While teachers and students across the country enjoy a well-deserved rest between terms, the back-to-school date looms nearer, all too quickly for many. For those who have been working or learning from home during local lockdowns, the prospect of returning to the classroom may be accompanied with new anxieties.
If you’re feeling the stress, worry not: we’ve identified four focus areas to help ease the transition, and get you and your class back-to-school ready.
Make time for yourself
Begin the day by looking after yourself. Walk to your favourite neighbourhood garden and smell the flowers (no literally, smell them – research shows pleasant scents can improve your mood), or simply switch off during your morning coffee by putting your phone away. Set aside time in the morning, even if it’s just ten minutes, to simply be.
Map it out
Start your term off on the right foot and nail down your routines early. You can even incorporate planning into your daily routine: before class starts, map out a schedule using the Promethean Instant Whiteboard App (preloaded on the ActivPanel), then save to your personal device. Visualising your day can help break it down into individual tasks, leaving brain space to focus on what matters.
Checking in
An open class discussion about how everyone is feeling on the first day back can be helpful for the entire room. This is particularly applicable to those who have been experiencing lockdowns, but is still a useful tool in general: having everyone on the same page gets the term off to a good start.
Once you’ve opened the lines of communication with the class, keep it going by facilitating regular updates. You can create online sheets that allow students to check in anonymously. Offering multiple-choice answers for individuals to select like “I’m happy” or “I would like to talk” can help students feel less intimidated to reach out. For younger students, you can use happy/sad faces on a sliding scale.
Online training resources
If you’re feeling a little rusty when it comes to classroom tech after returning from a break, why not check out online training options? Learn Promethean, for example, hosts a wide array of free tutorials and guides on how to utilise ActivInspre for lesson delivery through the ActivPanel.
These courses are all online, meaning you can complete them anywhere at a time that suits you, adding flexibility and accessibility to professional development. Learning a new skill or application may add to the excitement of getting back into the classroom!
If you want to discover new ways to use the ActivPanel for your class, why not check out the many training courses available for free on Learn Promethean?
