a better mentor, I was able to see both sides of being a mentor, and what it's like to be a teacher was so what did you
like about being an online teacher? That's different than being a mentor for you? Like, how do they feel different? You know, like, feel different parts of you? I guess, you know,
great question. So, being a face to face teacher, and an online teacher is different. But what people don't know, that don't teach part time, or don't teach online, I mean, is that you really do make a connection with your students. And there's some students in my face to face class that I didn't have a connection with it just, you know, it's just the way it is. But I had students that would reach out to me and I feel like they would, they were more open with me, because they didn't do it in front of my face, they would email me or send me a message. And I felt like they really opened up more because they didn't have to say it to my face. And I have students ever like Mrs. Lynch, we come to my soccer game, you know, and, and, and I would write things down about what they what they were involved in, in school. And little things about them in the very beginning of the class when they would tell me that so throughout the year, I'd write and go hey, how soccer going or how's football or did you try out for the play and, and they were like you remembered and so you really can build relationships with people, I wouldn't have believed it unless they did it myself to realize that you can build relationships with virtual students more than people think you can. So I really really enjoyed that I really enjoyed being able to have a different kind of connection with the kids than than even in my face to face classroom.
I appreciate you sharing just that so many different parts. perspectives here, the process of online learning. I do think it's really amazing and serendipitous that, really that one meeting that your assistant principal couldn't go to change the scope of your professional career? I mean, you still might have ended up there. Who knows? I mean, but it's definitely, you know, ignited something. Alright, last question, before we dive in. Can you tell us a story about a time that you witnessed a mentor have a profound impact and an online learners life? So this could have been, you know, when you are a mentor, or just something you've seen along the way, but I'm just curious if you got any, any stories that stand out to you?
Well, I think mentors make a profound impact on students that sometimes don't even know it. Maybe later, they'll know maybe not. You don't realize when you talk to students, and as a teacher, I'd have students come back and say, Hey, Mr. Lynch, I went home and told my parents what you said, and I thought, or what I say. So they really take to heart even if they don't act like it what you tell them. And I had this young lady, she was a social butterfly, my class, she just kind of went from table to table and chit chatting with everyone. And she had a world language class, she was taken online through Michigan Virtual, and she needed the class to graduate. And I try my best to get that girl on track and to get her motivated. And I just, I couldn't do it. And so finally, one day, I said, Look, this is what I want you to do. I want you to go home, I want you to add up how many assignments you have left, because I'm just telling you right now, as a high school kid, to look at all the assignments they have, especially if they're behind, it can be very overwhelming, because they don't know how to break things into chunks. So when I said go home, write down how many assignments you have, divided by how many days you have left of school, and I'm talking weekends too. And you come back tomorrow, you tell me how many assignments you have to do to get a passing grade or to you know, finish the course. So the next day, I thought all here, you know, this is not gonna be good, she's gonna come back and be super upset. She comes skipping in my classroom, Mrs. Lynch, Miss Lynch, I only have to do seven assignments a day to get caught up. And I thought to myself, you haven't done one a day, but you think you could do seven? You know, I mean, obviously, I thought that to myself. And I was like, that's awesome. She goes, I can do this. And she went over and sat down. And I'm telling you, that girl, she almost finished that class. And she did pretty well. And I think it's because, you know, when you feel like it, dig yourself a hole so big that you don't know that you can get out of it? Well, when she looked at all of those assignments, she probably thought I can, that's just too much. But something simple, like just breaking it down into little chunks. All of a sudden, she thought seven a day, I don't think she understood that was 56 in a week. But she it was very, very doable for her, you know, and so I, I was I just I tell that story all the time. Because I just, you know, I thought that was something super simple. And it's kind of ironic, because now Michigan Virtual, we just this past fall, had an update to our student learning portal. And our mentors now have the capacity to do that for a student, they can put in a different start or end date. And it rearranges, the pacing guide, and they can give it to the student and say here you go, cross off what you've done, and go from there. And this is what you have to do to finish the course. So it's kind of ironic that I've told that story so many times, and now we have the capacity to do that. We didn't back then. So that's why I had her go home and manually do that. But one other story I do have for you, Nikki is I had a student that. And a lot of my students were very successful. So I know I'm talking about some of them that weren't but I just I had a young man that he just it just wasn't his thing. And he just couldn't get himself motivated. And at the end of the year, he came to be had a real serious talk with me. He said, Look, I know I was really difficult. And I know that I procrastinated. And I know I didn't do well in my online class. But he said, I know you're thinking I'm just saying this, but I really think this is a was a turning point for me. I am not going to make the same mistake when I get to college. So I really am thankful for this experience, even though it didn't end well for me in high school. But I'm thankful for this experience. Because I know that I'm going to get to the next level where I'm paying a lot of money for my classes, and I am not going to let this happen at the next level. So I was like, okay, so that that that made me feel good that at least he learned a lesson in isn't that you know, really what it's all about.
