Outsourced Classes - How much involvement?

[SJ.]

If your logic stage student takes any outside classes, how much are you involved?

 

Do you check their homework?

Expand or review lessons?

Remind them to study/do homework?

 

My 6th grader seems to require a lot of involvement from me. I am trying to work out whether I should be stepping back a little and how to incrementally do that.

[purduemeche]

We have a 7th grader in our first outsourced (online) class.  Our involvement up front was pretty heavy until we knew he could do A-level work and get it turned in on time.  Now, we have very little involvement outside proofreading his papers. 

 

We chose to do online classes this early after hearing a talk from SWB...let them learn the hard way now before the grade counts in 9th grade.  If you step back and he fails a few times, now is the time to let that happen.  For us this is a necessity; we can't be uber-involved with our whole gaggle.

[OneStepAtATime]

I think when a student is taking their very first on-line class that is the ideal time to stay involved initially so that you can help them develop helpful lifelong abilities in independent learning.  But do this as a team.  Brain storm ways to be more efficient, and help them to develop skill sets for on-line learning.  Is your student only meeting with their on-line class once a week?  Unlike in a brick and mortar classroom, many on-line classes meet only once or twice a week.  There is a lot of work expected outside the classroom but no teacher providing the scaffolding many kids need to learn how to get through the material more independently.  There are a TON of skill sets necessary for independent on-line learning.  It may take time to develop those skill sets but if someone is helping model those skill sets and helping them find ways that work for them, that can make the whole process go more smoothly and at a more efficient pace.

 

For instance, DD was having trouble paying attention in class AND taking notes at the same time.  I had her focus on paying attention in class first.  Learn how to listen to key points, and gain a better understanding of the material overall.  Then we would watch the recording and I would take notes with her and walk her through which things might be the most important to write down.  She also started taking pictures of the graphics with her phone then printing them out to put with her notes for easy access later.  We also worked together on how to create a useful notebook for the class, what sections she would need and how she would want to label those sections in a way that made sense TO HER.  It didn't matter if it made sense to me, if it didn't help her, what's the point?  It helped her to feel more in control and more engaged and it was a more effective way of getting her where she needed to be.  This also applied to reading outside of class.  I read the material with her and helped her to figure out which things were the most important and how to highlight in her book and take useful notes from the readings.  Every year these skill sets have improved.  This last semester she did better than she ever has and has a wonderful reference notebook she can use even in the future for that particular subject.  I like pulling it out myself to look things up.

 

She was also struggling with pacing her work outside of class.  She needed some outside scaffolding.  We sat down together and made a list of all the things she was supposed to do for the class, and what she had to do for other things throughout the week.  Then we figured out which things needed the biggest block of time or the most concentration.  We scheduled in those things based on when they might fit in the best, set up that schedule through Homeschool Planet and put alarms in her phone for deadlines regarding projects (not just the final deadline but self-imposed deadlines for completion of certain aspects) and the actual class time (with a 30 minute warning alarm, too).  Having a list printed out every day from Homeschool Planet plus the alarms kept her on track without me having to be the one always reminding her.  Having her help create that schedule helped her develop these skills to use on her own, without me.

 

As for checking work, yes, especially at first I did check work to make sure they were understanding and not getting off on a really bad foot.   Even now that they are older,  I try to make time to sit in on a couple of classes at least at the beginning of the semester and to periodically check quality of work.  Why?  1.  Because not all teachers or materials are created equal, and I want DD to know that quality of work does matter, even if she may have gotten a teacher that really is just checking boxes.  If it looks like there are issues, I can help my kids brainstorm ways to work around less than stellar teachers/materials or if it is really bad we may decide it isn't worth it and withdraw.  2.  I find that when I stay involved at least a little the kids and I have much richer discussions, I can provide material for rabbit trails that keeps them fired up, and it gives the kids the sense that what they are doing is important to me.

 

That doesn't mean that if you are tight on time and have a lot of kids you should feel bad if you don't have the time to be directly involved when they take on-line classes.  Not at all.  Do what you have to do.  For a first time on-line class, though, I think a lot of parents make the mistake of thinking they can just step out altogether.  Some kids CAN function completely independently with an on-line class the first time they take one but most don't yet have the skill sets in place to do so, especially in Middle School and younger.  Don't step in and do it all for them, but I do think it helps most students to have someone modeling good habits.

Edited January 7, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[2_girls_mommy]

We aren't doing any online courses yet, but my 9th grader does science through a co-op, and has already gotten a high school credit in middle school that way. 

 

She has a daily syllabus of what to do. So I mostly just check with her orally to ask if she has done it, and to work with her on time management. I have helped her solve a problem or two this past semester only once. These classes are full, and I don't need to expand on them. They do labs there, and the labwork she needs to do at home she can pretty much do on her own.  

 

My 7th grader, her classes are still a lot up to me, even her co-op classes. I assign as little or as much as I want to them.

 

There are other co-op classes or scout badges and activities and classes and trainings we take that are more elective style. These I often expand on to include them in courses I want to do at home or to make them into a full credit class.  These are things like art, history, journalism, photography, health/safety, etc. Those classes are more do what we are doing while there with only occasional assignments or projects for home, not enough on their own to count as a full credit. We expand on them as little or as much as I want or need. And sometimes I don't at all. I just let the experience be an exposure. But full on classes like our science don't need me to expand on them. They take a lot of time with just the assigned work and study time. 

