How To Increase Student Online Participation By 50 Percent

It’s been a tough go, this online learning.

Many students are checked out.

A few of which have been entirely off the grid for the past two months, whereabouts unknown. A few others are up to their ears in responsibilities—cooking, cleaning, taking care of siblings.

But most just can’t seem to get it together. Eat, sleep, video games. Repeat.

As educators, it’s hard for us to understand. What of the importance of education? What could possibly be a better use of their time? And where are their parents?

Our students need a sense of direction and purpose now more than ever. At stake is not just their academic future, but their mental and physical health. (PE teachers are having an especially difficult time getting students up and moving.)

So you send emails. You text. You use Remind app. You update your platform every day. You hope for the best and celebrate when they turn in something, no matter how modest.

And, of course, as a last resort, you call.

You talk to parents who don’t seem to have a solid answer as to why their child isn’t attending Zoom meetings or doing their assignments. They awkwardly explain that they try to push them as best they can.

They ask them about their school work and wonder how they’re doing. But they don’t commit to anything beyond “I’ll talk to them.”

And herein lies the crux of the problem.

Sorry, but if a family has internet access and the child is on TikTok and watching Netflix instead of doing their school work, then the parents aren’t doing their job.

They’re coddling, tip-toeing around them, and trying to be their friend rather than their parent. In most circumstances, this is the reason why so many students are checked out.

Because their parents are allowing it to happen.

So what’s the answer? How do you get students going when they’re free to do whatever they please while at home, when they’re laying in bed or staring at their iPhone miles away from you?

You bypass their parents.

Here at SCM, our team has had success getting more students involved and doing their work—up to 50% more—by speaking directly to the student.

The way it works is that after identifying yourself to the parent contact, you simply ask to talk to their child. When your student answers, say hello and then quickly get to your point.

Here is the script we’ve been following:

“Mia, I want you to start showing up for lessons and getting your work done. Because, if you don’t, then _________________.”

“Do you understand?”

“Is there anything keeping you from doing the work that I need to know about?”

“Do you have any questions for me?”

“Okay, I’ll see you in the next lesson.”

It’s important that you don’t ask for assurances. You’re using your position as their teacher as leverage to get them moving, and thus you must tell them what they need to do.

The reason it works is because of your unique relationship with the student. When the teacher contacts them directly, without the buffer of parents, it carries special significance.

The jig is up. There is no where for them to hide and no excuses that will work on you. They know this, and thus, most will humbly admit their avoidance and lack of effort and promise straightaway to get down to work.

If you have good rapport with them, it’s also likely to stick. You see, when they like and respect you, they don’t want to let you down.

It’s the Law of Reciprocity in action.

Moreover, giving them a reason—even if the reason isn’t terribly compelling—is scientifically proven to elicit greater compliance. Just be honest with them.

“Because, if you don’t, then . . .

You’re going to struggle graduating on time.”

You’ll have to take the course over again.”

You’re going to fall behind and have trouble catching up.”

You get the idea.

Of course, if there is an obstacle that is keeping them from doing the work, then you must be ready to either fix the problem or give them the resources to fix it themselves.

Talk them through it. Have your district’s technical support call them. Email them a tutorial or set of simple steps they need to take to complete your assignments.

Nearly every student we were able to talk to ended up turning in work within a day. And here’s the best part: They didn’t backslide. Experiencing success and finding purpose were enough to keep them motivated.

Being back with the class felt good.

Where we didn’t find success were with those few students we were unable to get in contact with.

I recommend keeping a running list, calling students once a week—say on Mondays—who didn’t complete work, show up for lessons, etc. the previous week.

I also recommend full grace.

In other words, give your students a chance to complete all previous assignments with no penalty. This is a tough time and many are just acquiring the self-starter skills they need to learn from home.

They are inundated with opportunities for quick dopamine hits that keep them shackled to the sofa, especially if they don’t have a parent with a backbone.

