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Either side of the sweet spot is chaos. At the start of the period, everyone is transitioning (mentally and sometimes physically) into and out of the classroom. There are tasks demanding my immediate attention–attendance, set-up, class management, individual explanations, excuses, questions and sometimes just a need for my attention. At the end of the period there is more chaos as studenst need to complete daily tasks and transition to cleaning up. Sometimes they need considerable coaxing to shift and there are questions and concerns aplenty.
How much time we spend in the sweet spot is determined partly by the length of the periods of chaos. The activities at the start and end of class aren’t unnecessary, but I do have a notion that with a little innovation I might be able to minimize the time taken away from the sweet spot.
Therefore, I have a goal to make better use of the middle of class time for learning activities. My action plan will focus on students’ transitional experiences and activities in the classroom i.e. the first and last ten minutes of class time.
My plan is to target my Grade 7 and 8 studenst and create an effective, transparent, intuitive process that will help them routinely and independently navigate the complex start up, clean up, hand-in and preparation activities and tasks in my visual art classroom, no matter what media is being used.
I’m really excite to see your action plan take shape Robin! Looking forward to hearing about your progress, and I would love any feedback on what works in your classroom 🙂
Hi Jenny!
Thanks for your reply. I just found this today (of all days) and I am very grateful for your positive energy in your response. I will fill you in with my adventures in person.
R
Robin,
Your action plan is something that will surely be replicated by many teachers around you. Your focus on the small details will have a large impact on your students. I can only imagine how intensified the first and last 10 minutes are in an art classroom where students have many materials and products to work with. We all look forward to seeing what you develop!
Thanks for sharing,
Leslie
This is a great topic for an action plan, Robin. It’s one that we all grapple with, regardless of course or subject. Teachers are always looking for ways to better maximize/leverage student time in the classroom. Hopefully some of the ideas that came out of our first F2F (an exposure to design thinking: how to leverage the first 5 min of class) will be of some use.
Hi Robin,
Great use of an action plan – I love the flow and sweet spot you’re describing! @timrollwagen used an entry and exit card where students set goals and reflected on these at the end class using Forms http://cohort21.com/timrollwagen/2015/01/16/personalizing-the-impossible-through-pbl/ @lmcbeth is a good person to talk to and I will be using Forms more as I explore redefining assessment in my courses for my own action plan. Thanks for this, you blogging about this experience is going to be very helpful to so many teachers! Have you read this? http://www.edutopia.org/blog/first-five-minutes-richard-curwin
Richard Curwin on the First Five minutes–great article! Thanks
Classroom routines are soooo necessary! I think I was better at them when I taught middle school, but your post is a reminder to me that my grade 9 and 10 students would benefit from a few more start/end of class routines as well.
Would a reward system work in your class? Setup/cleanup with some kind of accountability… and a big carrot to keep them motivated (because habit-forming is hard work!) Remind me to tell you on Friday about my system at home with my own kids – perhaps you can adapt it for the classroom!