Learning Coaches Are Important for Student Success

Online learning makes education a family affair, not isolated to brick-and-mortar schools but steeped in the home atmosphere. At CCA, parents are known as learning coaches, improving student achievement by forging the child’s connection to the online learning experience. Effective instructional coaching places children in days specifically structured to promote learning and exploration.

Parents considering CCA are certain to ask how to be a successful learning coach. Instructional coaching is new to them, and their learning coach responsibilities might be a concern. At CCA, we provide parents and guardians with all the training and tools they need to grow in confidence as they serve as learning coaches devoted to the success of their children.

What Are the Duties of a Learning Coach at CCA?

The learning coach definition differs from one household to the next, depending on each family’s unique needs. At heart, a learning coach is a parent or trusted designee who fosters a rich experience of student learning. Because the teacher is not in the room with students, learning coaches become the teacher’s assistant.

Learning coaches schedule daily routines that keep children focused and refreshed. They also use the learning management system to monitor assignments and make sure learners are taking required state assessments.  

Learning coaches aren’t teachers, but they are vital members of the team. They keep in touch with teachers, communicating regularly to plan and update curriculum-based assessments. The role and intensity of the learning coach’s involvement change as the child grows.

In elementary school, learning coaches are at the child’s side most of the day, monitoring coursework and helping with lessons.

In middle school, learning coaches start to step back, while the child starts to embrace the independence and time-management skills that prepare them for lifetime success.

In high school, learners take a more active role in their own education. Learning coaches continue to communicate with teachers, but their role is one of encouraging growth as the child looks toward graduation and career plans. 

How to Be a Successful Learning Coach

At CCA, we make it simple to become a learning coach. Our learning coach outreach sessions teach parents and guardians how to navigate our edio learning platform. Just as important, the many parents who have come before in this vital role have invaluable experience to share in the keys to being a successful learning coach. Try these tips to refine your coaching practice and achieve maximum success: 

Set Your Learner’s Routine

Children flourish amid established routines and clear expectations. That sense of safety is an essential component of academic success. Although flexibility is a primary advantage of cyber learning, it remains important to create a daily structure of class time, breaks and afterschool time. Encourage your child to stick to it. The home atmosphere is calmer when children know when it’s time for school, and parents know when to be a teacher’s assistant and when to be a parent.  

Prompt Your Learner to Stay on Task

All children have different learning styles. Each requires a different level of encouragement to concentrate on lessons, but no matter how motivated the student, learning coaches play a key role in ensuring effective instruction and, consequently, keeping learners focused. Learning coaches should minimize distractions and provide motivation. Children will always be tempted to find any excuse for a distraction, but those idle moments can be averted through regular breaks for recess and physical activity. Even older learners can benefit from downtime or a walk around the neighborhood. When they’ve been allowed to let off steam, children are likely to return to their lessons refreshed and ready to learn.     

Review Completed Assignments, Teacher Feedback and Grades

Completing an assignment isn’t the same as learning from it. Therefore, your coaching strategy should include tactics for keeping your child on task. That includes reviewing completed assignments. Are they thorough? Did they address all the content that the teacher wanted to address? If the work was rushed just to mark it off as completed, your child isn’t getting the full benefit of the lesson and might not be prepared for the next.

Help Your Learner Set Up Daily and Weekly Study Schedules

The school day involves more than the hours spent in lessons. Students succeed when they devote time to absorbing the day’s learning and preparing for tests. A realistic, methodical approach is better than cramming. Learning coaches should help their children carve study time into realistic increments, just long enough to digest learning before fatigue sets in. Just as with the daily routine, an established weekly routine makes it easier for your learner to slip into “school mode,” and it keeps them on track and accountable.

Preview Tomorrow’s Assignments

Taking a few moments to prepare for the next day’s lessons and schedule helps maintain momentum for one successful day after another. Preview assignments. Prepare the materials needed. Go over the schedule. These steps help prevent the daily tussle over turning your child’s focus to school and avoid unpleasant surprises or disruptions to the routine. 

Supporting terms to include:

• coaching practice
• effective instruction
• learning platform
• learning styles
• coaching strategy 

Educational Resources for New Learning Coaches

In the traditional model of brick-and-mortar schooling, teachers teach and parents parent. CCA’s cyber learning blurs those roles, and thank goodness for that. Parents can rely on our highly qualified teachers to provide educational leadership. Our inclusive approach empowers parents with the knowledge of what their children are learning and the peace of mind knowing that learning is delivered in the safety and security of the home.

As they take on the role of learning coach, CCA parents and guardians are never alone. A wealth of educational resources helps learning coaches build confidence and become the educational team members they’ve always dreamed of being.

Our supports include in-person, hands-on learning coach outreach sessions, in which learning coaches try out the techniques of navigating our edio learning platform and creating a dynamic in-home learning environment. Family mentors and Family Service Centers are also available for personalized guidance that positions families for success and prepares children for lifetimes of learning.

CCA Offers Coaching Practice for Families

You have questions. We have answers. With our hands-on opportunities to practice and our array of supportive services, you can become an effective learning coach. Learn more about how you can become an integral player in your child’s educational team and how our families, teachers and family services work together for student success.