Yeah, I mean, that is what it's all about. And I think both of those stories illustrate you know, I've heard somebody and I know it was a mentor to but use a metaphor of like the I think it was like bamboo shoots you know, it's like, you water out you can Have you ordered the plant for like five years, and maybe nothing happens, and then they can just shoot up. And I think they were using that in relation to online learning and just saying, you know, it can be really hard, you know, to be, it's really, you know, self organization, self discipline, all of that time management skills to work on something that's self paced, and there's not like, oh, you know, this deadline, this deadline, this deadline, holding you to a very strict schedule. But if you can get good at it, and it sounds like as a mentor, you were really able to help students do that, then they really can learn some skills that are really critical for the rest of their lives. And I think those two stories illustrate that really well.
Yeah, absolutely. And any students that are going on to college, it's, it's helpful for them, because a lot of the teachers at school use some type of program or platform where they have to go maybe get their assignments or get their their lecture notes or communicate with the teachers online. And, and the problem is a student's high school students think technology is entertainment. So it's a little harder when kids sit down to do an actual class, because all sudden, they're like, I used to have kids say, Whoa, I have to like read and do quizzes and take tests and stuff. And I'm like, yeah, it's kind of like school. You know, I mean, that's what it is. We're not here to play or do social media. And I think that's, that's a big adjustment for high school kids. But if they can get those skills in high school, then when they move on to whatever it is, I think it's going to be a really huge help for them to go, Okay, I've done this, like I get it. I know how to communicate with people, I know what I'm supposed to do. It's not foreign to them at a higher level where it could be a lot more impactful to them in a negative way than in high school.
I'm Nikki Herta and you're listening to bright stories of hope and innovation in Michigan classrooms. Bright is brought to you in part, by Meemic insurance comm insuring the educational community for more than 70 years, teachers and school employees visit meemic.com/quote See how much you can save. today I'm chatting with Debbie Lynch, outreach Support Specialist for mentors at Michigan Virtual, you can find a plethora of free resources and mentoring online students at Michigan virtual.org/mentors. Here you'll see Debbie's mentor checklist, a free research based guide, webinars, blog posts. And if you scroll to the bottom of the page, some helpful templates for communicating with students, parents, and online teachers. Up next, we dive into Debbie's top three tips for mentoring online learners. And so now as we turn into the second half of our conversation, I just like to invite you to give us your three strategies. So three strategies, three tried and true tips for mentoring online students, would you like to start us off with number one,
my first tried and true tip for mentoring online learners is building relationships. And I have that at number one, because I think it is the most important tip of all, is building relationships with your students. And you need to be available for your students need to establish a rapport with your students and show them that you care. Especially now, when this pandemic I feel like kids are all over the place with how they're feeling and what's going on in their lives. So letting them know that you care is just super important. But also be sympathetic, be encouraging, especially for those students that aren't doing well. They they don't need they need your support. They don't need someone getting upset with them. You need to be flexible, and patient with these students. And sometimes it's good to say to students, what do you need to be successful? What does that what does that look like to you? Because sometimes they haven't even sat and really thought about that. But you need to really establish clear expectations. In the beginning, like logging in every day, read the information your teacher provides in the course, read your emails, use your pacing guide, the students need to be taught and lay it these expectations needs to be laid out for the students. So they understand you just can't go, here's your computer, let me know if you need help. They would just sit there and they wouldn't know what to do. So you really need to lay out those expectations and guide them. And I always took my students at least a couple of weeks before I met, all of a sudden I'd walk around and think who nobody's yelling at me. You know, because it took them a couple of weeks to kind of get in the groove and figure out oh, how do I do this discussion board again? Or how do I how do I upload this assignment and it just took them a while because it was new to them. And I was very patient I I'd probably do the same thing 50 times an hour to different kids. But after a couple of weeks, they got in the groove and they figured it out, you know, but honestly, Nikki just having that learning positive, welcoming learning environment environment. And that's the way I was as a teacher. And that's the way I was, as a mentor. I want to get students to come into my classroom, feel comfortable, feel welcomed, feel supported. And I just feel like when kids know you care about them, they'll pretty much do anything for you.
