professional inquiry project, Spring 2016
The education faculty stresses the importance of teachers building relationships with students. It's frequently recommended that teachers not even start delivering curriculum until they've taken a few days — a week even — to get to know the individuals on their classlist. My PSIII is in a school that operates under the quarter system. Quarter 3, my quarter, consisted of 38 instructional days, so teaching time was valuable. With five English language arts units to cover, I felt the time crunch on Day 1. I looked online for ideas to arrange the physical setup of my classroom in a way that promotes a positive learning environment (hello, meme wall), and brain break strategies that would help students mix and mingle without sacrificing instructional time.
Teacher blogs, school websites, Pinterest, and other PIP websites offer plenty of fun icebreaker strategies that are ideal ways to help people get to know one another. These activities can also be designed to get students acquainted with course content and expectations. An added benefit is that these get-to-know-you activities help create a relaxed environment where students share ideas more freely, and participate more fully in the course.
Who says icebreakers can only be used on the first day? Using them throughout the course helps prepare students for collaborative group work, and encourages students to share ownership for the learning environment of the class.
In the quarter system, students attend two 80-minute blocks with an eight-minute break in between. Yes, instructional time feels like it’s in short supply, but research shows that students should have a kinesthetic brain break every 25-30 minutes. Brain break activities take about 1-3 minutes of class time to complete, but the efficiency of students skyrockets after, so it’s time well spent. I never had to justify a “game” to my administration. They acknowledge that students can’t work for 80 straight minutes, and encourage these types of breaks.
Don’t be afraid to participate alongside students. It shows them you’re part of the community. Again, teacher blogs, school website, Pinterest and other PIP websites are great resources for suggestions. Keep a brain-break list handy and throw one into your lesson plan. Gauge your students. You may not use it that day, and that’s OK. It’s just nice to have on those days students’ energy levels are low.
I believe brain breaks are a quick and effective tool to improve students’ concentration and relieve stress. After a quiz, with 100 minutes of instructional time remaining, I launched a quick brain break and saw students shift gears. They were suddenly settled and ready to learn. However, next time I’d explain the purpose so students understand that brain breaks are researched-based and scientifically proven to be effective. In my course evaluation, some students recommended “less games.” My mentor teacher suggested some students in the academic stream are driven to work, and would see brain breaks as a “waste of time.” On the other hand, every student left this classroom knowing their peers’ names. They came in as strangers on Day 1, but would voluntarily work with each other during group work early in the quarter. To me, that indicates success.
Teacher blogs, school websites, Pinterest, and other PIP websites offer plenty of fun icebreaker strategies that are ideal ways to help people get to know one another. These activities can also be designed to get students acquainted with course content and expectations. An added benefit is that these get-to-know-you activities help create a relaxed environment where students share ideas more freely, and participate more fully in the course.
Who says icebreakers can only be used on the first day? Using them throughout the course helps prepare students for collaborative group work, and encourages students to share ownership for the learning environment of the class.
In the quarter system, students attend two 80-minute blocks with an eight-minute break in between. Yes, instructional time feels like it’s in short supply, but research shows that students should have a kinesthetic brain break every 25-30 minutes. Brain break activities take about 1-3 minutes of class time to complete, but the efficiency of students skyrockets after, so it’s time well spent. I never had to justify a “game” to my administration. They acknowledge that students can’t work for 80 straight minutes, and encourage these types of breaks.
Don’t be afraid to participate alongside students. It shows them you’re part of the community. Again, teacher blogs, school website, Pinterest and other PIP websites are great resources for suggestions. Keep a brain-break list handy and throw one into your lesson plan. Gauge your students. You may not use it that day, and that’s OK. It’s just nice to have on those days students’ energy levels are low.
I believe brain breaks are a quick and effective tool to improve students’ concentration and relieve stress. After a quiz, with 100 minutes of instructional time remaining, I launched a quick brain break and saw students shift gears. They were suddenly settled and ready to learn. However, next time I’d explain the purpose so students understand that brain breaks are researched-based and scientifically proven to be effective. In my course evaluation, some students recommended “less games.” My mentor teacher suggested some students in the academic stream are driven to work, and would see brain breaks as a “waste of time.” On the other hand, every student left this classroom knowing their peers’ names. They came in as strangers on Day 1, but would voluntarily work with each other during group work early in the quarter. To me, that indicates success.