January 7, 2022 8:00 am

The Coaching Relationship

Fostering growth, confidence, and success in the people you are hoping to influence with evidence-based coaching strategies.

America loves a good coaching story. Before Ted Lasso and Roy Kent captured our hearts, we idolized Denzel Washington’s portrayal of Coach Boone in Remember the Titans and Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own. The story that someone believes in our potential and can help us become better versions of ourselves is one we desperately want to believe in (and pay for repeatedly at the virtual box office).

Perhaps that’s why districts across the nation have popularized the “academic coach” position. Often hired by districts to help support core subjects like reading or math, academic or instructional coaches function as side-line cheerleaders. Sans the evaluatory power of an administrator, the coach position is designed to be a nonthreatening means to positive change in teacher mindset and classroom practices.

The good news for education leaders is that evidence shows a coaching model in schools CAN affect change in instructional practice, at least more so than traditional, cafeteria-style professional development. A recent meta-study and framework for high-quality professional development by The Council of Great City Schools indicates that “personalized coaching and support” is one of four essential features of an effective program.

“Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is more often helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”

John Whitmore

Building Professional Relationships with Reluctant Teachers

Whether on the field or in the classroom, coaching is about unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It’s not about telling them. It’s not about even providing them with information and resources. Instead, it is about building a relationship that helps them unlock their own potential — to be the best they can be in whatever they are endeavoring.

I challenge you to think about a coach in your own life that has helped you unlock your own potential, whether in sports or professional life experience. If you reflect on that, you’ll recognize that what they did was help you be your best self by helping you do that MIND work on your own. Not just telling you, but having you go through the process of exploring, reflecting, and then identifying places you can move forward.

What are the functions of a coach?

If you are an academic coach, there are three main components to your job:

Guide and support teachers in being the best instructional leaders they can be in their classrooms.
Help build efficacy and leadership skills so that teachers aren’t always dependent on someone else to tell them how to approach a program or problem.
Cultivate effective systems for student learning.

Keep it Confidential and Nonjudgmental

As you build this relationship with the folks that you’re coaching, it is critical to maintain confidentiality and not be judgmental about wherever they are in their process.

There’s a continuum to growth and learning. Teachers often begin using a new curriculum or method in parts and pieces before moving to deep understanding and implementation. Meeting them where they are without judgment builds a positive coaching relationship foundation.

Additionally, one of the most important characteristics of a leader is trustworthiness. Earning trust starts with a confidential relationship. Each building and department are its own small community. Be aware of that and keep yourself in check. Reassure the people you are coaching that each conversation is between you and your coachee only, and they can be sure what is said will not be repeated down the hall.

The Coaching Journey

The stronger your partnership with your coachee, the more effective your coaching is going to be. You can do four things on this coaching journey that help build the relationship and establish that trust and rapport that is so important.

When you’re in conversation with your coachee, focus on listening. Be mindful and intentional when they are talking with you. Ask for details with questions like, “Could you tell me more…” and “Tell me what you mean by…” Asking for details and encouraging them to tell you their stories is a terrific way to establish trust and gain respect.

The second thing you can do to be more effective as a coach is to ask questions. This is the heart of the coaching conversation. The process of inquiry that you take your coachee on helps them begin to imagine what is possible. Ask questions that lead your coachee down that path of exploring and uncovering their potential such as, “What might happen if…” or “Would you like more information on…” Help them reflect and get to that place where they have those ‘aha’ moments, just like we want for our students. Asking the right questions can also help you get to their core need, understand their barriers to meeting that need, and discover the best way to support them.

Third, express empathy! Recognizing and validating teacher experiences (again, without judgment) is critical to a healthy coaching relationship. You can communicate the desire to understand by restating for clarification, saying things such as “Let me make sure I understand…” and “It sounds like…” It’s also important at that moment where they are sharing something difficult to be comfortable with silence. Empathy will help to make sure your coachee feels heard and respected.

The last step on the coaching journey is to take action. Help teachers to identify, design, and activate the changes they want to make. This can happen by brainstorming ideas in a co-creative process. Then, select an idea or two to move forward with. Develop a goal and create a plan. Instead of handing them a to-do list, though, be sure to make it a collaborative process. You can make suggestions such as, “Others have tried…” or “Tell me your next steps…” or even “What new ways of being are you willing to try?”

The four processes of listening, asking questions, providing empathy, and taking action do not happen in isolation. They are all happening at the same time as you have coaching conversations. Remember, at the end of the day, you can have all the knowledge and pedagogy as a coach, but if you don’t have the relationship, you cannot reach the teacher you are trying to influence.

The Coaching Relationship

An inspiring printable to pin on your office corkboard.

