Happy Friday!
Today, as my MTF and I were reflecting on the days’ lessons, we were torn on a decision we had to make. Our classes have been low energy lately, and we have not been getting much out of the small group or whole class discussions. We know that we need to make some sort of change to the daily classroom structure, but we don’t know if we should make the lessons more routine or add more variety. As my MTF brought up, although education experts claim routine and variety are important to the classroom, these two ideas seem to be at odds with each other…
Routine(s) is the idea that lessons have very similar-to-identical structures, so that students know what is expected of them everyday and are not surprised. For example, starting the day with a “Do Now” slide, a Get to Know You Question, a homework discussion, and then an activity is the typical lesson set up we have been following. However, since it is still early in the year we have only just begun to practice these routines because we have had to handle fire drills, syllabus review, ice breakers, etc. Many experts believe that routines like this can help create a fluid and productive classroom culture. That being said, there is an important distinction between students happily following these routines and merely being compliant. Our hope is that the students agree with an willfully follow these routines as we continue in the school year.
Another important aspect of the classroom is variety. Lessons should not be the same cookie-cutter activities everyday. Everyone learns differently, and different tasks stimulate different areas of the brain, so lessons need to be fresh and new from time to time. We have tried a few different activities in our classroom such as gallery walks and splitting the class into 3 groups to work on separate problems. While we could have implemented these activities more productively, the students seemed to get some enjoyment out of them, and at the very least it got them up and moving.
This brings me to the very question that has my MTF and I stumped: can a classroom have routines and variety? These two ideas are both important and both have their pros and cons, but they are very much at odds with each other. Should we try to drill more routines in the classroom so the students have a better idea of the expectations, or should we keep them guessing everyday with new crazy activities? As is the case with many topics in education, there is a delicate balance between these two ideas. Seeing as this is an idea that my MTF has struggled with for the past few years, it seems like it is not going anywhere anytime soon. That being said, two heads are better than one, and we will be working to fine tune this balance all year long.
Please let me know what you think of these week’s blog and if you have any suggestions or questions! I’d love to hear what others do in their classrooms!