How do I keep students engaged during longer class periods?
For 28 years I taught the typical 45-50 minute art class. It was a comfortable routine, 5 minutes to set up, 30 minutes to work, and 10 to clean up. Closure and check-ins were quick if present at all, but I made it work. The public school lessons on this blog from 2014 through 2018 are all from this time format. However, I also taught a summer camp, for ages 7 though 16, a program with 3 hour classes, divided into 90-minute sessions with a break in-between.
When I "retired" early from New Jersey to move to North Carolina, my new school was already on block scheduling on 90-minute classes. Instead of teaching 6 classes a day, I would teach 3 daily. Instead of a year long, they were now high school semester courses. Having experienced both, I like the longer classes, but sometimes students can distract themselves and actually get less done over similar spans of time.
This post was inspired by the following question posed on Facebook. I have removed the person's name.
When I "retired" early from New Jersey to move to North Carolina, my new school was already on block scheduling on 90-minute classes. Instead of teaching 6 classes a day, I would teach 3 daily. Instead of a year long, they were now high school semester courses. Having experienced both, I like the longer classes, but sometimes students can distract themselves and actually get less done over similar spans of time.
This post was inspired by the following question posed on Facebook. I have removed the person's name.
90 minutes can be a bit overwhelming but when it is broken into beginning, middle, and end practices, it becomes more manageable.
Beginning: Every day I reiterate my expectations for our current exploration. This will usually include my learning target, "essential question," and the day's expectations. This will often include a "tip of the day" which can be a technique, samples of similar work by famous artists, a short youtube video, but the first 5 to 10 minutes of every class set the tone for the class. It is only then that students begin their work.
Worktime Part 1: I generally try to circulate at least 1 or 2x during the 1st work period, pausing to give specific feedback to every student. This can be to offer advice on a technique, answer a question, state what they are doing particularly well so they can feel encouraged, etc. I am also taking notes on my laminated seating chart with a dry-erase marker, noting anyone who is off task, chatting instead of working or secretly using their phone. These are added to my STUDIO HABITS grade in my gradebook.
Middle: About 1/2 way through the period I will pause students to share my observations. What is going well, what I have observed might need additional reinforcement, perhaps a moment to peer share and reflect. I may also have a student share something I think the rest of the class can learn from. This helps break up the long period.
Worktime Part 2: I circulate one more time about 20 minutes before I know they will need to clean up. This time I am initially on my project progress sheet what % complete I feel they are for the day. If they are doing their initial sketch it might be at 10-20%. When they are on their final project it will progress from 30-60%. As they near completion, it will surpass 70% but they all know this is a % complete and not a grade. I know students work at different paces. This helps me track individual's day to day progress. So if a student sits at 20% for 3 days, I know they are either lost, or distracted and I can address it.
It also emphasizes to students that I am paying close attention to their daily progress and am holding them accountable. They know that as long as they make progress, (stay on task) they will not fail my assignments no matter their artistic abilities or lack thereof. My grading process can be seen HERE.
Beginning: Every day I reiterate my expectations for our current exploration. This will usually include my learning target, "essential question," and the day's expectations. This will often include a "tip of the day" which can be a technique, samples of similar work by famous artists, a short youtube video, but the first 5 to 10 minutes of every class set the tone for the class. It is only then that students begin their work.
Worktime Part 1: I generally try to circulate at least 1 or 2x during the 1st work period, pausing to give specific feedback to every student. This can be to offer advice on a technique, answer a question, state what they are doing particularly well so they can feel encouraged, etc. I am also taking notes on my laminated seating chart with a dry-erase marker, noting anyone who is off task, chatting instead of working or secretly using their phone. These are added to my STUDIO HABITS grade in my gradebook.
Middle: About 1/2 way through the period I will pause students to share my observations. What is going well, what I have observed might need additional reinforcement, perhaps a moment to peer share and reflect. I may also have a student share something I think the rest of the class can learn from. This helps break up the long period.
Worktime Part 2: I circulate one more time about 20 minutes before I know they will need to clean up. This time I am initially on my project progress sheet what % complete I feel they are for the day. If they are doing their initial sketch it might be at 10-20%. When they are on their final project it will progress from 30-60%. As they near completion, it will surpass 70% but they all know this is a % complete and not a grade. I know students work at different paces. This helps me track individual's day to day progress. So if a student sits at 20% for 3 days, I know they are either lost, or distracted and I can address it.
It also emphasizes to students that I am paying close attention to their daily progress and am holding them accountable. They know that as long as they make progress, (stay on task) they will not fail my assignments no matter their artistic abilities or lack thereof. My grading process can be seen HERE.
| Project Progress Document |
End of period: Depending on the media we use I will give them a 5-minute warning that clean-up will begin soon. I will let them know what I am seeing overall with their progress and what I am expecting next time. This might also include a written post-it note size reflection, or sharing our successes and struggles so I can address them during the next class. I can easily be distracted by the art making that happens in class so I have a schedule posted in the front of my room, and my phone has class timers set to ring 15 minutes before the end of every class.
Setting up a consistent routine is important. If students rush, scaffolding projects into smaller bites can be helpful as I stated in my reply on Facebook. For more advice on the pedagogy of how I teach art, you can read my ebook for free if you have an Amazon account, or purchase a physical copy here: https://amzn.to/3PDQelk
Setting up a consistent routine is important. If students rush, scaffolding projects into smaller bites can be helpful as I stated in my reply on Facebook. For more advice on the pedagogy of how I teach art, you can read my ebook for free if you have an Amazon account, or purchase a physical copy here: https://amzn.to/3PDQelk
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