Listen and Learn

My friend, and colleague, at Walking the Dog has taught 6th-grade English for over 30 years. She's the kind of teacher that rethinks her lessons each year, never relying on what was successful, in years past. Like her, I understand what is good for one group of 6th graders may not be good for another group of 6th graders. 

Besides having a firm grasp of the pedagogy of 6th-grade English she fully understands the developing brain of 12-year-olds. I even took an adolescent development course from her.

So because of all that I always listen up when she shares something new she tried in class. 

Recently she reported on her use of stations in class. This former elementary teacher loves stations, but I was having a hard time seeing how I could use them in class.

"C'mon," she urged, "it's going to be great! You'll see."

I nodded and agreed to try but definitely dragged my feet a bit on implementation.

Eventually, I decided to jump right in.  I mean, I didn't want my friend to be disappointed in me, right?

Stations are Awesome!

Why, you ask? Teaching in a 90-minute block is tough on 12-year-olds, especially 12-year-olds who spent about a year "learning" in their pajamas while in bed. Many of those kids admit to merely tuning into their class and not much more. For some, the pandemic years were lazy ones.

Thanks to all that laziness, many students are lacking stamina. When it's time to get down to work, many choose to go to the bathroom instead.

Students work at each station for 20 minutes. Restroom time is limited to the breaks that occur between stations.

As groups work it's easier to move around and help those in need simply because some activities are more self-directed than others.

The restroom sign-out sheet is down to an average of 3 students per class, about 1/3 of what it usually is.

That's some data I can get behind.