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About the Author — Joan Romano

Educational Consultant, Leadership Coach

Joan was a teacher and district administrator for over 30 years. After retirement, she wanted to continue in education as a leadership coach. She works in districts throughout Southern California, coaching administrators and teachers in supporting programs and implementation. Her passion is to make sure we are providing the best for students and teachers in classrooms.

January 1, 2022 8:00 am

Share Your Imagine Learning Breakthrough

Let’s celebrate students’ aha moments! Enter to win #ImagineLearningBreakthrough Moment of the Month and a $50 prize. Whether it’s a big discovery in class or small assignment at home — every achievement counts.

Imagine Learning is a leading provider of K–12 learning solutions, bringing together our adaptive and core programs, assessment tools, credit recovery, and more to provide opportunities that ignite learning breakthroughs in every student’s journey. Everything we do is deeply rooted in our relationships with educators: We can support and achieve greater learning by working together.

That’s why we want to hear about students’ “aha” moments! Whether it was a notable discovery in the classroom or while working through an assignment at home, every achievement counts! It could be as simple as:

Solving for X in a math equation
Understanding a passage in a story
Speaking a new language
Grasping a complex topic

three girls sitting on a log holding their raised hands

Imagine Learning Breakthrough Moment of the Month

Enter to win a $50 e-gift card

Educators, students, and families can post a short video on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter demonstrating a moment of discovery. Use #imaginelearningbreakthrough in your post, and your video could be named the Imagine Learning Breakthrough Moment of the Month.

Each month, ten videos will be awarded a $50 e-gift card for sharing their “aha” moment! We can’t wait to see how you ignite learning in your schools!

View official contest flyer and contest details.

Enter to win.

Post on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and use #imaginelearningbreakthrough to share your story.

Share My Moment

December 21, 2021 8:00 am

The Drone Racing League and Draganfly Create New STEM Program with Woz Ed and Imagine Learning’s Robotify

Draganfly, DRL, WozEd and Imagine Learning’s Robotify to teach thousands of students how to build, code, and fly racing drones in a new “Science of Drone Racing” curriculum.

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Drone Racing League (DRL), the world’s premier, professional drone racing property, announced an expansion of their DRL Academy STEM program in partnership with Draganfly (NASDAQ; DPRO) (CSE: DPRO), an award industry-leading drone solutions and systems developer, Steve Wozniak’s Woz Ed, the leader in demand-driven K-12 education, and Robotify, a virtual platform that teaches students about coding using robots. Together, these leaders in technology and education will inspire the next generation of innovators through an immersive and interactive “Science of Drone Racing” curriculum, debuting for middle school students in 2022.

Read the rest of the article.

November 10, 2021 8:00 am

Imagine Learning Acquires Robotify, Innovative New Platform Designed To Teach Coding Through Virtual Robotics Simulation

Imagine Learning, the leading provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., today announced the acquisition of Robotify, a digital curriculum start-up with a mission to empower students to learn coding in an inspiring, engaging, and playful way.

First Acquisition Since Rebranding As Imagine Learning

Scottsdale, Arizona, November 10, 2021 — Imagine Learning, the leading provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., today announced the acquisition of Robotify, a digital curriculum start-up with a mission to empower students to learn coding in an inspiring, engaging, and playful way. The Dublin, Ireland based company was founded by Adam Dalton and Evan Darcy, and offers a user-friendly curriculum aligned to CSTA and ISTE standards, with easy implementation and the resources schools need to help students develop computer science and coding skills.

The acquisition, the company’s first since being rebranded as Imagine Learning, reinforces the focus on its mission: to ignite learning breakthroughs and support each student’s unique learning journey.

“Through the power of digital education, we are making learning more equitable, more collaborative and personalized, always advancing with students at the center”

“We are excited to welcome Robotify to the Imagine Learning family,” said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman and CEO of Imagine Learning. “Coding is the new literacy and Imagine Learning is a literacy leader. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) has become critical to prepare today’s learners for jobs of the future—with coding in particular quickly becoming a prerequisite. We also know that too many schools across the U.S. lack the resources to properly staff or equip a robotics program. Robotify solves this with a digital-first approach to provide greater opportunity to students by using virtual robots to make coding accessible to all. Driving equity is at the heart of our commitment to students, educators, and families, and this acquisition is a meaningful step for us.

“As the barriers between core and supplemental curriculum blur, impacted by data-driven digital education and assessment, we believe that Robotify will become an important element of a K-12 education offering students valuable gamified science and coding content. Through the power of digital education, we are making learning more equitable, more collaborative and personalized, always advancing with students at the center,” said Grayer.

Robotify offers courses that include over 800 different coding activities and games, and even a multi-player platform that allows kids to showcase their coding skills in virtual robotics competition against teams worldwide. The platform offers 24/7 access to the most innovative robots, with no hardware purchase required, ever.

