Making Better Use of Instructional Time
Karen McCay
11 January 2017
To ensure that we make the most of our time each day, we need to plan for that time. First, we need to plan for bell-to-bell instruction (and honestly, we might need to plan for a few extra chunks each day because of advanced learners). Second, we should directly teach students our behavior expectations, and we should address behavior because it hurts learning. If we are planning as teachers and administrators to use the time we have with every student (and every staff member) every day, then we’ll make the MOST of that time.
Bell-to-Bell Instruction
In one of my first education courses over twenty years ago, our professor told us to have a specific structure for how class would start and how it would end every day (first and last ten minutes) and to teach the students that structure. No other piece of advice has helped me more. Students are calm and ready to learn when they know how to enter a room and get to work. Successful classrooms run with this sort of structure, and the first week of school should have one goal: teach kids to expect this structure, comply with this structure, and continue to do so every day. We don’t want to focus only on the first and last ten minutes, of course. We need to teach our kids how a normal day in our room will run and how to transition between each activity so they don’t lose time transitioning slowly. Amanda Smith (2012) has great advice on this matter:
Karen McCay
11 January 2017
To ensure that we make the most of our time each day, we need to plan for that time. First, we need to plan for bell-to-bell instruction (and honestly, we might need to plan for a few extra chunks each day because of advanced learners). Second, we should directly teach students our behavior expectations, and we should address behavior because it hurts learning. If we are planning as teachers and administrators to use the time we have with every student (and every staff member) every day, then we’ll make the MOST of that time.
Bell-to-Bell Instruction
In one of my first education courses over twenty years ago, our professor told us to have a specific structure for how class would start and how it would end every day (first and last ten minutes) and to teach the students that structure. No other piece of advice has helped me more. Students are calm and ready to learn when they know how to enter a room and get to work. Successful classrooms run with this sort of structure, and the first week of school should have one goal: teach kids to expect this structure, comply with this structure, and continue to do so every day. We don’t want to focus only on the first and last ten minutes, of course. We need to teach our kids how a normal day in our room will run and how to transition between each activity so they don’t lose time transitioning slowly. Amanda Smith (2012) has great advice on this matter:
“Another factor is how well your students handle transitions between activities. These might include going from one activity to the next within a single class period, moving from class to class in secondary settings, or from the classroom to recess or lunch. This will take practice not only for the students, but the teacher as well. My personal rule is to spend a good amount of time within the first two weeks of school setting clear expectations and practicing transitions with the students, which will ultimately make the rest of your school year much smoother for everyone. For example, I have my students practice lining up in the hallway outside the classroom door, and then come in and sit down quietly. As soon as they master this, I show them how to submit homework items into the basket as they enter, then sit down quietly. You can continue to work on building these procedures for morning activities, such as going to the carpet to do the daily calendar, or washing their hands before they go out to lunch. The more they practice simple procedures and transitions, the better their classroom behavior will be, which frees up valuable time to be used with more effectively.”
When we follow the structure, the first ten minutes of the hour are quiet and focused on learning. Teachers can take roll while kids answer a quick write or focus question about their learning goal or do some sort of anticipatory set, which they know to do every day. My students do theirs electronically in the Google Classroom, and their directions for the primary learning activities for the day are also in the Google Classroom so they can read ahead if they finish quickly. Confused and tardy students know to ask for additional help without disrupting other working students. Nothing hurts or impedes the learning of others during this time. When we are ready to work together, we move quickly and transition through our daily activities without wasting precious time because we have practiced doing so. The end of the hour is similar. A reflection question asks students to go back to their learning objectives and review what they achieved during the lesson. As they answer their question, they can also look ahead to tomorrow’s lesson, ask questions for additional help, and turn in late work electronically so they aren’t hurting the learning of others. This structure is in place to ensure that constant learning continues from bell-to-bell even while students ask unique questions about their own learning needs.
Teach Behavior Expectations
Another concept teachers should explicitly teach is behavior. The Pearson Education Development Group suggests direct instruction of positive behavior for all students: “Make sure that students know what you expect of them. The classroom rules you present should be positive, specific and concise. You may wish to post them in the classroom or distribute them for students to sign. You should also spell out what will happen if students do not meet expectations” (2000). If we flat-out tell students what we want, they will meet our expectations most of the time. When they don’t, we only need to stop, ask them to change their behavior so we can keep learning, and they will generally comply because they are upset by the idea that their misbehavior might hurt someone else’s learning. If we are warm but demanding as Goodwin and Hubbell (2013) suggest, we will rarely have a student push past the first warning--because few people want to be guilty of impeding the education of others.
For Administrators
Usually, good leadership is similar to good teaching, and these same strategies can help principals guide the entire building through a successful year. Principals should have a schedule in place and follow it. Principals often have disciplinary and extracurricular emergencies, which can’t be scheduled, but when they have regular activities, they should feel free to articulate those activities to their staff members. Furthermore, principals should establish a teacher appointment spreadsheet in Google Sheets or a similar software program, which is shared with the staff, so teachers can sign up for appointments to address their concerns with their administrators when they have open windows for them. If principals had a shared document for staff-only and allotted other time for parents-only, then they would have less scheduling conflicts between their two primary stakeholders. As long as they could accommodate one another’s schedules for regular admin meetings, they would feel less stress and have a more structured day, which their teachers could anticipate and follow with regularity. Another scheduling issue principals could communicate more effectively would be changed schedules. As long as teachers know when a schedule has to be changed ahead of time, they rarely complain. A quick email about upcoming half days, trainings, testing, etc, can ensure that all stakeholders have timely information and less stress. Once again, good leadership is no different than good teaching--it’s just juggling a different set of balls, and if you can juggle, then you can learn to juggle anything.
More Resources:
Several Strategy Videos on Bell-to-Bell Instruction
An Excellent Video on Improving Transition Time
A Great Resource on Preventative Behavior Instruction
Back to Best Practices
Back to Relationship Teaching Home Page
References
Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. J. (2012). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Positive Classroom Behavior: Advice for Teachers (Grades K-12). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from https://www.teachervision.com/classroom-management/positive-classroom-behavior
Smith, A. L. (2012, September 04). Teaching Tips for New Teachers: The Importance of Bell-to-Bell Instruction (Classroom Science). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from http://www.classroomscience.org/teaching-tips-for-new-teachers-the-importance-of-bell-to-bell-instruction