They need to experience the satisfaction of online learning before they’ll become self-motivated.

Which is where you come in.

The surprise phone call. My teacher wants to talk to me? The quickening of their heartrate. The excitement tinged with fear knowing that they can’t hide any longer.

The thrill of being back in the game and part of something that matters and is bigger than the four walls closing in on them.

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62 thoughts on “How To Increase Student Online Participation By 50 Percent”

  1. This is excellent advice our school is already using, but what do you suggest we do about the ones who have been MIA for months? These are the students who are in the most serious danger of failing for the year. Can you write a blog on this topic whenever possible? It’s nice to know we’ve made contact with the at-risk and formally-MIA students, but is it possible we can do the same who with those who refuse and/or avoid contact from teachers and our schools?

    Reply
      • One important factor that affects students’ lack of interest in participating and turning in assignments is the grading policy. The “do no harm” policy many schools have adopted enables students’ poor choices…

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        • We are required to mark a Y for Yes, there was a contact and a N with comments if we tried to reach them. However, a Y and N is only to track which students are doing thier assignments and often is discouraging. Can you please make a blog for how to get K-2 students to participate. They don’t understand “If you don’t, you might have a hard time catching up”. Next year, we have asked our superentendent to require that students do their assignments as “attendance”. If they are not coming to google classroom or logging in and submitting work a return receipt letter will be sent out. If the student does not do their work after that, an attendance officer will come to their house to see what the problem is. If it is access to technology, the district will try to provide it. Even students who were given technology are not coming to class or doing assignments online. What should happen if they don’t and the are K-2 students?

          Reply
  2. Good day!
    Are you offering a free webinar seminars and give certificate to the participants? I am willing to be part and looking forward about it.
    Thank you so much.

    Reply
  3. It is very helpful and useful especially this trying time as we are all facing the new normal in education. Thank you so much for the tips and pointers to ponder upon. I really appreciated it and am loving it. Hoping for more tips and topics that will help us equip especially the Teachers in how to handle well the situations and every circumstances we are facing with. More power! Stay healthy and safe. God bless!

    Reply
  4. I have just completed a school year with three of such middle school students. We(their team of core teachers) have supported, cared, listened, and countless meetings, both in person and now on Zoom, these three students have literally give us the middle finger. We decided last evening at 5:00 p.m. they are requiring too much bandwidth. (Our admin rarely support us or follows through with consequences) We can’t save them all, but we know we did the absolute best we could for 8+ months.

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  5. I really needed to hear your advice! I am a 3rd grade teacher and you described EVERYTHING I’ve been doing to reach out to my students who have checked out of doing school work. I’ve been very frustrated and feeling like I’m just spinning my wheels and getting no where. Thank you, thank you!!!

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    • I agree with you Lety. Great advice. Columns like this, and knowing others are doing and thinking alike helps.

      Reply
    • Google Voice is a free app that supplies users with a telephone number, and you can call directly from your computer. I’ve used it in the past when I wanted an area code that matched my students (more likely that parents picked up the phone), and when it forwarded calls to my phone, it also allowed me to easily recognize when a school related call was coming in.

      Reply
    • My district started using Altice, it allowed us to call using the school phone number! Parents are picking up far more often since we started using this!

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    • Check out the ENA phone system. Not sure if your district has to have it or if you can use it solo but it’s worth the research. You link your school number and extension to your cell and this system converts your cell number into one that shows as coming from your school number.

      Reply
    • A teacher I work with suggested Smart Line (through the Go Daddy App). It give me a number I can use through my cell phone, but it is not my personal number. It has voicemail and text. It is free for a short time and then 9.99 per month. I did not use it until recently, so I will not have but one monthly charge since I will cancel here shortly when the school year ends. However, we have recently been told that because our school system uses Google that we can use their phone app for free (normally there would be a charge) during the COVID closure. Just some things you may want to check into. Good luck to you. Those phone calls ….especially when I can talk to the student…have been GOLDEN.

