Maximizing Instructional Time in the Classroom
Strategies for Teachers to Maximize Student Learning Time
Strategy: Teaching Classroom Routines by The Classroom Check-In
The Environment: Schedules and Routines
We Drastically Underestimate the Importance of Brain Breaks
Schedules & Routines in the Classroom
Overview
In this resource, you will learn what routines are and how to establish them in your daily schedule, how to decide how much time you spend on a section of your day to increase instructional time, and the importance of including brain breaks throughout the day.
Overview
In this resource, you will learn what routines are and how to establish them in your daily schedule, how to decide how much time you spend on a section of your day to increase instructional time, and the importance of including brain breaks throughout the day.
Sections in this Resource
Overview Establishing Classroom Routines How to Allot Time Appropriately The Importance of Including "Brain Breaks" Conclusion: How This Applies to Educators Bibliography |
Establishing Classroom Routines
As we all know, children are best behaved and enjoy their environment when participating in consistent daily routines. If implemented correctly, routines can "reduce disruptive behavior, therefore maximizing the time spent on instruction," (The Classroom Check-Up, n.d.). Routines should be found throughout all times, from the start of school, in between lessons and activities, and to the end of the school day.
Below is a video by Edutopia that explains the importance of implementing routines in your classroom and discusses how you can continue to improve those routines throughout your teaching career.
Many different types of routines can be implemented throughout the day, such as how students will get to their seats, how they will know what supplies they need, or what they need to do upon entering the classroom. Routines also include the procedures used during transitions between activities or classes. According to the Australian Education Research Organisation (2023b), the best steps to take in teaching routines to students are as follows:
- Introduce the routine and briefly detail your expectations (why and what).
- Model and describe the routine to your students by demonstrating the expected behaviours (I do).
- Provide an opportunity for students to practise the routine with teacher support (we do). Practise the routine until everyone can do it the best they can, acknowledging students who are getting it and supporting those who are not.
- Students complete the routine independently (you do), removing scaffolding from the teacher, as appropriate, and transferring ownership to students.
- Reinforce and maintain the routine consistently through acknowledgment, praise, and practice.
Below is a video posted by The Classroom Nook that reviews these steps on establishing and teaching routines in your classroom.
The Classroom Check-Up (n.d.) also recommends using "visual prompts of the classroom routines" that are always available for students as a reminder of classroom expectations. Additionally, be sure to keep "the steps... developmentally appropriate" for the level you are teaching by having your routines include as few steps as possible. For more information, you can visit this site by clicking this link.
Below are some examples of visual prompts for classroom routines. These can be created digitally and printed or created by hand on poster board.
One recommendation that the Australian Education Research Organisation (2023a) has to ensure that routines are taught and executed most effectively is by "scripting and rehearsing without students present", "practise with students present", and/or "invite a colleague to observe your entrance routine in action."
I also recommend checking out this section of the IRIS Center's module titled "Create a Structured Classroom" discussing types of routine at both the primary and secondary levels.
OER Commons Use
"Classroom Management Resources: User Guide" Australian Education Research Organisation is licensed under CC BY 4.0
How to Allot Time Appropriately
The amount of time we spend on each activity or portion of the day matters—we have to get the timing version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears conundrum. Allowing too much time for a single activity will cause your students to lose focus, which leads to disruptive behaviors and can become a safety concern. Allowing too little time will lead to transitional chaos and, more than likely, your students will not gain anything from the activity. So how do you determine that perfect balance of just enough time?
Below is a video by Let's Teach that introduces the "Ten Plus Two Teaching Strategy". This strategy ensures that students are engaged in the lesson by taking a two-minute discussion break after ten minutes of lecturing.
Another great online resource from The Virtual Lab discusses schedules and routines, including the amount of time found to be developmentally appropriate for school-aged children. You can visit the resource using this link here.
The hardest thing about allotting time for each aspect of your daily schedule is sticking to the time allotted. One recommendation is to have a visual reminder for both you and your students of the daily schedule and the times they are meant to happen. Below is an example of a classroom schedule and the times each activity or section of class should begin.
As we will discuss in the next section of this resource, taking time to allow children to decompress is often forgotten in our daily schedule. Ultimately, however, children need time to take a break from constant working to better achieve their academic and personal goals.
Included in this section (see resources) are a couple of links to some other outside resources that were not directly discussed in this section but contain great information on improving instructional time.
The Importance of Including "Brain Breaks"
Most adults think that when students are in school, their only job is to learn. While students do have to learn, we need to make sure that we are taking appropriate steps to make sure that students are taken care of mentally. Not only do brain breaks help students retain information, but it also allows them to recharge their brains (Terada, 2022).
Adding brain breaks into your classroom schedule doesn’t mean taking up time from other things. Brain breaks can be quick and still effective. You can find videos on YouTube to play for the students to follow along. These videos can have anything from jumping, stretching, or dancing. All of these movements are going to get your students moving and active for a few minutes. Here are some examples of brain breaks that can be used in the classroom:
When is it a good time to have a brain break?
Before going to sit on the rug/carpet
After quiet time or independent work
After learning new information or a new concept
Conclusion: How This Applies to Educators
Creating, establishing, and maintaining classroom schedules and routines can greatly impact your classroom environment. Ultimately, having a consistent schedule will keep your students safe and keep your classroom from bursting into complete chaos!
In this resource, we discussed the following topics:
- What a routine is and how it impacts your overall classroom schedule
- How to establish routines with demonstrations and practice
- Methods of maintaining consistency of routines using visual reminders
- How to determine how much time to spend on an activity
- The importance of including brain breaks throughout the day
- Examples of classroom-friendly brain break videos
- When your students may need an emergency brain break
One of the biggest reasons a teacher's classroom management may not be working is the lack of a consistent routine that students have had the opportunity to learn and implement, as well as a lack of visual reminders of those routines. Students also tend to get "antsy" after sitting in class, and allowing them to participate in brain breaks will increase the likeliness of disruptive behaviors during instruction.
Bibliography
Australian Education Research Organisation. (2023a). Classroom management practice guide: Entrance routine. OER Commons. Retrieved from https://oercommons.org/courses/classroom-management-resources-user-guide.
Australian Education Research Organisation. (2023b). Teaching routines: Their role in classroom management. Australian Education Research Organisation. Retrieved from https://www.edresearch.edu.au/summaries-explainers/explainers/teaching-routines-their-role-classroom-management.
Terada, Y. (2022). We drastically underestimate the importance of brain breaks. Edutopia. Retrieved in April 2024 from https://www.edutopia.org/article/we-drastically-underestimate-importance-brain-breaks/.
The Classroom Check-Up. (n.d.). Strategy: Teaching classroom routines. The Classroom Check-Up. Retrieved in April 2024 from https://classroomcheckup.org/teaching-classroom-routines/.