Have your students ever been lost in transition? What I mean by that is that they moved to off
task behavior rather than onto the desired activity. I have seen teachers move students from one
activity to the next seamlessly, but have also encountered the opposite. A teacher is ready to move on, but the
students do not follow. Let’s take a
look at a couple ways to help ensure that your students do not become lost in
transition.
Transitions in the classroom start the moment students enter the
room. They transition from the hallway
to the classroom. To improve
transitions, we need to start with identifying them. Transitions between activities in the
classroom are the obvious ones. Think
about transitions from one teacher to another whether in the elementary or
secondary level. We are asking students
to transition from one set of rules (formal and hidden) to your own. Do students explicitly know your expectations
for transitioning? McIntosh et al.
(2004) remind us that, classrooms are full of hidden transition expectations
that some students pick up on, but others do not (pg, 32). Unless we explicitly teach students how we
would like them to transition, they will at best assume what they need to be
doing.
Take a moment and
identify the transitions that happen on a daily basis in your classroom. How do you expect students to
transition? Have you explicitly taught
the procedures to students? If you are
struggling with areas that involve transitions, start with entering the
classroom, exiting the classroom, dismissing to lunch, moving from
warm-ups/bell work to instruction, moving from instruction to group work, etc.
Have you taught these? If so, do they
need to be revisited?
McIntosh et al. (2004) give us the following advice when it comes
to effective transitions: explicitly teach expected behavior, give quick
reminders of expected behavior prior to transitions, incentivize correct
behavior, and actively supervise students during transitions (pg, 33). If there is a target area and students know
it, use reflective practices to analyze how the transitions are improving or
could get better. Group think can be a
powerful tool.
While thinking about these steps to creating effective
transitions, let’s look at some practical applications that might help in your
implementation.
Using a timer to help prompt the end of one activity and the start
of the transition to the next is a great tool.
It lets students know that the transition is coming without a surprise and
allows them to naturally start closing down what they are doing.
Remember to pre-teach expectations. Do not allow students to start transitioning prior to giving them the full directions and expectations. If students begin a process without full understanding, you will lose valuable instruction time.
Plan ahead! When you are
planning your lesson, think about opportunities that you will have to count or
handout papers/supplies to students while they are working. If you can minimize your readiness time
during instruction, students will follow suite.
Always think about the learning you want students to be doing while you
are doing tasks such as taking attendance, catching up a student that was
absent, gathering supplies, etc.
Remember the goal is to minimize transitions, not eliminate
them. They will take up some class time,
but the time they do take is not rigorous or academic, which is why we want
them minimized. Outside of losing
academic time, transitions done wrong can easily equate to the need for heavy
management. Go out and help your
students make it from Point A to Point B and help them not get lost in
transition.
Happy Teaching!
References
McIntosh, K., Herman, K., Sanford, A., McGraw, K.,
& Florence, K., (2004). Teaching transitions: Techniques for promoting
success between lessons. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(1), 32–38.