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    • I decided it was worth the risk to put a student’s phone number on my cell phone contacts. I text one student and then forward it to over 100 others as I teach specials. It only resulted in 21 coming to a Zoom meeting, but that’s better than none. We just have to educate those who want to be educated and let the rest fall to the wayside and settle for doing the best job we can with the ones we do have.

      Reply
  6. Ms. D – Have you heard of google voice?

    This spring was my first time using it – but what a difference it makes for some! You can call parents using your own cell phone (or calling through your computer) BUT THE NUMBER ISN’T ACTUALLY YOUR PERSONAL NUMBER! 🙂

    I set mine up through my computer, but others used their own phones. I picked a “faux number” from a list and then when I called parents to follow up with missing kids or missing work, we could actually talk (as opposed to the unanswered emails). You can also type in a message and “text” it to parents. Any text messages you receive back, just appear on your computer screen (sort of like an IM conversation) or if a parent calls the number, you get a notification of a voicemail in your email and you can log on to hear what the parent said.

    I think it is a game changer in the current environment.

    Check it out at voice.google.com

    Oh, and the best part, is that the basic version is FREE!! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Although that is a good system to help talk directly to the student, you are wrong about many parents at this time of COVID-19 and the pressures our kids are under. Many of them are experiencing trauma and anxiety over family illness and death, as are their parents, and it is good parenting to remember that, at this time, the most important thing is NOT to report to us, their teachers, and check off every box we present to them, it is to learn to be a cohesive family again, to build inner strength and coping skills. Academics takes a back seat to that.

    Reply
    • I agree. While I find much of this article to be proactive and helpful, I do not fault the parents. It is not their job to teach and hold students accountable for every assignment while they too are facing job loss, or trying to maintain their job virtually, be 24/7 caretakers, face the anxiety of the virus and sadly, some are dealing with loss of life and death without closure.

      I do think speaking with students is key and for all the reasons you mentioned, but for the first time, I think you have a significant inaccuracy in your article by placing blame on the parents. This is a crisis situation. It is no one’s fault.

      Reply
    • I agree! Also, many parents are literally “doing their job,” trying to work from home. It is not possible for some parents to constantly remind their kids to do tasks when they have their own tasks to do.

      And many parents have no idea how to get their kids to do things they don’t want to do, especially for those parents who don’t actually understand why our classes are important anyway. Blaming parents is not helpful.

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    • I agree but administration and school officials don’t. They are under pressure from the state to prove they are educating the students and have to keep data that shows how many they are educating! We did mention that we felt that when we call they need to hear that we care and nothing more, not what we need the student to finish. Buiding relationships with parents is important during this time. We don’t want to avoid talking to them. Yes, it is also important to talk to the student if they are grade 3-12, but can someone give me any ideas for grade K-2? Don’t we have to depend on the parents to help us as the students can’t login by themselves or get theirselves onto Zoom or do their assignments without guidance? Our district is going to send letters and do visits if a student is not showing up ‘in class” or doing their assignments. We have to send a message to parents AND students that doing assignments is NOT an option.

      Reply
  8. Would love some thoughts and ideas around establishing relationships with a new group of students that a teacher has never met in person. Summer school will be online with a new group of students. We may end up starting our school year in the fall online as well.

    We had more engagement during this time of quarantine, I feel, because we already had a relationship and they knew our expectations.

    Reply
    • I have faced 6 groups of new students during this time. I would suggest having them create a google slide with a photo of themselves and an introduction like you would in real life on the first day. I made a sample slide and then they make theirs. It was also helpful for me because they wrote their names (Timmy instead of Timothy) on the slides so I could relate to them by actually calling them by their common name. I printed them out as a reminder of who I am working with when I am grading their work. It helped me connect with them as individuals. You’ve got this!

