3 ways families can support students’ learning at home

For parents and caregivers, supporting your child’s learning can be stressful. Academic concepts are taught differently than they used to be. In addition, we’re all grappling with a scarcity of time and juggling competing priorities. It is hard to keep up–especially if you don’t have the resources to do so.

At Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School, we recognize that part of supporting students’ success is supporting families. Research shows students who have families engaged in their learning are more likely to attend school regularly, have improved social skills and behavior, and achieve high levels of academic performance.

One of our goals is to build the capacity of our families to make supporting their child’s learning as easy and accessible as possible. For example, we offer family coffee chats and family workshops that provide practical strategies and ways to support their own mental health and wellbeing—as well as their children’s.

Here are three strategies that have resonated with our families:

1. Try “learning by teaching”

You don’t need to be a content expert to support your children’s learning. A unique approach is to allow students to be the teachers. “Learning by teaching” (also known as the protégé effect) is a simple yet underused learning strategy that has proven results. Research shows that when students teach a concept, they develop a deeper and more persistent understanding of the material. This is a wonderful way for parents to reinforce what their child is learning in the classroom into their daily after-school routine.

We partnered with nonprofit PowerMyLearning to bring this strategy to life through their Family Playlists innovation. The organization also recently launched this free collection of K-8 activities for families who want to test “learning by teaching” at home.