Teachers: Do You Stop At Good?

A week before Christmas break, I planned to give my web page design class a small break from coding websites. I believe as a teacher that content is extremely important but it is also important to give your students skills that they can take when they leave school into the workforce.

The plan was to do a leadership activity where students reviewed  several definitions of what leadership means and why it is important. From the definitions they found, they were to create their own definition of leadership and put it on the board. We were to share them and move onto continuing to build our websites.

I had only allocated 15 minutes for this activity but it turned into the most phenomenal class discussion on leadership. Students were fascinated with all the different definitions of what it means to be a leader. It was interesting to see and hear that each student had a different view of what leadership meant and all were right! We talked about whether leaders are made or born. We discussed what characteristics great and bad leaders have and whether there is a difference between being a manager and a leader. Students brought up good and bad leaders in history and we discussed what made them great. Lastly, each student went around and shared one person that has been the most influential leader in their lives. In a class where students primarily work by themselves, the class came to life through energetic, thoughtful, and passionate ideas!

I could have stopped after the 15 minutes and moved onto the next activity but I knew the students were taking every piece of bait I threw at them. How was I to take the food out of the water? A lot of times as teachers we have so much to cover that we can't stop and have an engaging conversation for most of a class. Through this activity, I saw the passion in my students eyes. They were hungry for more and as a teacher, what else can you ask for? I didn't intent for this to take the whole class but sometimes as a teacher you can't stop when it is good...you just have to let it happen because it is challenging to gain most or all students interests. When you do, you have to make it count!

-RD

How Do You Start Class?

At this point in the school year, students know your teaching style and routine. They have a certain expectation that you have set as an educator when they walk through your doors. Some teachers start class with a question, some have students complete a warm-up, some use QR codes, and some simply jump right into the lesson. Depending on what you teach, these can be all great ways to start a class/lesson. I wanted to share some things that I do daily in which I feel have been fun for the students and get their minds ready to learn.

1. First, I have my objectives, warm-up, and procedure on the projector screen for the students. They know to look their first before doing anything.

2. As students are beginning the warm-up or logging into Blackboard, I have a joke ready for them. As dumb as my jokes may be, they get the students smiling which can be hard to do for many students in high school. CLICK HERE for a great resource of jokes for teachers!

3. I usually give them 2-3 "fun facts" of the day. Even at the high school level students are amazed to know that "2 million videos are added to YouTube everyday." I get my facts from Uber-Facts.com. Note: Most are clean facts but some can be inappropriate. Just be careful what you share!

4. Lastly before we jump into the lesson, I will show them 2-3 of the top headlines from USA Today, Mashable, CNN, or Forbes. Sometimes it is a short video clip, info-graphic, interesting tech news, etc. As much as our students live on their phones and social media, it amazes me how little they know about what goes on outside of their bubble they call school. Usually these will spark some lively discussions.

All of this takes only 3-5 minutes but to me it is extremely worth it. Some will argue that I am wasting several valuable minutes of instruction time. I will argue back that I am prepping the brain to maximum learning. By capturing students attention in the beginning of class, I have them ready to engage, collaborate, and learn. 

What are some ways you get your class going and ready to kick butt? Would love to hear some new ideas! Thanks.

-RD