      Reply
  9. Oh my goodness! After reading this article TODAY [May 16, 2020], I sent an email to a student using the terminology you said. She promptly responded and said that she would be on our ZOOM meet.

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  10. Hello!
    Thanks for these ideas! I’m wondering though, if we have to teach virtually starting in the fall, how do we build that relationship with students remotely?

    Reply
  11. My colleagues and I were just discussing this exact situation and its effect on our sanity. I will share this newsletter with them. I only wish the topic had been addressed sooner (only 3 weeks left for the year), but as always, your newsletters arrive at the time when I need them most. They are the life preserver I grab when I feel like I am drowning. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  12. These are great tips for older students, but what about TK-1st graders? I have 24 students and only about 6 submit work. In my case, it’s really all about the parents. The parents need to log on, submit their child’s work, etc. Any advice?

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  13. I don’t think this article is super empathetic, responsive, or understanding of a lot of the circumstances that families are going through right now. The quote “But most just can’t seem to get it together. Eat, sleep, video games. Repeat.” is incredibly dismissive of what students and families are doing and coping with at home during this time. That may be true of some students, but others are struggling with unemployment, trying to figure out food access, have limited access to technology, or dealing with grieving family members or loved ones due to the virus. And even if families do have access to technology or have been privileged enough to not deal with food insecurity or unemployment, etc., some families have multiple kids at home and are sharing devices. Some families are still working full schedules and have to figure out how to find time to work with their kids, while also not trying to add additional social-emotional stress of school work to kids’ plates right now in a really confusing time. Some parents are essential workers and kids are being shuffled around to other family members! Even the most privileged families are not trained teachers in how to explain/break down content to students, and even with Zoom sessions/recorded lessons, kids and families are still having to take on a lot of the “instruction” themselves–something no one was trained to do. I also think some of the comments about “if parents have a backbone” or parents are “coddling” students or “not doing their job” are really unfair. ALL parents want their children to succeed, and all parents have different definitions of what that looks like, as well as different barriers that make that harder to do. While I can appreciate the insistence on calling students and families to help motivate them to get involved, this mindset isn’t respectful of the varying student and family needs.

    Reply
    • I agree totally with you. My experience is unique. Currently, I teach in the public school system after having home schooled my children for 15 years. My last two kids attend public school. As a parent, I really don’t want teachers calling or texting my kids. I consider it an invasion into my home and private life. As a teacher, I have been forced to do it as part of my job requirement a lot, during this pandemic. I don’t like doing it and feel it is boarder line harassment of families. I don’t blame parents who “go dark” or go to great lengths to placate.
      Right now, there are more important issues in our lives than whether assignments get turned in or not. Grace…remember?

      Reply
      • While I empathize with the statements you’ve so eloquently outlined, it strikes me that this approach places education outside of the home life instead of incorporating it into the overall fabric of a kid’s life. School and teachers, not just the work we assign, should be accepted as a welcome and integral part of a child’s entire experience and, thereby, their place in a kid’s home life. The child should see their teacher supported by their parents, not merely tolerated.
        It is a massive disservice to compartmentalize one vs the other.

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        • I understand your point. But as a former/current home schooling parent, I believe education transcends the school class room. It begins in the home with parents as their child’s first teacher. Just because I, as a public school teacher, have multiple degrees (3) doesn’t mean I have the market on transmitting and teaching “knowledge and certain skills” or anything else. Parents, generally, sell themselves short on their abilities to teach their own kids beyond 5 years old, hense the availability of public education. Most parents, understandibly can’t teach due to economic situations or they just don’t want to for various reasons. I get it. But I think most could if they empowered themselves, became more disciplined in their lives, researched how to homeschool and commit to actually becoming more involved in their child’s studies, holding their kids accountable at every turn. They have to teach responsibility and self- management to their kids.
          As a public school teacher–for the second time in my life– I’ve been saddened by the changes in public education. It has become “the parent” to children, imbedding itself in all aspects of their lives. In a way, public schools have created the “You can’t make me study” or “you can’t make me do it” syndrome. When PS became the parent, the biological parents gave up/didn’t care/wanted more handouts/or ‘checked out’ themselves. I speak generally, of course. Not all parents have relinquished responsibility, but a good chunk have. The work we assign or skills we teach should be welcomed. Teachers should be supported by parents. Teachers should be supporting parents, too.