So in when you were a mentor, were there any specific things that you would do you like pretty early on? You give a few examples there for sure. But to like, build off that relationship on the right foot?
Yes, I would. In the very beginning, I would be up at the front. And I would show them what a class looks like, I would walk them through the steps so they would feel comfortable. And then after I got the student started, I would meet with each student at least once a week. And I would sit down with them and look at their class and have a conversation about Okay, so are you looking at what your teachers are writing for feedback for your, for your classes? Or how are we doing on the discussion boards, and I have some maybe generic questions that I would I would ask these students, but just another piece of that accountability, right, that we've talked about, kind of keeps them accountable, too. But they knew that they were going to sit down with me, as well as I'd walk around the room most every day. And I was available to them. If they're like, oh, come here, come, come help me real quick. If I wasn't walking around, they may not think to raise their hand ask me a question. So I did a lot of walking around. And then I would separately meet with each student also to, you know, just to see if they had any, any questions because sometimes some kids are afraid to, to ask questions or reach out to their teacher, even their face to face teacher.
And forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought you had mentioned like, to me, you know, before at some point that sometimes during summers, you do virtual mentoring, is that right? Or did
me Yes, yes. I also ran the summer program. At we actually started a summer program at Williamston four, we had students that maybe they failed a course and they wanted to get that course taken over the summer. So then they'd start the school year off fresh, they wouldn't have to take that algebra one a in first semester, because there's probably something else they wanted to take or should take. So we had an option for that. We also had options for students to take courses. So then they could take extra courses or advanced placement courses in the fall. So I don't want to get my civics and econ out of the way in the summer. So then that frees me up for a couple extra hours during the school year. But I can take something else that is that I wouldn't ordinarily be able to take so I did run that summer program. And I didn't see the kids, right because it's summer, but I would I had a look at your cottage or something. Absolutely. Yep, exactly where I was. And I did it from afar. But I had a meeting before I went before school was out with all students and I gave him my my expectations and said, This is what I expect from me this summer. This is I'm available. I was available all the time, it didn't matter. I was available to them whenever they needed me. And then every Friday I'd send the students and their parents a grade sheet because back then we didn't have parents didn't have access to the students gradebook. Were like they do now. So I would send a gradebook. Copy the gradebook to the students and the parents. And you know, say Have a nice weekend some pride didn't some pride didn't depend on how they were doing. But it was a it was a short summer, but the parents were very appreciative. And actually our superintendents grandchild, was taking a summer class and maths when Michigan Virtual continue to explode when the superintendent was like, all Debbie was huge in making sure my grandson passed this class. So she realized how important mentors really were by just watching what happened through the summer. And I didn't even realize she was watching. But so that really, that really cemented our school district's commitment to we need a person in a classroom, we don't want to give it to I feel bad when it's the counselor or the principal or the system principal, because they already have a full plate. They don't have the time to really dedicate to an online learner that the student needs. So our school district made that commitment that it would be a person in the in the building in that same classroom, so I was thankful for that. That's cool to
hear. The superintendents grand grandchild. Yep. Pretty neat. So yeah, I guess I was curious with that. The reason I asked about like the summer virtual learning is, you know, maybe we could explore with each one of these. If if it's relevant, like, were there any ways that you would kind of adjust when you're, if somebody's in a fully virtual position, and maybe they don't have an option, either of the students selected to be fully virtual, or, you know, the school is set up as fully virtual, any tips for building that relationship for tip one in an online environment, if somebody is in that environment?
