One Utah team is trying to make it easier for parents to help their kids cope with the stresses of the pandemic.
The Behavior Response Support Team, or BRST gives families tools for dealing with the challenges of remote learning. They’re producing short videos with tips for dealing with things like kids' boredom or how to organize their school schedule.
Aaron Fisher is co-director of BRST, which is a collaboration between the University of Utah’s Department of Educational Psychology and the Granite School District.
“I think the really cool thing that we can do is be responsive,” said Fisher. "There's going to be unforeseen things that happened this year, with the school year and and I think we can be responsive when we hear many people are experiencing these things, let's create a video for that.”
Fisher said this project for parents and teachers is really a product of the pandemic.
“We didn't really see people getting evidence based practices and really effective skills out to people in just creative ways. And this was something that I think we came about through trying to innovate during this really strange time,” he said.
University of Utah students are creating the one minute videos, which are being translated into seven languages to reach some of the many non-English speaking families in the school district.
Fisher said he hopes the resources developed by the team ease the burden teachers and parents are facing.
“I hope that people can find value because it's a tough time. It really is. And I think everyone doesn't always have all the answers. So it's nice to lean on others when we can,” said Fisher.
The Behavior Response Support Team can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
