Jennifer: All-or-Nothing Teaching

When I first began teaching, I thought I would lose 15 pounds the first week. I figured I was getting enough exercise with all that moving around, so I put the gym off to the side and would only go when I could devote a full hour. Even if I had 30 minutes, I would just say “I’ll go when I can get a real workout” and again delay my gym date.

The result of my “all or nothing” attitude was actually an EXTRA 10 pounds by the end of the year. No joke. I am writing about this not to drum up support for my love of anything baked—especially  chocolate chip cookies—or in hopes of finding someone to commiserate with, but because I have recently found that the “all or nothing” approach that was so detrimental to my exercise habits has recently snuck its way into my teaching as well.

At the end of each week, I review the lessons that were planned and those that were never completed. I recently discovered that the list of lessons completed was much shorter than that of those waiting to be learned. At first I just thought it was because we move at a much slower pace . . . but I feel like that perspective essentially blames the students for how far we get. My students go at the pace that I set, move to the schedule I have put together. The problem was not in their learning needs, but rather in the fact that I would only teach certain subjects if we had at least a full 40 minutes to dedicate to them.

Our class schedule is blocked off in increments of 40 minutes that start with Goals/Communication, Language Arts, Math, and then Science and Social Science if we have time. Considering that each subject involves a class lesson (15 min.) and then modified independent work (25 min.) that requires the use of switch access and modified mouse/keyboards to complete, we usually go over the 40 minutes so that everyone can get their work done.

By the time we get to Science and Social Science, I typically look at the clock, see that we only have 25 minutes until lunch, and feel that we don’t have enough time to learn something new, so we do reading groups or daily review instead. It occurred to me that if I don’t break my “blocking” mentality, I will never expose my students to all of the subjects and lessons they require and are entitled to.

So I looked for times when I could sneak in lessons without detracting from their main goals. For example, our school has “Words of Wisdom,” where every week we are given a different quote to reflect on and discuss. I started taking time in the morning to also include biographies on the quoted individuals and connect the ideas to our social studies.

Instead of having “Communication Time,” during which the students are given conversation topics so they can practice using their communication devices, I started putting science and math word problems up on the board for them to solve in pairs. This has actually helped my students’ comprehension by encouraging them to speak more and initiate conversation. Math is not necessarily their favorite subject, so this week I’m starting to use math riddles with pictures and have a competition to see which team gets it first.

For our restroom/getting settled time after recess, I started taking our huge science lessons and breaking them down into one-step building blocks that we would discuss and then complete a short activity on. For example, we are learning about cells right now, but the textbook throws so many concepts and new vocabulary at my students (whose science background is not necessarily consistent) that I am literally breaking the whole chapter down into 10-to-15 minutes lessons that can be built upon and completed whenever we get a small chunk of time. I am also doing this for our social studies.

I have found that these little chunks are great transition tools because I can conduct oral quizzes and see what my students remember, and they participate like it’s a little game. I’m sure I’ll come up with new ideas of how to fit more into our schedule, but this was a start.

This last week was the first time we really tried out this whole “sneaking in curriculum” thing. But by the end, my students had reached all curriculum areas and retained more information than in previous weeks. The flow of the class was also more relaxed because we weren’t just jumping from one block of information to the next. I think learning is easier to incorporate and feels more “natural” when it isn’t so regimented. Just like with exercise, I think showing my students that even a little bit goes a long way will help them maintain a healthy outlook toward learning overall.

Comments

[Heather Holguin]

I am a first year resource teacher and I am expected to teach my children the grade level standards. Time constraints are huge issues for me because many of my students work at a slower pace too and I can never seem to get everything in. I also feel pressured to stay on pace with the grade level. I love how you are teaching across the curriculum and incorporating science and math into communication time. This is an effective way to expose students to all areas of academics and the more connections that are made,the more likely they are to remember what they learned. Thanks for the idea!

[Jennifer]

I wish there was a way I could email some of you! Mary...my biggest suggestion would be to put a lot of effort into establishing communication and organization. As long as every student has a voice and the classroom team knows what to expect and you have open understanding and frequent communication (and you all share and understand the overall workings and processes of the classroom) all the flexibility can really take place! I have a checklist of things that really helped me including different schedule ideas and quick go-to lesson plans that helped me out in a pinch that I would love to get to you if I could figure out a way!!

Good luck with everything and keep notes...no need to be nervous, that's the best way to learn is to jump right in there and be open to the possibilities :)

[Krystiab]

I'm a resource teacher and I too find that I have a long list of lesson that are incomplete and have trouble finding time to complete them so I can relate. I love how you have changed your method of instruction so that your students are more interested about what they are learning especially with the math riddles, that was a great idea. Keep up the good work!

[Mary Frances Freeman]

I currently back in school to finish my teaching license in special education. I really like the way that you have turned your class around to what best suits the children. I have not been in the classroom since 2003 when I graduated with my undergraduate degree and was not in a special education class room then. I am sure time management can be a problem area for anyone teaching special education. We want our students to really grasp what we are teaching them and this could take longer than in a regular classroom. I really enjoy reading your posts because you put it out there so that some of us can really imagine what it is like in the classroom. I need this! But you always find new ways to do lessons and really help people like me not be scared to try new things.

I have just started back this semester. Do you have any suggestions as what I should really focus on and make sure that I really understand before I get out there on my own?

[Jennifer]

Thanks Penny!

[Penny]

You might like the ideas in Carol Barnier's book, "The Big What Now Book of Learning Styles" -- she's AWESOME.