Help students to get in study mode when learning online

Learning how to learn online

Learning how to learn online requires an important set of skills. Online education differs from traditional classrooms and students – even the young ones – need to take responsibility for their time, space and strategies to succeed.

WE – teachers and curriculum makers – need to help them develop these skills by adding small bits of #learningtolearn online to our teaching. It will only take a few minutes from every lesson but it will make such a big difference 👩🏻‍💻👩🏾‍💻🧑🏿‍💻 💻

Get in study mode

Perhaps the #1 skill, to begin with, is learning how to get in study mode. It is true that learning – and working – from home can make the process feel less structured and disciplined, so much so that students may end up studying in bed or be surrounded by distractions.

It is very important for them to know how to create the conditions that can put them in the zone for learning, improve concentration and create a study routine. This can help them to shift gears in their mind and let their body know that they are entering ‘work mode’ 🎯.

So how can students create the conditions that will allow them to get in study mode? Here are some ideas but of course the list is non-exhaustive and students should be encouraged to come up with their own procedures and best practices:

• Having a dedicated study space is perhaps the most important step to getting in study mode. Even if students don’t have their own room, finding a quiet, well-lit and distraction-free study hub will help them to focus and get in the zone.
• Avoiding the temptation of studying in bed or on the sofa is also important. Sitting up helps the body adopt the right position and can keep the mind alert. On the contrary, a long study session curled up on the sofa can lead to a sore back or RSI (repetitive strain injury) and that can never be a good thing. Perhaps more importantly, our bed should be a place to switch off, relax and recharge. If this is where we both relax and work as then we may find it hard to settle in for a good night’s sleep because our body won’t know if it should unwind or stay alert.
• Digital distractions are major time thieves and students should make a conscious effort to manage them if they want to really concentrate on their online learning. There are many effective techniques that they can follow – and that will be the topic of another post – but perhaps the first step to begin with should be to put their phone in silent mode (no vibration) facing down.
• It is very important that friends and family respect students’ study time but at the same time this should not be used as an excuse for why students can’t focus. It should be their responsibility to remind their loved ones when they are studying and that they would appreciate their support in helping them stay in the zone.
• How many times did you have to interrupt your workflow just because you had to look for a book you didn’t have with you? Having all their books, pens and notebooks handy will save them from unnecessary interruptions, time and frustration.
• Finally, students should ALWAYS have a bottle of water with them. Did you know that our brain is 73% water and thus it needs proper hydration to function normally? You can read more about that in the Psychology Today article Why Your Brain Needs Water 💦

Ideas for classroom application 💡

I have included some key points and tips in the poster above. Feel free to use the poster or grab the PDF version if you wish to generate discussion with your students. You may want to:

• present the tips to them and invite them to add their own.
• ask them to reflect on the tips and say which ones would work for them and why.
• ask them to create (or draw) similar posters with their number five tips for getting in study mode.
• invite them to present their posters to the classmates or create short clips or podcasts to share on the class VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) or class blog.

I’m well aware that getting in the zone for work greatly depends on contextual factors that may be beyond students’ control. However, even those – particularly those – who share their bedroom with a sibling or live in a small flat will benefit by being asked to come up with their own creative solutions, be more intentional and perhaps adjust the tips to their own context.

Feel free to share this post with your network of teachers and please add more useful tips in the comments below👇🏼. How can we help students get in ‘work mode’ when learning online?

Sophia Mavridi is a Digital Learning Specialist & Lecturer in English Language Teaching at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. She holds an MA in Educational Technology & TESOL and she’s a doctoral researcher in Technology Enhanced learning with Lancaster University. Her research focuses on online learning and the increasingly important role of digital literacies in education. Sophia supports institutions and teachers to integrate technology in a pedagogically sound way and has trained for major organisations such as the British Council, International House, Macmillan Education and many more. She is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences and the joint-coordinator of the IATEFL Learning Technologies Special Interest Group; her latest co-edited volumes are ‘English for 21st Century Skills’ (Express Publishing, 2020) and ‘Digital Innovations and Research in Language Learning’ (IATEFL, 2020), both of which reflect her keen interest in innovative pedagogies in language education.

Subscribe to this website to get all her new posts in your inbox as well as well as invitations to events, keynotes and workshops.  

If you want to refer to this post please link directly or cite as follows

Mavridi, S. (2020). Help students to get in study mode when learning online [blogpost]. Digital Pedagogy. Retrieved from https://sophiamavridi.com/get-in-study-mode/