Well, actually, that kind of takes me to tip two purpose. So that would be communication. So having that relationship with the student is even more important if they are virtual, especially 100%. Virtual, but that communication piece is really, really big. But honestly, we're back to accountability. They have to communicate with students at least once a week, at least once a week. And it doesn't have to be face to face mentors. Yeah, I'm sorry, mentors have to communicate with the students, and actually the parents to a lot more if the students are virtual. And it doesn't have to be a zoom or Google Hangout, or face to face, it can be your email, through texting, whatever the students are comfortable doing. So from the beginning, I'm like, No, you're, you're gonna do a zoom with me, or you're going to Google Hangout. And then I realized that doesn't really matter, I just really need to reach that student. So if they're comfortable texting, then I'm comfortable texting, so they just need to communicate, the student needs to know that someone's checking on them, someone cares about them, and someone's going to make hold them accountable for their learning. And that's really a huge, huge piece of, I don't care if the students are virtual or not, it's just more important to communicate with them, at least weekly, with students if they especially are virtual. Yep.
That makes a lot of sense to me. You mentioned at least one communication that you would regularly send at least during the summer, you know, that kind of grade report like hey, here's where you're at, and making sure that parent is involved. Any other kind of key communications that you would like, pull into your routine as a mentor, or that you recommend to mentors?
Well, what I did was, on the first day of school, all kids would go to from plastic flat class, and they would get a syllabus. And then they come to my class. And it's like, oh, this is just my online class. And I thought, I'm gonna change that. So I decided that I'm going to give my students a syllabus, when it comes to my classroom for their online class. So they're all taking different classes, but the online piece is the same. So I gave them a syllabus. And at first, they're like, seriously a syllabus? And I'm like, Yeah, so I wrote down there, this is what you can expect from me, this is what I'm going to do. This is what I expect from you. This is what you can expect from your teacher. And so we went through the whole thing in the very beginning. And then I sent that paper home. And I said, You need to read this with your parents, when you need to sign it, your parents have to sign it, and they had to bring it back. So to me that you think the kids don't really understand about online learning, while parents understand even less. So that was really helpful for parents had a lot of parents said, I appreciate that. Because, you know, my son didn't tell me anything. And I have no idea what's going on. So they really appreciated having that at least the syllabus to get a little glimpse of what is my student going to be doing in your class every single day. So I think that was, that was really a good piece, I don't know where you want to put it in building relationships or communication. But that was a, that was a big piece that it is it is and I tell mentors all the time. And it makes the kids realize this is a real class, you're not just coming to the computer room to hang out. This is a real class that you're coming to every single day. You just don't have a teacher staying in front of you, your teachers just on the other end of your laptop. Because if mess. Next thing, Nicky, if students aren't meeting the expectations, what are the consequences? There has to be some consequences somewhere, let's say a piece. Absolutely. So it Williamston. What we did is we had homework lab, we called it. So it was Monday through Thursday, and was for an hour after school in the library and someone man the homework lab. And so I would meet with students every week. So say on Wednesdays, I met with students. So I meet with them on a Wednesday. And I start with the students that weren't doing very well because if I ran out of time, the kids that were doing really well probably didn't really need to talk to me anyway. So I'd meet with them and we'd have that conversation about what's holding you back. What can I do to help and I'd go through a list of Are you are you doing this? Are you doing this? Are you doing this? Are you reading the feedback are you know, I log in then every day are committing enough time to your your course and so on. And then I give them till the next Wednesday, not necessarily to get caught up. But I need to see significant improvement by the next Wednesday. And I even heard a student in class say, Dude, stop talking to me, Miss Lynch gonna meet with me on Wednesday. I gotta get some work done. And I kind of chuckled to myself and I