Teaching Beyond the Bell

Our focus in education is often "between the bells" ... starting class on time, keeping students on task and learning focused throughout the class period, and ending with an assessment on learning. A "bell to bell" perspective is vital because the teaching and learning time is precious, and there is never enough time in a class period to cover everything.

However, a "bell to bell" perspective sometimes develops into a "saved by the bell" perspective, i.e., teachers and students alike breathe a sigh of relief when they hear the bell to end class and both spend little time thinking about the class beyond the bell. However, what a teacher does "beyond the bell" is also a vital part of teaching and learning ... and will improve the learning experience within the class time.

Here are a few things that teachers should be doing "beyond the bell."

Reflecting

Reflection time is such an important part of teaching, but one that rarely happens. Every teacher should spend time (5-10 minutes per class) in reflection after each class; this can happen immediately after the class, during his/her planning time, or at the end of the day. A few topics of reflection are below:

1. Student Engagement -- Were the students engaged in the learning activities the entire time? When did their engagement wane? What percentage of class time were students actively engaged? Were students motivated to learn ... why or why not? How can I motivate my students better at the beginning and throughout the lesson?
2. Students Learning -- Considering the student learning objectives of the lesson, did students learn? How do I know that students learned (formative assessment)? Did I provide an exemplar? Did I provide enough time for students to practice? Do I need to re-teach any part of the lesson? How am I challenging those students who clearly understand so that they do not become bored? How am I supporting those students who clearly do not understand so that they do not become frustrated?  (assumption being that some formative assessment has occurred -- a topic for another blog post)
3. Teacher Performance -- How could I have helped students be more engaged and learn more? Do I need to alter my methods in the future? If I was going to teach this lesson again, would I do anything differently? Did I bring my best to the classroom today ... attitude, preparation, energy? Did I model everything that I ask of my students? Did I speak to each student today? What new, innovative pedagogy have I tried in my classroom this week to help keep me fresh, current, and relevant?
4. Outside Preparation or Resources -- Is there anything that I could've done (by using homework more effectively) to prepare students better for this lesson? Are there outside resources that I could've made available to enrich or support the learning experience?

Assigning

Every classroom learning experience should end well; however, sometimes a class ends with a teacher frantically handing out papers and yelling the assignment to students as they are stuffing their backpacks. Typically, the end of class includes an assignment; homework is a "beyond the bell" student activity that, if done well, can greatly enhance learning.

Homework should be limited and effective. Every assignment should accomplish, at least, one of the following things:

1. Prepare for Learning -- Clearly, homework should prepare students to learn more effectively during the next class time. Often, there is a video clip or article that will provide background support or preparatory information that will help students learn more effectively.
2. Increase Curiosity / Pique Interest -- One of the most powerful characteristics found in successful students is curiosity; foster curiosity in your students through homework. Children are naturally curious, but the traditional educational process often dampens that curiosity. Chose homework assignments that encourage exploration and piques the interest of the student so that they come to school eager to learn.
3. Encourage Reflection / Share Learning -- Reflection is not only an important exercise for teachers, students can greatly benefit from reflecting on the day. This can be an aspect of formative assessment that becomes the student's "entry ticket" into class the next day. An easy way to do this is to have students share what they learned with an adult in their life; this has the additional benefit of promoting parent involvement and parent / student communication. This may be an "easy" homework assignment, but it is an effective tool to solidify the learning from the day.

Preparing

The most time consuming "beyond the bell" activity for a teacher is lesson preparation. Assuming that unit and lesson plans are completed, what should be a teacher's focus from the end of one class period to the next? Here are a few areas to emphasize ...

1. The Hook -- Much has been written about starting well. Focus on the first few minutes of class ... how are you going to engage and motivate students? Is there a quote students can reflect upon? A video clip to watch? A photograph that introduces the lesson effectively?
2. Re-Teaching / Review -- From your reflection on the day, is there anything that needs to be retaught? Should you review a concept or term from a past lesson that may help enhance student learning today?
3. Student Learning Objectives -- Quite simply, spend time focusing on student learning. Take a moment to ask yourself two questions. What is the main thing that you want students to learn? How are you going to know that they learned it?
4. Differentiation -- There are many ways to approach differentiation, but every day a teacher should consider how to teach the same lesson multiple ways. You can use a framework like Multiple Intelligences (which one have you not utilized this unit?), you can focus on achievement levels of your students (how am I going to challenge and support all students?), or you can consider delivery methods (should I lecture or use discovery learning? group work or individual work?). Regardless of the method, differentiation should be a daily consideration in preparing.
5. Assessment -- I can't over-emphasize the importance of formative assessment. Unfortunately, it is not used often enough; fortunately, there are a ton of resources for teachers who want/need to add more formative assessment tools. Essentially, how do you know if/what students learned? Formative assessment can be formal (quiz) or informal (students with a "thumbs-up" symbol when they understand); it could be written (one question exit ticket) or verbal (a question asked to every student); it can be done individually or collaboratively; it can be high-tech or low-tech. Whatever the tool that fits for the teacher/lesson/classroom, it should be done every day.

Escaping

Finally, teachers need to escape "beyond the bell." There is never enough time in the day, and teaching can become all-consuming and exhausting; therefore, it is vital for teachers to escape from school in someway every day. Working until you go to bed is not healthy and you will burn out. Each teacher needs to personally find something that will allow him/her to get away, release stress, and be refreshed for another day.

• Spending quality time with a spouse
• Working out at a gym
• Walking your dog
• Cooking a meal
• Reading a book
• Reflecting on scripture / pray

Do whatever helps you escape, but do something every day so that you are refreshed and energized to start the next day.

Reflecting, Assigning, Preparing, Escaping -- Thinking about how you spend your "beyond the bell" time can help your "between the bell" time be more effective. 

As always, this blog is preaching to myself first, but I hope that these thoughts are helpful as we lead and learn together.