How To Power Up In The Classroom: 12 Days Of Ideas #9

Simple, isn’t it?

I just spent 7 hours in the car driving to Chicago for Christmas.

I got good 7 ½ hours of sleep and felt rested this morning. We even stopped once to pee and eat.

We make that drive several times each year, and regardless of how excited I am by the prospect of seeing family and friends, I always have a moment or two when I get tired and sleepy. Thinking about it now, I realize that it must be because of the hours of sitting, blood flow to the brain restricted. Sitting and seemingly doing nothing. Mind gets stale. Sluggish. Sleepy.

Same thing happens to students in our classroom. Especially toward the end of the day. Most spend the whole class hour sitting. By hour number 6 many are done. Intense mental workout of school is one culprit. Restricted blood flow another.

I know they get 5 minutes of passing time. 55 minutes of sitting follows. I have a strong suspicion 5 minutes is not enough and 55 too long, and because we can’t extend the 5, let’s break up the 55…

Seriously! Structure class activities to promote movement. When classwork calls for a lot of sitting, ask students to stand up and stretch if they’ve been sitting for 20 minutes. Give the brains a break, while stimulating more blood flow to them. If you can get a jumping jack or two out of them, do it. More blood flow will follow.

Think about all the times you feel sluggish and sleepy after prolonged hours of sitting. C'mon. You know what I'm talking about. Now think about how reinvigorated you are after exercising. Right?

I know. Most of us don't teach Gym (BTW: I always dream about it!). Maybe, we can't play ball in our classroom, though I dare you to try it sometime. But, we can stand up and stretch. Take a deep 4 second breath. Air box with the imaginary bad guy in front of you. Do 5 jumping jacks...

30 seconds is all I'm asking. That ain't so bad is it? C'mon homie. POWER UP. Then go back to work reinvigorated.

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

How To Use Constraints To Bring Out Creativity

$16,000 in credit card debt. This is the amount the average American household owes. And the interest compounds not at all in its favor... Clearly, the money constraint associated with household budgeting is not a lesson well learned.

There are many aspects of our personal and professional lives that constraints apply to, and as the world resources continually dwindle, creative problem solving is becoming the number one sought after skill.

So how do we use constraints to teach it? How do we bring out creativity?

Storytelling...

Take a few minutes to describe the picture at the top of this page as thoroughly as possible. DO NOT DARE GO ON UNTIL YOU'VE DONE SO.

Okay...

Now, convey as much of the same information and meaning as possible in 6 words. That's right. Write a 6 word story for the picture above. Be creative! Actually, that last directive was unnecessary. In order to accomplish the task and write your 6 word story, you HAD TO BE CREATIVE. And that's precisely the point...

Or, ask students to record a 15-30 second video comparing and contrasting concepts or describing some topics. The time constraint will get the creative juices going.

Or, ask students to make a detailed diagram of the solar system for example. They can draw anything they want, but can use only a total of 2 words for labels/descriptions.

Or, maybe have them act a concept out.

Games...

Why are games so much fun? Why do kids and adults love playing them? Card, table, video, head, it doesn't matter what kind of a game you're playing, they all have constraints. And, constraints are a big part of what makes them fun!

A 24 second shot clock is used in basketball. Imagine if teams had all the time in the world. They could just dribble the ball around and take the shot at the very end...

In monopoly, you have to be creative with your money as you begin with only so much and can't go buying everything.

Teachers use constraints in MinecraftEdu to foster creative problem solving and make the challenges more fun for their students.

Other video games restrict fuel, ammo, time, movement, space, and other resources. Such constraints can and should be used in education to stimulate creative problem solving.

Breakout EDU is a form of gamification, with time being the biggest constraint. Check out this Facebook group for ideas and resources here.

What are some games you can use in your classroom? How can you use them to foster student creativity?

Projects...

Passion projects are a big idea in education. Genius hour is great. I'll be the first one to say that some projects should be wide open and students should be told that the world is their oyster and they should go to town on them.

But...

I also think it's important to include projects that use realistic constraints to teach students planning with these constraints in mind. After all, every professional project has a budget, time limit, and has to comply with regulations that further restrict it.

And, if students complain the guidelines for the new classroom project are too restrictive, listen, but stand firm, because you know it can be done. Let them struggle. Point out resources. Encourage research and collaboration. Tell them to try out wild and crazy ideas. And then watch them go to town. They will surprise you. They will surprise themselves.

And as they're doing all of the above, there's magic happening in the background. THEY ARE LEARNING CREATIVITY AND OTHER SKILLS THEY WILL NEED WHEREVER THEY GO.

Truth: Creative problem solving is a skill sorely lacking in many students, because traditional education doesn't promote it. We sure talk about it, but often don't make classwork imaginative enough to bring it out in our students. Implementing constraints that challenge students to dig deeper, collaborate, and look for innovative solutions to problems can help with that.

Do It!

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

3 Questions To Ask About Learning In Your School (12 Days of Ideas #7)

Happy Monday Dear Friends!

Today, I'd like us to look at our students and our classroom and reflect. Ask and answer 3 questions about what learning should be like in your school or classroom.

But that is not merely enough. It is important you consider why you answered the way you did. Are your reasons driven by personal preference or what's best for your students? And, whichever way you choose, do you walk that path or just aspire to?

I strongly encourage you to grab a piece of paper or a device, write the questions below down, and answer them as completely as possible. You'll find yourself a better educator upon completion.

Here we go:

1. What's more important: Asking Questions or Knowledge?

2. Should learning look Active and Messy or Calm and Predictable?

3. Should the focus be on Technology or the Human?

The wisdom is in you. Act accordingly.

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

PS. Thanks to Christian Long for inspiring me to look at my practice in this way at #ties16 . I've got work to do.