“When we founded Robotify, our mission was simple—to empower all kids to learn coding in an inspiring, engaging and playful way. We are proud of the phenomenal journey we have been on thanks to our incredible team, and this is only just the beginning,” said co-founder, Adam Dalton. “Joining Imagine Learning helps bring us closer to our goal of making programming more accessible to young minds around the globe, and we’re elated to be part of the Imagine Learning family.”

The acquisition of Robotify, coming on the heels of the acquisition of Twig Education earlier this year, highlights Imagine Learning’s commitment to bring STEM forward in service of their mission, and prepare learners for the future.

About Imagine Learning

Imagine Learning is a PreK–12 digital learning solutions company that ignites learning breakthroughs by designing forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology to drive student growth. Imagine Learning serves more than 10 million students and partners with more than 7,500 school districts nationwide. Imagine Learning’s flagship brands include Imagine Edgenuity, provider of online courseware and intervention solutions; Imagine Learning, provider of digital supplemental and intervention solutions for literacy, language, and mathematics; and LearnZillion, StudySync, and Twig Education, providers of high-quality, digital-first core curriculum. Read more about Imagine Learning’s new brand at http://www.imaginethefutureoflearning.com.

For Media Queries

Imagine Learning is a leading provider of K–12 online and blended learning solutions, and we are always available to speak with members of the press.

Visit our homepage to learn more about Imagine Learning.

Tim DeClaire

Imagine Learning

tim.declaire@imaginelearning.com

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November 1, 2021 8:00 am

Imagine Learning Becomes New Brand for K–12 Digital Education Leader Weld North Education

Weld North Education, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., today announces that it is bringing together all the Company’s products and solutions under a single unified brand, Imagine Learning.

All the Company’s Solutions Come Together Under One Unified Brand

Scottsdale, Arizona, November 1, 2021 – Weld North Education, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., today announces that it is bringing together all the Company’s products and solutions under a single unified brand, Imagine Learning. Existing product brands, including Edgenuity, LearnZillion, StudySync, Twig Education, Imagine Learning, and many others will now be united by a shared mission—to ignite learning breakthroughs—and together will enable Imagine Learning to create more forward-thinking education solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology. All existing products and solutions will continue to be available as part of a comprehensive portfolio designed to empower educators and improve student achievement.

“We are taking the next step on our journey to empower more educators, engage more students, and connect more families to learning,” said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman and CEO of Imagine Learning. “Since our inception in 2010, our mission—to ignite learning breakthroughs, open and accessible to all—has been our overriding true north. Through the power of digital education, we are making learning more equitable, more collaborative and personalized, always advancing with students at the center. We are proud of our partnerships with more than 7,500 school districts and educators to help teachers teach, and our commitment to their more than 10 million students. Coming together under a single brand with a single purpose—will support dynamic student learning and meet students where they are to help them progress towards their full potential.”

Imagine Learning is driven by passion, vision, and values to creatively transform what’s possible for all educators, and every student. Our five pillars guide how we support students, educators, and families at every step of the learning journey:

Create Collaboratively
- Everything we do—our products, research, and services—is deeply rooted in our relationships with educators. By working together, we can achieve and support greater learning.
Design for Students
- Our belief in the power of every learner’s unique potential drives us to create interactive, dynamic curricula that can adapt to meet each student’s unique needs—and motivate them to achieve more.
Drive Equity
- We work alongside school communities in creating equitable experiences in curricula and instruction. We have high expectations for all learners and believe that each one benefits from a learning experience that respects and represents them all.
Personalize Breakthroughs
- We empower educators with access to clear and measurable data in real time, helping to inform more personalized instruction and enable an adaptive experience.
Advance Learning
- We conduct ongoing research and thought leadership on emerging topics within education to advance learning for all.

“Unifying under the Imagine Learning brand will make our products and services more accessible and simpler to access and understand for educators, families, and students—and we will continue to create new products and features that will propel each student’s growth and save educators time,” said Grayer. “Together, our capabilities—highly engaging content, assessment to drive actionable performance data and personalized lessons—meet students where they are while enabling teachers to make the most of every moment with their students.”

The new brand identity will be launched with a new website: imaginethefutureoflearning.com. In the coming months it will be anything but business as usual for Imagine Learning. Through a new outreach channel currently in development, the company will extend their focus on Social-Emotional Learning, part of an effort that reflects Imagine Learning’s foundational pillars and supports its mission, to ignite learning breakthroughs.

About Imagine Learning

For Media Queries

Imagine Learning is a leading provider of K–12 online and blended learning solutions, and we are always available to speak with members of the press.

Visit our homepage to learn more about Imagine Learning.

