.png){kind=logo}
Trial Classes
Every student will complete a trial class before signing up for ClassUp. It is a chance for students and parents to meet with their assigned teacher, use our platform, learn about our Personalized Learning Plans, and to decide if ClassUp and their teacher is the right fit for them. To help our teachers with improving student sign ups and decrease class preparation time, we have ClassUp materials and a structure that you will follow in class.
Trial Class Structure
Introduction
(Minutes 0-5)
A quick introduction about yourself, using your ClassUp Introduction Slides to help guide the conversation.
Instruction
(Minutes 10-45)
Teach your lesson! You must use the materials that ClassUp provided for you on the Materials tab of your Classroom. If there aren't any pre-selected topics, you may use materials that you selected yourself for today's class. Be sure to minimize dead airtime and engage the student frequently!
Assessment Review
(Minutes 5-10)
A quick review of your student's Assessment results, using them to plan out topics for the day's lesson and emphasize key learning goals.
Parent Feedback
(Minutes 45-50)
Wrap up your lesson with some feedback for the student and parents. Make sure to emphasize today's progress and mention some plans for the next lesson! Please refer to the new student goal report to guide this conversation.
Introduction
(Minutes 0-5)
In the first 5 minutes of the trial you will:
-
Introduce yourself using the Intro Slides, highlighting your teaching experience and education
-
Have the student introduce themself, using ice breaker questions
-
Review the student's learning need
The goal of the first 5 minutes of a trial class is to build rapport with the student and make them feel comfortable in this new learning environment.
Tips: Avoid spending more than 5 minutes on the introduction - you'd need ~40 minutes of instruction time to go through the ClassUp lesson material.
Assessment Review
(Minutes 5-10)
After introducing yourself and having the student introduce themselves you will review their Assessment. The student's assessment results will automatically upload into the class materials once completed. If they do not complete the assessment then the default assessment results will upload 30 minutes prior to the start of class.
While reviewing the results you can highlight their areas for improvement and the areas they excelled at. You don't need to review every question with them and focus more on the topics and skills to transition into the lesson topic for the day.
Instruction
Minutes (10-45)
Before the trial lesson, the student will complete an assessment to see what level they are currently at. Depending on the results, corresponding trial class materials will then automatically upload into the materials section of the class. You'll spend a majority of the lesson going through these materials with the student and helping them meet the Learning Goals.
Here a few things to keep in mind during instruction:
Dos:
-
Look over the materials ahead of time
-
Follow the Personalized Learning Plan Topic
-
Encourage the student to write on the platform's whiteboard
-
Assess and take note of the student's performance throughout to then use as feedback for the parents
-
Use a digital writing device like a tablet or writing pad
-
Be in a quiet, private, and professional environment
Don'ts:
-
Dead time of more than 5 minutes with out any teacher instruction
-
Off topic chatting
-
Have the student doing a majority their work off-screen
-
Not follow the Personalized Learning Plan topic
-
Eat or drink during the lesson
-
Text or use your phone
-
Give personal contact information to the student or parent
-
Attend class from a car, cafe, airport, or other noisy public environment
Parent Feedback
Towards the end of your trial class the Educational Consultant for that student will return to the classroom. After you have concluded the instruction with the student they will ask the parent to rejoin the class so you can go through some feedback with them. This is the most important part of the trial as the parents are looking for your expertise and guidance. They may be trying to decide if their student really needs tutoring at all or are deciding between ClassUp and other services. This is the perfect opportunity to show the parent how you will be able to help their child.
The feedback you provide should be specific and honest. It is important to be honest about any areas the student struggled with, otherwise the parent might decide the student doesn't need tutoring since the feedback from class is overly positive. You will then pull up the Student Goal Report and review it with the parent. This is automatically uploaded into the classroom and includes the student's assessment results, and plan for the next 12 weeks. You should highlight their weaker areas and how you will be able to help them improve. Being able to display their value as an educator is something our most successful tutors do well.
In the automatically uploaded materials you will find an End of Class Review attachment. This is a great format to follow when speaking with parents and makes it easy to give parents all of the information they commonly ask for.
