Understanding how to learn leadership skills in distance learning is the key to making virtual classroom environments effective and rewarding. Remote learning challenges have underscored how difficult it is for students to acquire soft skills. Teachers find their role as the partner in student’s learning to be quite a challenge, too. With the lack of face-to-face interaction, it’s easy to pinpoint the factors that make cultivating these skills challenging, if not impossible.
For one, students and teachers are no longer in a live group setting where they’re interacting with their peers. This may drastically impact leadership outcomes that heavily depend on effective communication skills and conflict resolution. Another possible factor is the lack of motivation brought on by the shift from physical to online classes. Students may take some time before they may be able to fully adjust to the culture shock.
Fortunately, parents can play a hand in introducing and subsequently developing effective leadership skills through consistent and mindful actions. Check out these tips below.
Lead Group Projects
Some students may have been dreading group projects even before distance learning ever began. As much as they try to avoid these activities, however, group projects provide great opportunities for students to lead, collaborate with one another, and explore varying strategies.
As a parent, you may be able to encourage your child to be more proactive when doing group work. Let them take the reins when it comes to scheduling, initiating activities, delegating tasks, and communicating with others to foster participation.
Though your child may not initially be comfortable with taking on this role, they will certainly learn critical life skills that they can use even in adulthood. The more they’re put in these types of situations, the more at ease they will be in similar future scenarios.
Recite in Class
Leadership and confidence work hand-in-hand. This is part of what drives student leaders to be self-assured in how they direct people to a united objective, and resolve issues out of their comfort zone.
Even at early as their age, children too can foster their own confidence. Distance learning recitations are one way they are able to do this. It doesn’t matter if they don’t get the answer right or make a mistake. What’s important is that they’re training themselves to speak up and communicate their thoughts in front of an audience.
Part of what leadership is all about is being able to clearly and definitively communicate goals to a group of people. This is what propels them to take action in order to realize a common objective. Reciting in class not only allows students to develop a deeper understanding of the material but also develops intrinsic leadership skills for distance learning.
Be Accountable
The fact is that not all children participating in distance learning will have similar learning styles. This is why some may have difficulty in the course work, hence a less-than-ideal academic performance.
In this regard, the challenge for any aspiring student-leader is to be accountable for their strengths and weaknesses. Let your child know that there’s nothing wrong with experiencing class difficulties. With this, emphasize that they have what it takes to overcome such obstacles.
With awareness of these shortcomings, your child will become more self-motivated to do better. Being responsible for oneself may not be easy for everybody, but when practiced at a younger age, this can make students feel more inspired to exert effort and go beyond the call of duty for self-actualization.
Key Takeaway
Parents, students, and teachers may all be wondering how to learn leadership skills in distance learning. Tahe transition to this type of academic setup has definitely brought up many questions — with learning hard & soft skills being one of them.
Despite these challenges, there are opportunities offered in distance learning that can set the stage for true leadership. Parents must play an important role in this by being proactive in their child’s education.
Children should be shown encouragement to recite in classes, be leaders in group projects, or simply hold themselves accountable. Simple, consistent practice of these techniques may just be the key to achieving student leaders in this new learning environment.