[2_girls_mommy]

If your logic stage student takes any outside classes, how much are you involved?

 

Do you check their homework?

Expand or review lessons?

Remind them to study/do homework?

 

My 6th grader seems to require a lot of involvement from me. I am trying to work out whether I should be stepping back a little and how to incrementally do that.

To answer exactly: 

 

No I don't check her homework. but I have the teacher guide, so she checks her study guides after completing before exams. 

 

Expand or review: I answered expand above. Do I review. Yes, If she needs to learn the periodic table, I help her study that the same as I help her chant latin verbs or history lists. 

 

Remind them to study/do homework. YES!  daily. Though mine does a pretty good job of remember to check her syllabus daily, she forgets things somtimes and needs reminded. 

[Clemsondana]

My kids aren't that old yet, but I've been teaching biology (with a lot of 9th graders) for 5 years. I've seen everything from parents who say 'You're in high school - you're responsible for talking to the teacher if you need help' to a parent who got upset when I added some material that wasn't in the book (it was written out on the board for them to copy, and I added explanations) because the parent learned along with their student to answer all of their questions (I sent a link to some websites - these days I have videos from my online section available for my in-person students). Some parents have to modify their approach - either they let the students handle it themselves and then see that they need to provide more structure after they see the grades on the first few quizzes, while other parents drift away once they see that their students can manage their time and be responsible for the assignments themselves. Many parents check in every week or 2 to make sure that assignments are getting done and quizzes are being passed.

 

I think that it varies a lot by student - some of the parents who needed to be most involved had students who were 16 or 17, and right now I have a 14-year old who is doing a fantastic job and I haven't heard from the parents at all, but I do get occasional messages from the student to clarify an assignment or concept.

[Julie of KY]

I would be as involved as needed.

 

I would "help" with homework if needed, but mostly help the student learn how to ask for help from the instructor or other students.

 

I would remind my student and help schedule as much as necessary (some kids can do this very young, some still struggle as seniors). In general, I'd try to help my student become more independent and I'd help them along in this process.

 

Based on something in the syllabus of our very first online class, I've changed my mindset about online classes. Most approach online classes as the teacher sets everything - homework, grades, time frame, etc. I've subtly changed that at my home. For the most part, we take online classes exactly as they are set by a teacher. However, my mindset is that "I" ultimately am the teacher and I'm using this class as a resource. This gives me permission to grade to my own grading scale, change (expand/delete) any assignments, or tweak anything else. I change very little if anything.

 

Some things that I've changed are: 1)my son with learning disabilities had trouble writing out every homework assignment - the teacher had the students self-grade and then graded done or not done. Therefore, I emailed the teacher saying sometimes she'd get the homework written out by him, other times she might just get a note signed by me saying it was done and graded orally - I decided it wasn't worth my time to scribe as she just wanted to make sure it was done. 2) Recently my son got a midterm grade of "B". I told him as far as my grading scale went he had an "A" since in the online grade book his test average was an A and the assignment average was an A. I emailed the teacher questioning how she got the grade and turns out it was a mistake - he really had an A+. However, even if she intended the B, I was going to record an A because as far as I was concerned he earned an A in my grade book. 3) occasionally an assignment is unclear - I always have my student email the teacher for clarification, but sometimes it remains unclear. I tell me student to turn it in with "my" interpretation and say if he gets docked on his grade for something I misunderstood, I'll recalculate his final grade not taking off those points as ultimately I'm the teacher. I've never altered a grade, but I wouldn't have any trouble doing so if the student meets my expectations for a grade.

[MinivanMom]

I don't check homework, review lessons, or remind her to do homework. In fact, we had a medical crisis, and dd just kept handling it all while I was away at the hospital. Several weeks after getting home, I went online to check her assignments and grades (which I don't normally do), and she had perfect grades in everything. But she is extremely responsible and tends to be an overachiever/perfectionist.

 

My next kid will be starting his first online class in the fall (for 7th), and I'm expecting him to need a bit more hand-holding initially.

 

I guess I try to work toward being as uninvolved as I can reasonable be without leaving them to flounder or fail. I think that process is going to look a little different for every child.

 

[Julie of KY]

I guess I try to work toward being as uninvolved as I can reasonable be without leaving them to flounder or fail. I think that process is going to look a little different for every child.

 

Yes, it certainly looks different for each child. My middle schooler needs very little help other than technical (computer) help. My 10th grader is exceptionally independent. My senior on the other hand has come a long ways toward independence. I still keep track of his assignments (without him knowing) and intermittently ask pointed questions like Do you have any assignments due? but the the last pieces of him being able to stay organized enough to manage the course himself have all fallen into place THIS year which is a good thing as he's off to college out of state next year.

[fourisenough]

My 6th grader is almost entirely independent. I will help her pace her reading for her literature class where they have 3-4 weeks to read Henry V, for example. But I don't monitor the weekly work assigned in any other class. She is a highly motivated and disciplined child with excellent executive function skills, though.

 

My youngest DD will likely need much more scaffolding to get to a place where she is independent when the time comes. My older DDs were also of the motivated/capable sort who required very little of my help. They're all different and your level of involvement will need to reflect that.

[Miss Tick]

My 6th graders could probably do their class completely independently, but not only do I want them to succeed, I would like to keep their stress levels low enough that it won't be a struggle to convince them to do another class. The grade they get from this class won't be recorded anywhere but our brains, so I feel comfortable giving add much scaffolding as needed.