Tim DeClaire

Imagine Learning

tim.declaire@imaginelearning.com

Back to News and Press

October 20, 2021 8:00 am

Building Equity from Every Angle

Achieving equity in education is an enormous — but not impossible — pursuit. With a clear understanding of the work to be done, we can accelerate equity efforts in our classrooms, schools, and communities.

As districts across the country prepare for the next school year, educators are rightly concerned about the effects the pandemic is having on the persistent inequities in education. The opportunity gaps for students from historically marginalized communities were significant and well-documented before the pandemic, and early data indicate that remote-only learning without universal technology access and other adequate supports has widened this divide.

During the 2020-2021 school year, Black, Hispanic, and Asian students were more likely than white students to live in districts without an in-person school option and without the critical supports necessary to make remote-only learning successful for all students. Recent research from PACE: Policy Analysis for California Education indicates that COVID-19 related learning impacts have been more severe for certain student groups, including low-income students and English language learners. Without aggressive and bold actions, these students may never catch up.

To lessen the impact of COVID-19, reduce the opportunity gap, and begin a sustained change in addressing these issues, the education community must pursue equity efforts that include evidence-based instruction, progress monitoring, targeted supplemental instruction, and professional development for teachers.

As a digital curriculum company, we at Imagine Learning have been on a journey to consider how curriculum can begin to address the equity issues that arise in digital learning environments. And that journey began with defining what equity in the context of education means to us.

“Equity is what allows individual students to get what they need to be successful.”

Dr. Eric Ruiz Bybee

Assistant Professor at Bringham Young University

Defining Equity

While equality aims to provide everyone with the same resources, equity focuses on providing everyone with the right resources for them. “Equity is what allows individual students to get what they need to be successful,” said Dr. Eric Ruiz Bybee, Assistant Professor at Brigham Young University. “Equity is when a student with a learning disability or who is an English Learner is given additional support to meet challenging learning objectives.”

In the context of our work, equity means ensuring that all students have access to what they need to be successful. “In some instances, it means extra supports, and in others, it means instruction that is representative of cultural ways of knowing and learning,” said Danielle Ohm, Senior Content Specialist in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Imagine Learning.

When done well, equity efforts benefit both individual students and their entire community, according to Dr. Maisha T. Winn, Chancellor’s Leadership Professor at University of California, Davis, by “helping students imagine themselves as important community contributors within (and far beyond) classroom walls.”

Download Dr. Winn’s Whitepaper here.

“Not a single curriculum provider can say their materials are perfect. What matters is what is being done to improve them.”

Danielle Ohm

Senior Content Specialist in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Imagine Learning

What Influences Equity

While our work focuses on equity issues in curriculum, equity in education operates on many interrelated levels that must be addressed holistically to close opportunity gaps.

The first is equity in funding, which is about how we invest in districts and schools. For decades, educators and activists have advocated for equitable school budgets — developed based on student need — rather than equal. And while there has been some recent movement to bring equity to the public school budget process, the reality is that school funding is often both inequitable and unequal — resulting in increased investment in students with existing advantages.

The second is equity in resources, which includes access to technology, digital devices, wireless internet, and other essential tools necessary to learn. As all of these materials cost money, inequitable funding makes it nearly impossible for many districts to deliver equitable resources to their students.

Research shows that the past year both highlighted and deepened the disparities in both funding and resourcing. Although districts stepped up efforts to distribute devices, connect students to the internet, and formalize benchmarks for remote instruction, by fall 2020 Black and Hispanic households were still “three to four percentage points less likely than white households to have reliable access to devices, and three to six percentage points less likely to have reliable access to the internet.”

The third is equity in instruction, which is an area of focus for our work at Imagine Learning. This includes having highly trained and effective teachers, curriculum, and instructional materials that are appropriate, challenging, and culturally resonant.

Like many companies offering digital curriculum, we have seen an uptick in questions around instructional equity and addressing bias in our materials. “Not a single curriculum provider can say their materials are perfect,” said Ohm. “What matters is what is being done to improve them.” We have adopted a rigorous and continuous process to evaluate all our curriculum and make sure it aligns with equitable instructional practices, so we can provide all students with materials that are relevant to their lens and way of life.

Our work is informed by the principles outlined in Universal Design for Learning, which focus on ensuring all students get what they need in the way that they need it, and asset-based pedagogies, which consider individual differences — in language, culture, thought, and other traits and ways of knowing — assets that can be leveraged to make learning more relevant and effective. Ohm explains, “In a classroom where teachers have 25-40 students, creating individual pathways is difficult.” Digital curriculum can help bridge that gap. “Teachers have innumerable opportunities to personalize instruction and provide equitable learning opportunities with digital curriculum,” Ohm said. “By being offered multiple means of communication and representation and through the use of features like translations and audio options, students are able to engage with learning materials in the way that’s most meaningful for them.”

