7 Ways to Hold Online Students Accountable
By: Becky Pincince
The school day is structured and has accountability built into it, and many students will struggle with the transition to online learning as a result. Without class schedules and teacher supervision, they may struggle to stay focused and get their work done. Designing your classes around accountability is a good way to help your students stay on track. Remote classes offer a unique opportunity to take a student-centered approach, which has been shown to lead to higher performance, but your students will need guidance to make this happen. Here are seven ways to hold your online students accountable.
1. Create a Supportive Atmosphere 💫
This is a difficult and uncertain time, and students may be feeling stress about the pandemic, loneliness because they have been isolated from their friends, and confusion about the online format. All of this can impact their motivation for school and their confidence in being able to complete their work. Make sure they know they can ask you for help, and let them know whether it is best to reach you over email, phone, or learning platform. Embrace mobile to get them excited about this new school format, and let them know you are there for them.
2. Make New Expectations Clear 👁
Previously, your students were expected to be prepared for class and in the room on time, but what does that look like when they are learning online? Depending on the structure of your class, they may need to check in with you weekly, watch recorded lectures, attend video chats, post on a discussion board, or submit assignments by a certain time. Write up a list for your students to sign so you can make sure they know what is expected of them. If you will be grading certain kinds of assignments for the first time — for example, discussion board posts — provide a rubric or grading standard for them.
3. Have Students Make a Learning Plan 📈
Now that your students know what is expected of them, they need a plan to meet those expectations. If your students have varying access to the internet and class materials, you may have put all of their deadlines at the end of the semester, in which case it is even more important that they plan ahead. This can be an in-depth learning plan format that you provide, a daily or weekly schedule, or even just a strategy for tackling a to-do list (for example, by doing the biggest task first every day or by building some momentum by completing smaller tasks first). No matter the method, the end result will be a personalized plan that they can use as a guide moving forward.
4. Design Intentional Assignments 📖
There are several methods you can use to design your assignments in a way that holds your students accountable for learning the material. To encourage students to complete the readings or watch the videos they have been assigned, let them know that their homework or exams cannot be satisfactorily completed without specific information from those sources. Another option is requiring them to provide an answer along with the timestamp or page where they found it. Students can be placed in pairs or small groups for assignments, with a portion at the end where they assess each other’s performance. Write short answer questions rather than going with a more straightforward format such as true/false or multiple choice, that way the students need to provide involved answers.
5. Make the Most of Class Time 🛎
You probably have less class time, which means that now more than ever you need to make the most of it. Having students do entry or exit ticket assignments will encourage them to come prepared and ready to participate and pay attention during class. Entry ticket assignments can be questions that form the base of the class discussion, and exit tickets can assess your students’ understanding of the lecture. Both can be done online with Google Forms or Poll Everywhere. Another idea is adopting a positive attendance policy and requiring students to type their name into the chat feature to be counted, which makes them responsible for letting you know they were there and lets you focus on teaching.
6. Offer Assignment Corrections 📝
Offering points back for assignment corrections is a more forgiving policy, which makes it ideal for the current circumstances. Students are under more stress than normal, and this will likely affect their performance in school. By giving them the opportunity to fix any mistakes, they will be able to recapture some points, learn how to incorporate feedback into their work, and get a more solid grasp on the current material. Have them complete a brief description about what they learned from your feedback and how they integrated it into the corrections, which will show whether or not they paid attention to it.
7. Host Study Groups 🤝
Working in a group makes it easier for students to ask their peers for help and stay on track, with the added benefit of some social time to help alleviate loneliness. Host a study group where your students can log on, work together, and ask each other questions, or suggest they organize one with their friends. Have breaks at the beginning, middle, or end so your students can relax and chat about unrelated topics — this helps keep them more focused when it’s time to work. Student Success Agency is hosting a virtual study hall every weekday until the end of the year, and any student who needs to focus on their schoolwork is welcome to join.