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          • The parents HAVE to be on board and see the education of thier child as a priority. However, some have jobs and don’t get home until after 5;00 and that’s when they “school” their children, in addition to having older siblings that need to use the computer or parent’s cell phone. If this is the wave of the future, then the nation MUST provide FREE Wi-fi and a device for each student. However, the rest needs to be in the hands of the parents. Students who have the devices often watch Net-Flix or do gamming instead of their assignments and parents don’t supervise if they work. The school needs to treat assignments as “Attendance” and if they aren’t turned in, a certified letter needs to be sent to them. if they don’t start doing assignments, an attendance officer needs to go to ghe home (not call as they will NOT answer the phone) and deliver the letter and the assignments and a home tutor assigned IF the student qualifies for special education services or does not have access to the internet. The parents should have access to contacting the teacher during their “Ofice Hours” for any help their child needs. Many parents are being negligant of their child’s education. Their child comes to Zoom laying down in bed with their phone in front of them, barely awake! If a child came to school with thier hair uncombed and dressed in their pajamas, a social worker would be consulted. Why then, do we allow the students to treat their education this way and why do parents allow their child to disregard their opportunity to learn? Maybe they don’t know about it or maybe it’s because the student is not receiving a grade for the class or at the most a pass or fail. If they come to Zoom, they pass without having to do any assignments. Some parents think that getting their child on Zoom is enough. Have they forgotten what “homework” is after Zoom is over? Teacher’s can’t do it all! When teachers have staff Zooms, they break out into groups, and then report back with what they have done. The same thing needs to happen with students.

    • I don’t think it was necessarily stated that “All” parents are not supportive of their children’s online learning, however, pandemic or no pandemic, there are a lot of parents that let their children dictate what they will and will not do insofar as online learning is concerned. Many children need the routine and reinforcement to participate in online learning. If they are not held accountable, they simply don’t care.

      Reply
      • I totally agree that kids need a structure and routine to best support their learning, and I don’t think the article says “all” parents are not supportive of their children’s online learning.

        I would push back on saying “they simply don’t care” though! There’s just so many other life situations happening right now that make it really difficult for kids and families to get schoolwork done. And I think as educators, we need to check assumptions and biases about families (at all times, but even more so now) and not assume that they aren’t completing work because they’re being coddled or playing video games or they don’t care.

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    • Hi Katie,

      The article refers to students who (of their own volition and independent of their parents) have checked out. My criticisms of parents refer to those who are coddling, allowing it to happen, etc. I apologize if I didn’t make that clear. I will try to include more explanation in next week’s article. 🙂

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      • Thanks for clarifying! I still think it is dangerous and problematic to make assumptions about students “making excuses” or “avoidance” of work, just knowing all the reasons why they might not be able to access or focus on school work right now.

        But I appreciate the ideas on ways to motivate students and check-in techniques and the discussion! Thanks.

        Reply
    • Usually I agree with you Michael, but in this case I have to side with Katie. This situation is way more complex than just deciding kids are being lazy and their parents are too soft on them. In many cases that may be true, but since we actually don’t know the complexities of each student’s situation I think we need to err on the side of caution. I would recommend getting in touch with the student or the parents (or both) and have a conversation about it, preferably through a video conference. I’ve done that a few times during the pandemic. Every time I reach out and actually talk to the parents and/or kids, I learn a lot and the problem has been solved in a way that works for all of us– and ends on a positive note. Preserving those relationships through showing respect is essential, now and always.

