This month’s episode is about self paced instruction and is brought to you by Becca and her amazingness! If you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure to check out the menu to the right and listen on your favorite podcast provider. Hopefully you got past our new microphone nonsense, and this episode you met Harper (Katie’s dog), who we promise doesn’t really die after 6pm! We talked about Becca’s journey towards true self paced learning.
She has used this technique in various levels of science and with students of varying abilities. Here is her top five pieces of advice for anyone who is interested in embarking on the self pacing challenge:
Our (Becca’s) advice for those just starting self pacing:
Less is more. It will take longer for student to complete tasks because they are using some energy and time to figure out what to complete. Assign the most important tasks and get rid of the fluff and filler assignments work with the students to develop tracking systems that motivate them but are time effective for you. if you can’t keep up with it, it won’t work for anyone.
Just because it is self-paced doesn’t mean it is a free for all. Don’t be afraid to make the expectation of doing work in class known to students. Our golden rule is “do physics in physics”. I remind some students multiple times a day.
Be willing to modify lessons for students who fall behind or are struggling. Since everyone is working on their own thing, no one will know that this student gets to skip that lab etc.
It will take time for students to get it. I threw my students in with little support because “they are juniors and seniors”. but the fact of the matter is they have been trained for 11-12 years on how to comply with directions, not self-direct. It will take some scaffolding and initial hand holding. And some students will take longer than others, but that is okay. With this system to have the time to teach students how to self-direct through modeling, personal side conversations, and redirects.
We hope you enjoyed our latest episode, and check back next month for our next episode where we talk about how much work it is to take a day off, what other professions is that a thing in, and of course, ways to make being out sick easier on you. Whether you’re physically ill, or needing a mental health day, no one wants to spend longer on sub plans than they would writing lesson plans for classes they are present for. We’ll show you some things that work for us!