thought, Okay, this is working. I didn't know that it was working that well. So but I will tell this exhibit Absolutely. So I I told the students, so the next Wednesday, if you weren't where I wanted you to be, then they had to go to homework lab. And they had to go to homework lab until they got themselves back to where they should have been. So kids didn't want to go to homework lab after school. And so they that really helped. Or I could, you know, I'm going to tell you talk to your football coach about this. And maybe you should miss practice one day and come in with Mrs. Lynch after school and work on your online class, they don't want to do that either. And they don't want to miss football practice. So obviously, I would call the parents too, I put in grades every Friday in to my Power School. And so the parents could see what the grade is all along, you know, so I always communicate with the parents that way at least, but but there has to be some kind of consequence or, or plan of action, if the students aren't meeting the expectations because you can't let it go on too far. Or they will dig that hole that they can't ever get out of. And nobody wants that to happen.
And so that's like one of the kind of like, blessings and curses, right of online learning is that you have absolutely well, depending on the model, but that you have that self paced nature where the student can, you know, work at their own pace. And for some students, you know, like a, like you said, the traveling athletes who really need that, that can really, like, be huge. And for some students that can provide, it can still be huge, it can still teach them those skills, like we were talking about earlier. But it also can provide, you know, a challenge, and if you get too far behind, it can be difficult to to catch up. So it's really helpful to hear some of those kind of accountability strategies that you use with your students. So
and I talked to mentors about that all the time, Nikki and we're, I'm I always say it's a blessing and a curse, that kids can work at their own pace. So it's great for those kids that maybe they need to read over the assignment or watch the video more times, before they can understand the content to be able to do an assignment. So okay, you can have as much time as you want to do that. And, and maybe, you know, at their own pace that I'm just going to knock out a few assignments on the weekend, or however the kids want every every student learns differently. So that's, that's a blessing that they have that experience. It's also a curse, because kids can work on it whenever they want. And sometimes in January, when you say, Okay, last day is June 12. Kids go June, Oh, heck, I got a lot of time. And they don't realize that no, this course is paced out that you have to do work every single week, just like a face to face class. So you're gonna wait till March to start, that's going to be tough to to be able to finish your class. So I'm always saying that but it really is more a blessing. And it is a curse, because we have kids, like I said, have different learning styles, different life circumstances, Michigan Virtual classes, have really been able to meet some of those kids at where they are. And they might not have been able to graduate without some of these courses or you know, not be able to come to school for whatever reason. So it really is a it really is a great, great supplemental to the school's curriculum. Can I say one more thing about communication? Oh, please. So I talked about communicating with the students. And obviously you need to communicate with the parents because the parents you really back to the it takes a village to raise a child, you really need the parents on board, asking the student, their student, where you're supposed to be. Show me what you're doing. Let me see your gradebook Michigan Virtual has a student learning portal that allows parents to see the student's pacing guide, which is really helpful, I tell parents put it on the frigerator. So you know where the student should be. They also have access to their Gradebook, so they can see exactly where the student is. So it really helps to have that parental support really, really helps to have someone at home, doing the same thing that mentor is doing at school. And it also is important that the mentor communicates with an online instructor and our online instructors. We don't know the kids, as well as the mentors, like as a mentor. I knew those kids history, I knew their background, I knew where they came from, I know pretty much everything about them. Because I'll tell you if you don't already know. And so I knew if Suzy was struggling, because something happened in her family, or, you know, Johnny's been really really sick. And that's why isn't my mom so the unlike teacher will reach out to the mentor to say, Hey, I noticed that you know, so and so hasn't been online very much is everything, okay? And so that's where the mentor can come in, or the mentor can reach out to the teacher first and say, oh, you know, Johnny has mono might be a little while and so that just that liaison and that conversation between the mentor and the online instructor are really key and it really helps the the online instructor they don't want to be badgering the kid to be like Why aren't you logging in if you know the kids sick or something's going on that they don't know about. So that communication with an online instructor from the mentor is, is really key. Also,