The process of building more equitable instructional materials is iterative, and it will never be finished. “We’re agile in a way that textbooks aren’t,” Ohm said. “We have the ability to effect change right away.” And while it’s only one piece of the equity puzzle, the ability to tailor curriculum to a student’s specific experiences and contexts is powerful.

Where To Focus Next

With so much work still to be done, we are also thinking strategically about how to further equity efforts in our schools and communities. To support communities still affected by the pandemic and families who are hesitant to return to in-person learning, equity means continued access to virtual learning. A new poll released by the National Parents Union, an education advocacy organization, found that “the majority of parents value having a choice between in-person and remote with 56% saying they want both options to be provided next year.” To reduce the opportunity gap for historically marginalized communities, districts must provide quality virtual learning opportunities.

For educators on this journey, there are many resources to help guide explorations and conversations about instructional equity.

The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford has built the first national database that measures and tracks educational opportunity in every community in the United States, helping educators understand the opportunity gaps in their community. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Instructional Practice Guide for Equitable Teaching & Learning series offers practical guidance on how to incorporate universal instruction practices into K–12 mathematics instruction. And the National School Boards Association’s Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity provides guidance to school boards seeking to “reimagine and redesign systems for learning.”

Achieving equity in education is an enormous — but not impossible — pursuit. With a clear understanding of the work to be done, a multilayered strategy for addressing equity on every level, and innovative, research-informed tools for putting equity models into practice, we can accelerate equity efforts in our classrooms, schools, and communities.

October 1, 2021 8:00 am

Addressing the Future of a Pandemic Generation

Don’t panic about learning loss, optimize each students’ unique journey. Let’s start by acknowledging our collective humanity.

“Learning loss” has become a trending, catch-all phrase for the growing gap between grade-level expectations and actual student performance. The disparity worsened during the pandemic, exacerbating already existing inequities. Black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students saw less growth than their peers.

This deficit mindset — focusing on what students lack — has been shown to only worsen outcomes.

Having spent my career in education, first as a teacher and now as a leader in digital learning, I’ve seen firsthand that educators can do incredible things with the right support. Instead of clamoring to “fix” learning loss — what if we focus on empowering teachers to optimize each student’s unique learning journey aided by powerful technology-enabled tools?

Start by Acknowledging our Collective Humanity

As we strive to improve each student’s academic outcomes, it’s important to acknowledge that we are humans first. Many students lost loved ones and most experienced social isolation.

A trauma-informed approach is needed as we welcome students and families back to school.

teacher and student bump elbows during pandemic

“Students this year will each be at a unique point in their learning journey — and that’s ok.”

Sari Factor

Character education is a process that guides students and teachers in the development of skills not covered by academic standards, such as understanding emotions and developing empathy.

Research shows that students who receive character education instruction have improved life outcomes and outperform their peers academically by 11%.

Start the school year by focusing on student well-being — and academic success will follow.

Beware “Accelerated” Learning

With so much talk about the need to catch up, it’s natural to search for shortcuts or methods to accelerate learning. But that’s not how learning works.

Learning is a journey to be navigated and, depending upon what a student knows and what she needs to learn, moving faster is rarely realistic or appropriate.

It’s like asking a driver to accelerate through a traffic jam. What we can do is leverage technology to find the optimal, individualized learning path for every student.

Focus on Each Student’s Unique Learning Journey

Students this year will each be at a unique point in their learning journey – and that’s ok. With the use of digital curriculum tools, educators can quickly and accurately understand where all of their students are and, critically, how to move each of them forward.

That starts with rethinking the way we use assessments. Rather than conducting assessments at the end of a term or school year, this moment all but demands that we create a culture of ongoing assessment and immediate feedback. When using high-quality digital learning tools, every keystroke tells a story about what a student knows.

Teachers receive valuable data to inform their instruction. As partners, digital learning providers need to make that data as clear and easy to interpret as possible.

Next, we need to implement personalized learning programs that focus on optimizing learning, not accelerating it. Many students are significantly behind, and we need to collaborate creatively to catch those students up.

One way is to be flexible in our content delivery. Where a student is and how far they need to go should influence the lesson she receives, and teachers should adapt content as needed to get a student on the right pathfor them. Adjusting or crafting new content for each student would be extremely time-consuming for teachers, if not impossible. By tapping into digital curricula, teachers can more easily tailor lessons for every individual, providing them better access to grade-level instruction.

Third, we should embrace flexible solutions that complement traditional classroom learning. These can take a lot of different forms — from adaptive software on a tablet to virtual on-demand tutoring — all focused on ensuring students have what they need to experience that breakthrough moment. Teachers play a vital role in deciding which instructional tools will work best for each student.

