Learn about why it is so important to connect and build positive relationships with colleagues and six ways to build those connections.
Mental Health
Students and educators have been reporting an increase in mental health concerns. Students may be struggling to return to a traditional classroom. Teachers often report that they are experiencing increased stress due to a greater workload and the increased needs of their students and families. No one is certain what impact the coronavirus will have on long-term mental and physical health.
The resources in this collection explore ideas and strategies you may consider for your classroom to address issues of mental health. As you review the resources in this collection, consider downloading the questions linked below to guide your reflection. If possible, do this work with a team of your colleagues and use the prompts to stimulate discussion. Having conversations about these topics with your colleagues can lead to stimulating discussion and breakthrough ideas.
Connect With Families
Explore how to better connect with the families of the students you support and why it is so important.
Help Students Connect and Reconnect
Discover ways to connect with your students, form relationships with them, and help them reconnect and form relationships with one another.
#55 – Connecting Students and Building Classroom Community
In this episode, we share relationship-building strategies that you can implement to help students feel safe and supported—ready to take risks and apply a growth mindset to their learning process.
#52 – Managing Transitions: Addressing Social and Emotional Learning for Students
A focus on relationships, routines, and social and emotional learning protocols will help ensure your students feel welcome and ready to learn this fall.
#37 – Reassembling After Loss: Putting the Pieces Together for a New Picture
Join us for the last installment of our SEL series where we reframe the narrative. Rather than focusing on learning loss, we explore what we have learned this year that has led to growth and resiliency.
#36 – Managing Transitions Back to the Classroom
In part five of our SEL series, we share strategies for supporting students, families, and staff as we transition back to the physical classroom, with resources and tips for addressing the anxiety of the unknown.
#35 – Supporting Families During the Pandemic: Coping With Stress, Anxiety, and Grief
Explore tips to help students reduce the stress and anxiety that has accompanied the learning process this year with practical strategies to promote self-awareness and self-regulation.
#34 – Caring for Students During Pandemic Learning
Explore tips to help students reduce the stress and anxiety that has accompanied the learning process this year with practical strategies to promote self-awareness and self-regulation.
“R” You Ready to Recharge? Tips for Teacher Self-Care
Explore 12 ways to recharge and take care of yourself.
#15 – Practice Self-Care: Tips for Teachers and Students
Explore tips for finding time to take care of yourself, while also supporting students’ social and emotional needs.
#9 – Foster a Growth Mindset for Teachers and Students
Discover how learning mindsets can affect both teacher and student performance.
#5 – Foster Relationships and Build Community During Remote Teaching
Cultivate a culture of trust in your virtual classroom by nurturing relationships and helping students build empathy and understanding for each other and you.
Start the Year by Fostering Your Students’ Growth Mindset
Help students transition to the new year by teaching and fostering their growth mindset.
Recover, Recharge, and Regroup for Fall
Explore ways to recover, recharge, and regroup this summer and get ready for fall.
Extend Your Learning
The following resources related to this topic can be found on AVID Open Access to extend and connect your learning:
- Supporting Students Even When They Walk Out Our Classroom Doors: Discover systems and programs that are available in many schools, districts, and communities to support students and families in need.
- Accelerating Learning With Culturally Responsive Teaching: Join our conversation about culturally responsive teaching to explore how we as teachers must challenge our beliefs and examine our own biases to create a classroom that supports all students—celebrating their experience and applying it to their learning process.
- Relational Capacity to Up the Rigor in Learning: Explore how relational capacity impacts the academic success of our students and informs our instructional practices.
- Have Kids Changed as a Result of the Pandemic?: Let’s discuss how the pandemic has impacted, and potentially changed, our students. We’ll share how we can draw upon our experiences to make a positive difference for students during the transition back to face-to-face learning and between learning models.
- Make the World a Better Place!: Engage students with this critical reading lesson from National Geographic to think about how they can make a difference in the world through this audio-guided article available in English and Spanish.
- The Importance of Teaching to and with Each Student’s Identity: The What and Why of Culturally Responsive Teaching with Dr. Geneva Gay: In our conversation with Dr. Geneva Gay, we explore foundational aspects of culturally responsive teaching, including what it is and why it’s important.
- Best Practices for Teaching to and with Each Student’s Identity: The How of Culturally Responsive Teaching with Dr. Geneva Gay: Join us as we explore ways to put culturally responsive teaching into practice, including ways to maximize academic potential while honoring cultural experiences.
These collections change often as we add new curriculum and resources to AVID Open Access.
Find out more about how AVID Open Access is growing on our About page.