Teaching, tutoring online is very popular, and it received a strong impetus with the upholding of COVID-19. Professors had to adjust to a new reality, just like we all. Online learning became a valid and rightful part of an educational process and more and more students prefer online classes to real life classes. Finally, it is much easier not to be late to such classes, you can study in pj-s, and just lie down during the breaks. Teaching online became a challenge to many educators, but as time passess, they also incline to the fact that online learning brings benefits not just drawbacks to this process. In this article we want to give some useful tips to teachers and tutors who teach essay writing online. It is not easy, as essay writing is the key part of the educational process in the Anglo-Saxon educational system. It is challenging and comes with a lot of responsibility. So we come with valid tips on how to handle it.
Teach Essay Writing: 7 Proven Methods
We bet you already know about some of these methods, but you need to ask yourself whether knowing about something equals doing something. You may know about the latest software for online learning, but you’re still dragging your feet to use it. Choose the tips most relevant to your situation and apply one by one. Also, you can discuss with your students which methods they see as the most efficient, and which don’t work for them. Still, we advise to take their answers with a grain of salt, because you are a professional educator and they are not, that is why they may confuse something “not fun” with being “not effective.”
Involve Your Students a Lot
Many teachers focus solely on lectures, they want to tell as much as possible to their students, to give more material in one lesson. They see it as their biggest value. It is normal, but it is not something you should focus on when it comes to getting results. It is better to give one small topic, explain one grammar, research or style topic, and then involve your students in solving the problem. It is also a good idea to ask students how they normally do such things, so they see the connection, see the difference of how they are used to doing things and how it is better to do them.
Speak Their Language
Students receive enough academic talk in class. Of course, it doesn’t mean that your essay writing online courses should be stand-up like, however, it means that you should speak language comfortably for students. It is one of the differences with formal classrooms your online courses can successfully introduce. One of the ways to stay closer to students is being involved in the student medium, following student culture.
Offer Mini-Group Sessions
Most of the tutors and most of the students think that individual lessons are the way to go. The logic is clear — more individual attention means better learning. However, we strongly recommend you to introduce some mini-group sessions that would help students exchange ideas, find writing buddies and just communicate about daily essay writing matters.
Use the Most Up-to-Date Tools
It is very alluring just to open Skype or Zoom, lecture students and give them writing homework. It is also the fastest way to lose students, because time after time they will get more and more bored. Focus on more up-to-date tools, there are lots of graphic, test and and video decisions offered online.
Anticipate Pushback and Get Ready
At some point any student gets tired of studying and wants to push back. They want to make a apuse and never come back. It is not someone’s fault, it is just how the world works, how the mind works. Anticipate it in advance and talk about it with your student. Ask to warn you about the first signs of burnout, so you can change or lighten the program for a while.
Pay Attention to Students’ Problems
Don’t ignore students’ problems, even if they are not always related to your work. You need your students to be able to trust you. Also, you should not get appalled when students mention addressing SmartWritingService, for example, a safe essay writing service for help. It is true that sometimes, asking for assistance from a writing expert is faster, and more efficient than hiring a tutor. It is not dangerous for your job as an online educator, as these services are used to solve a particular problem here and now, and your services are needed to strengthen essay writing skills gradually and for long.
Use More Visuals
Don’t rely just on your text, or your lectures, don’t rely solely on textbooks. Even when speaking about research, grammar and style, some visuals will definitely come in handy. They are easy to remember, they are easy to combine with mnemonics and they are also good for your promotions in social media. You still need to sell your lessons on essay writing, don’t you?
How Not to Burnout When Teaching Essay Writing
Teachers are silent heroes of our reality. It all crambles and sometimes it feels like there is no much meaning in what you do. These feelings can be signs of burnout and it is not something you want to experience. Unfortunately, people tend to ignore the first stages of burnouts. Here, we want to show you what you can actually do to avoid it. There are tons of methods, but you can start with focusing on these three. If you think that it is not enough, ask yourself whether you actually tried to do it. We all know about self-regulation, but we use methods of self-regulation too little in real life.
- Don’t take more students than you can handle.
- Don’t try to make every lesson special.
- See the final goal and move with caution.
Teaching online, especially teaching essay writing online, can be challenging. We hope that with these tips we helped you at least a little. Make your essay writing courses more fun and effective, and try to avoid burnout. That’s a plan!