That’s why we believe our work starts with providing teachers with quality programs and the support they need to implement them effectively.

Many districts are also facing teacher shortages at a moment where we desperately need more teachers in classrooms. The ability to “port in” teachers from different locations could go a long way to help students progress in their learning this fall.

Districts should also continue to offer hybrid, in-person, and virtual learning options.

Most students are excited to return to in-person learning, but some thrived with online learning. Enrollment is down, particularly in the older grades. We need to preserve flexible programs that will entice teenagers — including the significant percentage who work and attend school simultaneously back to school.

This school year won’t be easy, but educators do hard things every day in service of students. If we’re going to improve learning outcomes, we need to collaborate across the full education support system — curricula, educators, and families.

Together, we should be clear-headed about the work ahead and committed to giving teachers the support and tools they need to optimize each students’ unique learning journey.

About the Author — Sari Factor

Vice Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, Imagine Learning

Sari began her career as a mathematics teacher but soon thought of much bigger ways to impact students. Recognizing that technology could greatly transform the way students learn, she made a career move into education technology and has been working to leverage technology to help students, teachers, schools, and districts ever since.

Sari joined Imagine Learning in 2011 and has held leadership positions at successful educational publishing and learning technology companies, including Kaplan, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, and Everyday Learning Corporation. “I knew that I could fulfill my vision to combine technology with research on learning to make education truly student-centered.”

September 24, 2021 8:00 am

Nine Tips for Success with Virtual Learning

Whether you are new to the virtual classroom or an experienced online teacher, here are a few tips for success with virtual learning.

Right now, schools everywhere are utilizing some amount of virtual instruction to keep students learning, regardless of educators’ comfort and experience levels with delivering instruction virtually. Whether you are new to the virtual classroom or an experienced online teacher, there are a few tips for success with virtual learning you can utilize to make this easier for you, your colleagues, and your students.

Offering targeted training and online learning resources will ultimately help students (and your school) succeed. Our nine tips for success with virtual learning are great both for educators who may be new to online learning and those who want a refresher on how to be the best teacher in their virtual classroom.

Nine Tips for Success with Virtual Learning

Set Up Your Workspace. At this point, I think we all can agree it’s time to relocate our “office space” from the kitchen or couch! As we adapt to the “new normal” of learning, creating a quiet, comfortable workspace will help you stay organized and on track. What resources would you usually keep on hand? Is your area equipped to support you technologically? These are things you shouldn’t have to worry about while schoolwork is underway.
Set Aside Time to Prepare for YOUR Week. Set aside time over the weekend to plan your school week. Take this time to not only focus on grading and lesson planning but also on how you can connect with students and create activities to encourage engagement. Doing this will help you sleep better and be able to start Monday off in the right frame of mind.
Be Available for Quick Help. It’s easy to say, “I am there for my students,” but it means so much more to show up to the virtual classroom alongside your students. When you teach in person, you’re almost always available when students need that extra support. So, log in to your class a few minutes early and stay those 10 extra minutes after—provide consistent support, and your students will reap the benefits.
Don’t Forget to Log Off. Teaching virtually doesn’t mean you need to be on call 24/7. Let your students know your hours of availability for extra help, and keep to your schedule. You need downtime now more than ever, so make sure to respect the time you spend away from the classroom.
Encourage Students to Create Their Own At-Home Workspace. Just like a student has their desk in school, students should have that personal space for learning at home that is free from distractions. Ask students to send you a picture of their “at-home classroom” as part of your introductions to students, and share a photo of yours. Make it exciting for them to have their own space!
Get to Know Your Students. Schedule one-on-one time with each student, even if it is just for five minutes. Students are most likely not going to make the proactive decision to get to know you or their peers; however, by cultivating a positive and fun environment, you can drive student engagement. Your number one focus every day should be connecting with students and helping them stay connected to their peers and education. Are students communicating? Are they collaborating? Are they asking questions? Are they answering questions? Just like in your physical classroom at school, you need to help facilitate connections with other students, so keep pushing them forward!
Keep Students Interested and Engaged. Easier said than done, we know. However, if there is one thing students have lost during the pandemic, it is their independence. Give students the opportunity of choice. Creating decision-making opportunities allows students to feel in control of their education. And importantly, you are recognizing a student’s voice while also keeping them engaged and involved in activities and discussions.
Create a Community. Group projects and class time could be the most interaction with others that a student is getting. Encourage students to not only come to you with questions and conversation but to also go to each other. Provide discussion topics to help steer conversations, and promote the community for when you are not available: outside of school hours and weekends. Let students know they always have support within their virtual classroom!
Address Common Questions or Issues from Students. It is important to remember that there may be technical challenges or issues with students’ coursework. If you are receiving frequent complaints or questions regarding a topic or process, take the time to address the problem for the whole class. Some students won’t come forward with their questions or concerns, so plan for that by doing things like designing a how-to section or students. Providing these resources that are specific to your classroom and coursework prevents students from falling behind due to technological or directional error. And don’t be afraid to contact IT if you can’t resolve the problem—you are not expected to also be a technology expert!