      Reply
    • I 100% agree with you. As a teacher, I am concerned about my students and their participation (or lack there of) in the learning experiences I am providing. However, as a parent of a child who is finding it increasingly overwhelming and discouraging to participate in her own online learning, I found this article lacking in empathy and understanding of what students and parents might be living with in their own homes.

      This is not teaching. This is not school. We are managing the best we can during a global pandemic.

      Reply
      • Remember, we teach students, not a subject! Students have to come first, and their needs, before we can teach them anything! They do have a lot going on, but SOME may be choosing to stay in bed all day, but they do their work at night. Some of our high school classes are being taught at midnight, but they ARE doing thier assignments! Sometimes we have to see what the real problem is and work toward a solution that works for everyone!

        Reply
    • I agree that right now is a difficult time, and we don’t know what kids and families are dealing with. However, I have found that for most of the students and parents I call, the majority of the time, the child knows exactly what is expected of them and has been just kind of taking an early summer break. Every parent so far has been very grateful for the call and knowing that their child is welcome to call or email with any questions so that I can truly help them. And, the kids I’ve been able to speak to personally, have suddenly stepped up when prior they had become invisible! So, I think it’s worth the effort as long as it is approached in a sensitive manner.

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  14. Interesting but the young students are less motivated as most of the activities ate learning through play and its hard to catch their attention on screen for long time.

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  15. Katie makes some solid points that I believe all of us are trying to balance and consider. I think the key here is thinking flexibly and to know, to the best of our knowledge, our families situations. Does a one size fit all during a pandemic make sense? These are uncharted times and experiences.

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  16. Hi Michael,

    Does it have to be a phone call?

    How about an online video talk, one to one after class, while other students are shut out of the meeting, using the same methods you outlined?

    Gary

    Reply
  17. Hi Micheal,

    I need to clarify something about my previous question.

    For various connection reasons I am not able to see most of the students in my classes while they take class. Their video cameras need to be turned off all the way through class.

    I believe the students who need the most help from me are actually present in class, or at least they are at the end of the lesson, in time to hang up. The problem is that they don’t ever respond to questions. They say not a word as if they are not there and never do any homework.

    I hope that clarifies my earlier question.

    Gary

    Reply
  18. One of the most valuable things we can give our middle and high school students is teaching them how to persevere during adversity. We cannot dismiss accountability and responsibility every time there is an issue or problem in their
    life. We need to focus on life skills and long-term flourishing as well as academics. It is possible…sometimes it is more challenging than other times.
    Grace…absolutely…removing expectations….no.

    Reply
  19. I did find this article helpful. I used a little different language yet still encouraging, when I sent my music assignment message out to Elem students and families in seesaw yesterday (title one school). One day later, I am all of a sudden getting kids turning in assignments that haven’t been all along. There could be many reasons, but who knows? For me, it was worth the try, and now I can share this with my colleagues. Thank you!

    Reply
  20. Hi Micheal,

    What do you mean by “don’t ask for assurances”. I read the related article and it still isn’t clear to me. Can you give an example?

    Reply
  21. I like your ideas generally, but this one is completely unrealistic. Beyond the pragmatic issues with making personal phone calls to students (which one should never do), when defeat is clear it’s best to just admit it. These kinds of problems belong to the kids and their parents. Let them own them.

    Reply
  22. Thank you for the information, for me this was great info and since Covid 19 caused these, I had to relate to how parents would cope with these especially in a home environment. Parents of my grade 3 class expressed the tension of not knowing how to cope with work and again online learning for their students. I thought bit of guidelines for the parents point of view would help as I am definitely in both.

    Reply
  23. I appreciate that every family is facing challenges and that we need to be empathetic and flexible. Absolutely. But like you, Michael, I am always so frustrated at the students who can play Fortnite for 6 hours a day but can’t seem to find the time to check their school email or do online assignments. THAT is a parenting problem and a culture problem. Education should take priority over just about anything else.

    Reply

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