https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fwwr0kM32XPCNHFnv0W3-vgszmoXHU7DFnIeuO1nFaE/edit
Timothy; Simon; Hakan; Sabahat: High School (Grades 9-12)
Module 4 Unit 3
Transition Brainstorm Sheet
Transitions to/from Group Work Announce purpose and steps of activity in clear manner No instructions until class is quiet and ready to receive them Relate activity to prior and/or future learning as necessary Allow for clarificatory questions from students Grouping/mixing students quickly and efficiently, e.g. ‘apples, oranges and pears; apples, oranges and pears’, etc, ‘1, 2 and 3; 1, 2 and 3’, etc. Moving desks can benefit from rehearsal (so that students know what to expect) Announcing time allocation and displaying countdown on board Using a hand signal to demonstrate how many minutes are left Rehearsing/Assigning roles within each group: e.g scribe; timekeeper; meeting leader (keeping everyone on task) Rehearsing/modelling conflict resolution (when disagreements arise during group work) End of group work: using a timer (or for any activity aside from the main lesson) Giving a 2-minute/5-minute/similar “warning” before the time’s up Using music to indicate changes/beginning or end of group work Switching one of the class lights off and on briefly
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Coming to Class Late
Knocking before entering the room Late-slip from the HS Office (student takes a seat quietly) If it’s group work: ask the student to consult her/his peers to see what s/he needs to do If it’s individual work: teacher explains the task to the student (one-on-one, quietly, so as not to disturb the other students in the class)
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Transition from one Activity to Another
Visual & Verbal Instructions to Move between Activities: In order to move from one activity to another, for example, to a formal quiz, the teacher can use the phrase “Pay attention now for the quiz.” Along with the phrase, the teacher can display a slide “Quiz Time.” The slide tells the total quiz time and tools that students should have ready in 1-2 minutes to start the quiz. Along with the picture, we can provide verbal instructions as well. This approach is effective for 3 reasons. First, as soon as the slide changes, the students get attentive to move to the next activity. Secondly, for special needs students, this approach provides an opportunity for different kinds of instruction. For instance, students with hearing or sight impairment can be instructed at the same time. Thirdly, if any student is on a restroom break or has missed instruction for some reason, he/she will not have to ask questions on what is going on as everything is on the multimedia side. This saves time spent on restating the instruction and the transition is smoother.
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Bathroom Transitions
Previously agreed-upon signalling for bathroom request (i.e, non-verbal to minimize interruption) Signals can be 1 finger for the bathroom; 2 for pencil/pen/paper; 3 for water; 4 for emergency; 5 to ask lecture-related questions. This again makes transitions smoother as students communicate without speaking and distracting others. Some schools may use a “bathroom pass” that can be used a specific number of times over the course of the day. Sometimes it might just be beneficial to take the first 5 minutes of class to ask if anyone needs to use the restroom before class starts (especially if there’s a test coming up at the beginning of the lesson). Alternatively, familiarise students with classroom rules that are displayed, ‘NO bathroom breaks in first or last 5 minutes of class’.
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Fire/Earthquake Drill
There are scheduled and unscheduled rehearsals for these drills so that students know what to do and where to go. Students to remain with teacher outside in one tight group, so numbers can be counted easily. When the drill is over, it’s best for the teacher to lead the way back to class so that everyone can get started at the same time and there are no stragglers (this could be another time when the teacher could allow 5 minutes for everyone to get a drink or water or go to the bathroom so that any additional disruptions can be minimized).
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Classroom Visitor Transition
Establish a welcome routine or class greeting for planned visitors and also a “thank you” routine for when a visitor is leaving the class. To minimize disruption, the class should be prepared to receive the visitor (should know about the visitor beforehand, so that they are ready to greet him/her and get started).
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If class ends early because of an assembly/other school event
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Clean-up Transition
1 minute/30-secs before the end of class, asking students to push in their chairs/throw away their trash For HS students, there’s not much in the way of clean-up, so just a reminder not to leave anything behind in the classroom may be sufficient At the end of any experimental type group activity, set a timer to complete the cleaning in groups. At the stop of the timer, the groups who completed the clean-up can get 5 minutes break while others get 5 more minutes to clean-up again. (reward/consequence)
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Ending the lesson/instructions for next class
Using a timer, if needed Referring back to lesson aims/summative feedback/Exit ticket Where to find the homework/agenda for the next class/next week (google classroom, etc.)