I feel like this is all a real testament to like the best practices for online learning, you know, and I think like, if someone is interested, if they're either starting as an online mentor themselves, or, you know, just supporting online learners really, in general, I think a lot of these practices are applicable in any family. Absolutely. Absolutely. If you're a parent, you know, for a fully virtual student or something, you know, a lot of this would translate, I would imagine, or you know, an administrator who's like, trying to figure out like, what does it take for online students to be successful? Because we're starting to see those questions being asked, especially in the wake of the pandemic, because, like you said, it is slash was new to a lot of people. And we've been in this game for a while, you know, like, in online learning for a while. So there are some, some things that you might not think of, you know, that are really important. And so I really appreciate you sharing all these. Yeah, do you find that you have to, like you mentioned, you know, it takes students a little bit to get used to you show them the system and show them how to do everything? Do you find that you have to do that with parents as well?
Yes, it does take a little bit of time, you just need to give the parents the tools. And say this is this is a pacing guide. And this is what it means this, the pacing guide breaks down the class and a weekly chunks, so your student can easily love crossing stuff off the list. And so I always told my students print the pacing guide out, cross everything off, it feels good to cross it off. And I tell the parents do the same thing. And just make them understand. Okay, we're on week three, which I used to use, remind that calm love that program. And so I would have parent up remind for parents, and I'd have one for students. And even though the students were in my class, I would send out blasts to the parents and the students separately, say it's week three, look at your pacing guide, see where you're at every once awhile it kids will be like, Stop blowing my phone up. And I'm like, Nope, that's what I do. And because it reminds them, especially because I didn't see that were virtual, that really, really helped them a lot. And then parents be could be like, Oh, you're on week three, let's go see where that is. And then that helped me at home, you know, because they'd be like, thanks for letting my parents know where I was. Like, you're welcome. That's my job. You know, so. So yeah, you, you really give the parents some tools in the beginning, because they truly don't understand because a lot of these parents, they're 100% new to online learning. A lot of these parents haven't done any type of online learning, depending on their age, obviously. Because it's relatively a new term, I guess I can say, to people in schools. So So yeah, appearance, there sometimes is a little bit easier than getting the kids on board, because the parents are just monitoring, they're not actually doing the work. So but but it is really, really helpful. My last tip is about policies and procedures. And we have talked about some of these already. But I really think you really need to lay the groundwork in the beginning. And just like, when I was a brand new teacher, I learned, you spend that first two or three weeks and you teach the students how things are going to work in your classroom, the whole rest of the semester goes well, and this is no different. So you have to teach the kids encourage them, like I said, to be self directed independent learners, and that they're responsible for their own work, that I'm not going to nag them every single day. Even though I used to tell them I was a cheerleader and nag some days, I'm like, rah, rah, you're doing great. And other times, I'm like, What are you doing, you need to work. But by giving them a syllabus by explaining the pacing guide, by helping them with time management, help them become an advocate for themselves. And having those stages of accountability to help students succeed. By having those policies and procedures, then the communication comes more natural, the building the relationships become more natural. So I really think that setting the tone there in the beginning and establishing those expectations early really makes a big difference with kids.