Additional Resources and Tips for Success with Virtual Learning

There are so many great resources available to help teachers (and parents) engaging in virtual learning. EdWeek has published a number of helpful articles full of tips for both teachers and administrators, including the following:

The Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) has also launched a COVID-19 webinar series for administrators setting up their schools for 2020–2021. Hear from various international education experts as they share their tips for success with virtual learning, including how to support teachers and why you should offer character education resources for both adults and children. Access the entire series, or watch the specific webinars that help address your learning needs.

And for more information about supporting your students and staff, check out our tools for building school reopening plans.

SOURCES

DARBY, F. (2019, APRIL 17). HOW TO BE A BETTER ONLINE TEACHER. CHRONICLE. HTTPS://WWW.CHRONICLE.COM/INTERACTIVES/ADVICE-ONLINE-TEACHING

KRAUS, C. (2020, JULY 14). EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED LEARNING IS POSSIBLE ONLINE: START WITH RELATIONSHIPS. EDSURGE. HTTPS://WWW.EDSURGE.COM/NEWS/2020-07-14-EMOTIONALLY-CONNECTED-LEARNING-IS-POSSIBLE-ONLINE-START-WITH-RELATIONSHIPS

LAMBERT, D. (2020, MAY 13). A LOOK AT DISTANCE LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS: EDSOURCE WEBINAR. EDSOURCE. HTTPS://EDSOURCE.ORG/2020/A-LOOK-AT-DISTANCE-LEARNING-STRATEGIES-FOR-SUCCESS-EDSOURCE-WEBINAR/631433

TATUM, J. & FAGAN, E. (2020, JULY 13). 5 WAYS TO BUILD A STRONG ACADEMIC SCAFFOLD FOR 2020-2021: PART 1. ESCHOOLNEWS. HTTPS://WWW.ESCHOOLNEWS.COM/2020/07/13/5-WAYS-TO-BUILD-A-STRONG-ACADEMIC-SCAFFOLD-FOR-2020-2021-PART-1/?ALL

September 14, 2021 8:00 am

Imagine Learning, Edgenuity, and Twig Education Named Best Tools for Back to School

Weld North Education, a leading provider of PreK–12 digital curriculum solutions, today announced that flagship brands Imagine Learning, Edgenuity, and Twig Education have been recognized by the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence Best Tools for Back to School and the 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards.

Scottsdale, Ariz.–(PRWeb)–Weld North Education (WNE), a leading provider of PreK–12 digital curriculum solutions, today announced that flagship brands Imagine Learning, Edgenuity, and Twig Education have been recognized by the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence Best Tools for Back to School and the 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards.

WNE offers a large portfolio of forward-thinking brands, curricula, and learning solutions for grades PreK–12 that drive academic growth and serve over 10 million students.

“Our products are designed to support and empower educators to ignite breakthroughs in every student’s unique learning journey with high-quality, digital-first curricula.”

“We are honored to be recognized with these distinguished awards,” said Sari Factor, Chief Strategy Officer at Weld North Education. “Our products are designed to support and empower educators to ignite breakthroughs in every student’s unique learning journey with high-quality, digital-first curricula. These awards are a testament to the Weld North Education team and our school and district partners as we work together to achieve greater learning outcomes.”

The inaugural Tech & Learning Best Tools for Back to School awards named Imagine Learning products, Imagine Math and Imagine Español, and Twig Education products, Twig Science and Twig Create, as winners in the Primary (K–6) category. Edgenuity Courseware was declared a winner in the Secondary (6–12) category. Award recipients were deemed the most impressive solutions that support innovative and effective teaching and learning for the 2021–2022 school year.

Imagine Math and the newest Imagine Learning product, Imagine Lectura, were also named finalists for the fifth-annual Tech Edvocate Awards for Best Math App or Tool and Best Literacy App or Tool, respectively. A panel made up of education technology thought leaders, educators, and parents from PreK to college selected finalists and winners based on how they are using technology to transform education.