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Computer/Tablet Transition
At the start of class/welcome a “Did you bring your_______?” question should be posed to confirm the readiness of each student. Have a backup plan for those who are not “ready”. This could be dealt with in a similar fashion to the transition to group work above If students do not have their own devices and use the school’s devices (from a cart. etc), then there should be a common understanding of when to get the laptops, when to put them back (plugging them back in to the power source, etc.) Liaise with school leaders regarding safety/socket availability. Refer students to class rules regarding trip hazards.
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Online classes (how to keep it engaging, interactive, and appropriate)
Ensure student cameras are on and names are displayed in English Refer new or errant students to class rules available on your desktop for sharing Use random student generator application to ensure all students are involved in plenary work Transitions from one part of an online lesson to another - An agenda review at the start of an online lesson is important and can be pinned for independent review at any time by students during the lesson Teacher explains purpose and steps for each activity and allows for questions Countdown to let students know the timing of a move from one part to a new part; a screen effect could be used to signal the actual switch to a new task (and is a chance for an instructor to incorporate some of their personality into a classroom) Using breakout rooms (with a 2-5 minute warning) also creates a noticeable “division” in the day’s lesson Teacher to visit all breakout rooms if possible to ensure students on task The teacher can also signal the next item on the agenda or the next task by using the chat feature in Zoom or Google Meet A be-ready slide at the start: when the online class starts, teachers can keep this slide for an initial 2-3 minutes with a timer. This tells students that they should prepare their virtual learning space and should be ready for attendance. Students greet teachers and peers before the timer completes. A get-organized slide: to move to any activity, the teacher can display this slide telling students what we are going to do and what things they should get ready for within 2-3 minutes. When the time ends, the teacher removes the slide and starts the activity. Building connection between activities: while transitioning it is important that students can link one activity to another. So, the teacher can use phrases like “Now, we have learned a bit about this concept, so we will try a group activity on this next.” Build flexible stages into lesson plan to accommodate early finishers, so they are kept busy
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Any adjustments for students with special needs, learning difficulties, and/or language barriers
Differentiation must be attended to for the particular students in each class - visual learners need a visual cue for repetitive routines so maybe a section of a classroom wall can be devoted to setting out each day’s repetitive tasks. Like most differentiations, this is of benefit to everyone. A set physical or on-line place to find agendas, homework, reminders etc. could be established--for students with physical disabilities (requiring the use of a wheelchair or crutches, in the physical classroom, these items should be accessible and the tables should be set up in a way that someone in a wheelchair can move with ease and reach for class materials from the cupboard/shelves, etc.) Use of multi-sensory strategies: teachers can use both visual and verbal instructions to notify transitions, which helps students with special needs as well. For activities that have a specific time, teachers can have a display timer in the class. Along with this, teachers can verbally communicate the time left to the students. Extra time to complete activities: for activities like quizzes and presentations, teachers can give SEND students extra time to complete. For example, when the quiz ends, special needs students keep solving the quiz. Meanwhile, the teacher collects quizzes from all the other students. Helping them in organizing equipment: teachers can try to prepare necessary equipment, materials, and desks for these students around 5-minutes before the class so that they do not have problems later. The teacher should try to make sure that they have all the paper, pens, notebooks, and tablets ready before starting the lecture. Help Policy: encourage other students to help special needs class fellows in moving to the next activity. For example, if a student has organized his equipment before the organizing time finishes, then he can help classmates to get prepared as well.
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Rewards/Consequences for following or not following the transition routines
Giving students some extra time for a break if they complete the transitions properly (perhaps more appropriate for the younger grades) A whole-class conversation/reminder if students aren’t following the transition routines properly (or, a private conversation with a particular student or two who are not following the transition routines properly) If a student is clearly ignoring the transition expectations, then the teacher would probably address the matter with the student first, and then take his/her concerns to the Principal/parents (if the student was openly defiant, etc.)
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