Okay, so we've got building relationships, communication, and policies and procedures, correct? Correct. And I see those you just explained well, how those all work together towards like a kind of perfect union, as you said. And that makes a lot of sense to me. Just how, you know, setting the expectations and communicating them to the students and building the relationship. So they have a personal investment and are willing to, you know, go along with these policies and procedures and have some accountability built in as well.
Absolutely. And, and I also tell mentors all the time, I created a mentor checklist, and I have one for Michigan Virtual mentors and for vendor agnostic, because like you said, online learning is online learning. I don't care if you're using Michigan Virtual or something else, it's still online. Learning. But I used to have teachers say What do your kids do down there all day? Like, do they, I mean, teachers my own building, thought I was just hanging out in a computer lab like for like at a free hour. And and I encourage mentors to use that checklist or show their administration, that checklist, if you want to be a good mentor, it's a front and back filled sheet of what you should be doing before school starts and the beginning of school in the middle of school toward the end of the year, it's hard work to be a good, dedicated mentor, it really is, there's a lot of work, you're not just asking kids, if they're on pace, there's a lot of behind the scenes that goes into it. And I've met with some amazing mentors throughout my time at Michigan Virtual and the things that some people are doing are just unbelievable, what they're doing for kids making videos for kids and, and all the communication that they have with the kids and the after school sessions they're having and it's just, it's endless. And a lot of my resources that I have on that page, a lot of them are from some of these mentors that have reached out to me and said, Hey, I send out this newsletter, or this is what I do for count day. And, and so I share it with people because it's it's amazing, some of the things that they're doing. And I just think that great mentors, empower students to make informed decisions, but also to understand the impact of their choices. Because not being face to face with a teacher, the kids will understand that if I choose not to put my heart and soul into this and work on this every day, I'm not going to get a very good grade. And that's kind of their first taste of your know, you're you're going to have an impact for the choices that you make. And it could be a great impact. If you make you know, great choices of you know, following following the direction of of your mentor.
You made me tear up there. So that's just the you know, passionate advocation for, you know, what the impact a great mentor can have. So that's amazing. Any last tips on mentoring that you want to share with us, we just sneak it in number four or elaborating on anything said before.
Um, you know, I just think as a teacher, myself, I, I just, I love I love high school kids, I do. And I if I had to go do it all over again, I do the same thing. Again, I'd be a teacher again, because I loved what I did. I love my relationship with my students. And I just think that's the most important like, like I said earlier, I wanted the kids to come into my classroom and know that they're safe, they're supported. They're welcome. And kids were not allowed to be mean to each other in my class at all. They knew that it'd be like, Oh, don't say that Mr. Lynch is gonna go after Yeah, you know, because it's like, everybody, I want everybody to feel like they had a seat at one of my tables. And, you know, they were they were good for the hour. And it was a welcoming environment. And I think that's key. And I also think it's key to understand that even my brightest students struggle with online learning, okay, it's not the students that struggle face to face necessarily, some of those kids did better than some of my kids that were, you know, getting all A's in school. So even the brightest kids, you just really have to be patient, and flexible, and kind of meet them where they're at. And they'll get it. You don't have to do that all semester, they'll get it, but they just really need that maybe a little bit more hand holding, and, you know, in the beginning, but set those expectations, let kids know that, hey, I'm here to help you. That's my job. I'm here to help you. I'm here to make you a better student, I'm here to help you succeed, and do well. And everything else just takes care of itself. You know, all your other policies and procedures, take care of yourself. If you set the expectations in the beginning, let the kids know you do care about them. I had boundaries though. I wasn't their friend. Okay, I was their teacher, but they knew I cared about them. And so I feel like kids worked harder for me because they knew that I'm going to bat for them to you know, I cared about them, and I'm going to bat for them. But here this is these are gonna do for me, you know, it's a two way street. So I really think that by doing those things, everything else just falls into place. And honestly, you don't have to work quite as hard because things do fall into place. You know, I used to have subs come in and be like, Wow, your kid just came in and did what they're supposed to do. And I'm like, Yeah, that's what I taught him to do. They don't sit there and wait for me. They know what to do when they come in the room. They know how to get started and get working and you know, so that that always made me feel good that they get some reports like that. They weren't all good, but you know, it's just not Nice to, to have that but setting the tone and those expectations are, they're just super, super important.
