Bruce J. Stewart's Blog: The Intentional Teacher

Have you studied the techniques and formula that writers for television use to capture the viewer’s attention? And, to hold their attention for a 30 minute sitcom or for a 60 minute drama? You can use these same techniques to capture the attention of your students.

Here’s a Quick, Five Step Lesson Planning Process

Step 1. You must start the show immediately. Have you noticed how more and more television shows move right into the action precisely at the beginning of the hour? There is no time wasted. Moving right into the action commands your attention.

Do the same thing with your lesson. Make the second you address your class of students memorable. Some educational books call this an anticipatory set. Whatever term you want to use, make the first moment of class memorable; and the last moment of class must be memorable as well. But we will talk about that later in Step 5.

Step 2. Study your favorite television drama. For example, NCIS has been one of the most popular shows for the past decade, due in part to the director, producers, and writers consistently sticking to the NCIS formula. Of course the acting is good, the scripts are well written, and the viewer knows that they will be rewarded for investing 60 minutes of their time to watch the show. “Whodunnits” have a strict formula, and they always begin each episode with the “big” question – Whodunnit? Of course, other genres have their own formulas.

Your students will invest their time in your lesson if they know they too will be rewarded. Try using a big question to begin the class. Some of my colleagues call this the “killer” question. Use a question (or introduce an idea/concept) that will keep the students focused on the objective of the lesson.

Step 3. Television shows are written in segments of time to allow for commercial interruptions. Each segment is designed to keep the viewer glued to the same station. The formula the writers use is to leave you “hanging” in some way. Something in the plot line will be revealed following the commercial break.

Young adults are restless. Their attention span is minimal. They tend to daydream, a lot. Your lesson planning can use the same strategy. Try using small segments of time followed by a transition to keep your students active. Each new segment must move your lesson closer to meeting the objective.

Step 4. The “Aha” Moment, or “I knew it all along.” The moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension. We have all experienced this while watching our favorite shows or movies.

As a teacher, this is even more rewarding when your students experience the Aha Moment because you have facilitated it. This is the moment in class when the question, “Do they get it?”, or “How well do they get it?” is answered. Hopefully, the answer is “Wow! They really got it.”

How will you plan for the Aha Moment?

Step 5. The Epilogue or “Tie the Bow.” The great writers will always give the viewer something extra during the final minute of the broadcast. The next time you watch a television drama, study the final scene to see if the writers referred back to the opening scene in some big or small way. The movie, Rudy, did this brilliantly. I won’t reveal the little touch used by the writers and director for this movie, but it is memorable. This technique is called "Tying the Bow."

For those of you old enough to remember The Fugitive with David Janssen, each episode concluded with a memorable epilogue. The viewers kept coming back week after week. Its formula worked to perfection.

How can you Tie the Bow at the conclusion of your lesson? How can you give your students a “little extra?”

Reward them and you too will be rewarded.

A final suggestion, try naming each lesson – for example, Season 1, Episode 1, All Are Welcome is a great start. Your students won’t forget you or the episode.

1. Do you stand outside your classroom door during passing periods and welcome students into the classroom? By doing so, you will nurture and affirm each student’s sense of belonging in your class. Creating positive relationships with each and every student begins at the door to the classroom. Just as you would greet and welcome guests into your home, relationships with your students are based upon mutual respect that is shared the second they enter the classroom. By earning the trust and the respect of each student, discipline problems can be eliminated, and most importantly, students will become truly engaged and responsible for their learning. (For more readings on the importance of a student’s sense of belonging, see William Glasser’s, Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom, and Every Student Can Succeed.)

2. Do you thank the students for being present prior to beginning class? I always thanked the students for being present prior to beginning the day’s lesson. When the bell rang to begin class, I would walk from the doorway to the front of the class and greet the students by saying, “Good morning everyone. Thank you for being on time and I thank you for being here today.” “But Mr. Stewart,” some students would say, “We have to be here.” I would reply, “And I really appreciate that you are here, in my class right now.” I always sought their full engagement, which meant being present, being fully engaged in the classroom each day. By welcoming the students and thanking them for being present, affirmed their dignity and worth as active participants in class, in the learning process, and that they truly belonged in my class for the next 50 to 120 minutes.