For more than 10 years, the Weld North Education brands and research-backed products have been recognized for their support of educators and students and for providing an excellent learning experience, including during the distance and remote learning of the past two years. In 2021:

Imagine Learning products Imagine Math and Imagine Language & Literacy won Tech & Learning Remote Learning Awards
Imagine Math Facts and Imagine Language & Literacy won CODiE Awards
Edgenuity MyPath, Imagine Reading, and LearnZillion Illustrative Mathematics won EdTech Awards

About Weld North Education

Weld North Education (WNE) is a PreK–12 digital learning company that ignites learning breakthroughs by designing forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology that drive student growth. WNE serves over 10 million students and partners with over 7,000 school districts nationwide. WNE’s flagship brands include Edgenuity, provider of online courseware and intervention solutions; Imagine Learning, provider of digital supplemental curriculum in literacy, language, and mathematics; and LearnZillion, StudySync, and Twig Education, providers of high-quality, digital-first core curriculum. Read more about Weld North Education at http://www.weldnorthed.com.

For Media Queries

Imagine Learning is a leading provider of K–12 online and blended learning solutions, and we are always available to speak with members of the press.

Visit our homepage to learn more about Imagine Learning.

Tim DeClaire

Imagine Learning

tim.declaire@imaginelearning.com

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July 15, 2021 8:00 am

Weld North Education Acquires Twig Education, Leading Digital Science Curriculum Company

Weld North Education (“WNE”), the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., today announced the acquisition of Twig Education (“Twig”), a provider of high-quality science curriculum products designed to improve science literacy globally.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Weld North Education (“WNE”), the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the U.S., today announced the acquisition of Twig Education (“Twig”), a provider of high-quality science curriculum products designed to improve science literacy globally. Based in the U.K. with a strong team in the U.S., Twig’s flagship product, Twig Science Next Gen, is a highly engaging, multimedia-rich, digital-first Science program, grounded in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), with unique partnerships with Imperial College London, Stanford University, and BBC Studios.

“In Weld North we have found a partner who shares our goal to improve global science literacy and understands the important role that science education plays in the development of 21st Century citizens” Tweet this

The acquisition of Twig is an important step forward as WNE continues to expand its digital core curriculum offerings, delivering on its mission to empower educators to drive learning breakthroughs and support each student’s unique learning journey. Founded in 2009, Twig entered the U.S. market in 2018, with an innovative program designed to meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), integrating visual, digital, and hands-on learning. Today, Twig has 30% share of the elementary science market in California with plans to expand across the U.S. Twig CEO Catherine Cahn, based in California, will continue to manage the business.

“Our purpose – to ignite learning breakthroughs – has never been more important as we partner with schools, districts, parents and students to unlock the power of digital solutions to enrich the learning experience,” said Jonathan Grayer, Founder and CEO of Weld North Education, “Twig’s engaging and high-quality digital-first core science curriculum fits perfectly with our other K-12 core offerings in math and English Language Arts – LearnZillion and StudySync – and has an exceptional reputation among educators using the program. By expanding Twig’s footprint across the country, we can inspire more students to understand the world around us and pursue STEM careers.”

Twig is a phenomena-based core science program embracing the investigative, hands-on nature of NGSS, with a focus on storytelling and making science relevant for learners through a multimedia-rich product that is visually appealing. It has been adopted by major school districts, such as Irvine and Garden Grove, California, Beaverton, Oregon, and Oklahoma City.

“In Weld North we have found a partner who shares our goal to improve global science literacy and understands the important role that science education plays in the development of 21st Century citizens,” said Catherine Cahn. “We are excited to introduce our products to many more classrooms across the U.S. through Weld North’s unrivaled reach and to provide teachers the tools they need to create ‘aha!’ moments for their students.”

About Weld North Education

Weld North Education (WNE), the largest digital education company in the U.S., was founded in 2010 with the goal of creating a focused suite of digital curriculum solutions that enable teachers, administrators, parents, and students to benefit from innovative learning technologies. WNE has expanded its mission by investing broadly in the development of research-based digital-first curriculum to engage and support PreK–12 students and educators. WNE’s flagship brands include Edgenuity, provider of online courseware and intervention solutions; Imagine Learning, provider of digital supplemental curriculum in literacy, language, and mathematics; and LearnZillion, provider of high-quality, digital-first core curriculum. WNE has made additional investments in innovative education brands: BookheadEd, creator of the market-leading StudySync English-Language Arts curriculum, SEL course provider Purpose Prep and digital curriculum company Glynlyon, Inc. Read more about Weld North Education at www.weldnorthed.com.

About Twig Education

Twig Education is an award-winning STEM publishing company providing digital and print resources to more than 60 countries and in 20 different languages. Twig comprises a team of teachers, filmmakers, writers, researchers, designers, academics, and students, all working together to create exciting and effective student learning experiences. The company proudly partners with leading universities, including Imperial College London, Stanford and BBC Studios. Learn more at TwigScience.com.

For Media Queries

Imagine Learning is a leading provider of K–12 online and blended learning solutions, and we are always available to speak with members of the press.

Visit our homepage to learn more about Imagine Learning.

Tim DeClaire

Imagine Learning

tim.declaire@imaginelearning.com

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