Yeah. And again, just goes to show, you know, when they can. It's really just like self management, you know, and time management and all these skills. They're very relatable Yeah, towards being an adult really. And, you know, you and I both work remotely, right? So, yes, and understand that, like, you know, these are all skills in college and in life and that you need in order to, you know, have your own agency and get things done, really. And so, it's pretty neat to hear about high schoolers, like, you know, just getting in and doing their doing their work, you know, without really being told because they knew the expectation. So
when you asked me earlier how I knew I wanted to become a teacher or how I became a teacher and I told her my little story about my my school desk, but I had a math teacher in high school, his name was Mr. Poe champ and masturbating my last question. Math was a really difficult subject for me, which is kind of funny, because my son is a high school math teacher now. But math, I just, it just didn't click in my brain. And this man would sit with me after class and or after school, and he'd explain it 10 times if I needed to explain, he never made me feel like I was dumb, or I didn't get it. He just, I look back. Now, I didn't understand as much then. But I look back now and think, What a great teacher, he never made me feel like, Seriously, I've explained it 10 times. How do you not get this? You know, that's, that's how I would have felt. But he just he never did. And he just had so much patience for me. And, and I didn't struggle in every class. It was just really math. I other than that, I was a good student. But I remember thinking to myself, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, right? I remember thinking to myself, I want to be just like him. I want to be a teacher like that. That helps those kids that struggle, I want to help every kid but those kids that are struggling, I want to help that student feel good. And like I said earlier, I never let kids say, Oh, it was a stupid question or make a comment like that like that never went on in my class, because I don't want a kid to ever shut down or feel like they can't be comfortable asking a question. So I made that real clear, right in the very beginning, that that wouldn't happen. But I just I just knew that after having him as a teacher that you know, I wanted to do that feeling. Yeah, I did. I did. I just really wanted to be that teacher for. For those students that struggle. If they struggled in my class, they might not have struggled anywhere else, but they struggle to my class. I want them to feel the way I did when I was in his math class.
Without a doubt, it's challenging work to support students who are learning in a self paced online environment for the first time. With leaders like Debbie forging our path forward, there's one thing we're certain of said the future is bright. You can find a plethora of free resources and mentoring online learners at michigan virtual.org/mentors. Here you'll see Debbie's mentor checklist, three research based guide, webinars, blog posts, and the list goes on. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll even see examples of many of the types of communication mentioned in our conversation today, including examples syllabi, online learning contracts, parent information, letters, progress checkup dates, two way communication forms, and more. Do you know someone who's an inspiring Michigan educator who should be featured on our show? Send us an email at Bright at Michigan virtual.org to let us know who they are, and why we should interview. Thank you for joining us for this episode of bright stories of hope and innovation in Michigan classrooms. This podcast is produced by Furby Gaylord hosted by me Nikki Herta shaped by many of our passionate and talented colleagues. Big thanks to Christy green, Christy Trombetta. Anna Boyer, Sarah Hill, Brandon Batista for their contributions to this episode. Right is brought to you in part by Meemic insurance company insuring the educational community of more than 70 years, teachers and school employees is it meemic.com/quote See how much you can save. The break podcast is made possible by Michigan Virtual and nonprofit organization leading collaborating to build learning environments for tomorrow. Education is changing faster than ever. Discover new models and resources to move learning forward at your school at Michigan virtual.org.