3. Do you post an agenda in a visible location for each lesson? An agenda is an invaluable tool for several reasons. It was a clear indicator to the students that I was prepared to teach the day’s lesson. I always included the exact times for the length of each segment on the agenda. This technique was another reminder that we, as a class, had important work to do, and that each minute was valuable. By displaying the sequence of events of a lesson in manageable chunks, I gave the students both a preview and a road map of the lesson. Above the agenda, which was always posted in the same location on the white board every day, I wrote the primary objective of the lesson.

4. Do you consistently use “Four-F” lessons? A “Four-F” lesson is characterized by the following: fast, fun, friendly, and focused. As you practice and develop the art of teaching, create lessons that are fun and engaging to make your lessons memorable. A short, focused lesson has a specific objective which can be assessed through several methods. A fast lesson can tie into the need of young adults to use movement, or has a specific time limit of 10 to 15 minutes. A friendly lesson allows all students to participate in a brief and meaningful way. If your lesson is fast paced, friendly, and focused, students typically view it as fun. On many days, I would combine two or three Four-F lessons to create a longer lesson.

5. Do you teach bell to bell? I always kept a variety of sponge activities that were seamlessly inserted into the lesson to engage the students from bell to bell. If I needed to fill either 1 minute or 10 minutes, I kept a sponge activity ready to go. There are thousands of excellent sponge ideas available on the internet. Search for “educational sponge activities” and you will be certain to find many ideas suitable for your subject and grade level.

6. Do you use relevant and engaging anticipatory sets? The anticipatory set does not need to be long, and generally the best anticipatory sets are brief. An effective anticipatory set creates interest, allows for an informal assessment to measure the students’ prior knowledge, and activates a student’s knowledge and awareness of the topic and objective. If you can “hook” the students early in the lesson, you have the opportunity to keep them engaged during the entire period. Be creative and use your imagination to capture and hold the students’ attention as the first few minutes of every lesson are critical to achieving outstanding results.

7. Be not afraid to show your love and enthusiasm for teaching and learning. Our best asset as a teacher is the genuine love we share with our students for the entire learning process. The passion and enthusiasm you share with your students for teaching is a blessing to them and to yourself. Share your love abundantly.

Ruby Payne, author of A Framework for Understanding Poverty, writes, “Since 1980 we have concentrated our energies in schools on achievement and effective teaching strategies.”

Achievement and effective teaching strategies should always be at the forefront in the objectives of educational leadership. At both the elementary and secondary levels, effective teaching needs to be based upon a curriculum that emphasizes and celebrates critical thinking. Unfortunately, I have observed an educational approach that has replaced learning objectives with learning activities and software programs, and in the process, teachers have implemented passive approaches without clear objectives.

Several years ago, NCLB legislation was vilified as the cause of today’s educational ills. Teachers, as a group, have made unfair claims that individual state standards, state proficiency tests, and NCLB have handicapped the nations’ teachers. Today, teachers claim they are now required to “teach to the test” and only to the test, and as a result they have been forced to relinquish all creative power. While there is some merit to these claims, teachers must continue to believe in themselves as creative agents of change and learning within the classroom.

Student achievement cannot be reduced to a series of methods, learning activities, and/or learning programs. However, student achievement can be accomplished through a belief in students as learners, and the pursuit of the art in teaching. Teachers must understand the intangible factors and believe in the power of an approach that seeks to understand and elevate the souls, the spirit of learning.

Payne also writes, “The key to achievement for students from poverty is in creating relationships with them.” My experience with the students of Traner Middle School taught me the truth in Payne’s philosophy. By establishing meaningful relationships with students, my success in connecting with the students academically, became possible, and given enough time, significant achievement became the norm. My belief in the students could not and would not waver. As a result, student achievement became one of the products of both quality teaching and artful teaching. Student achievement as measured against any and all of the current baselines (NCLB, state proficiency tests, and other academic assessments) can and will exceed established objectives. Also, the realization of extraordinary student achievement demands implementing a curriculum that supports critical thinking, self-discovery, and an approach which understands the beauty of the art of teaching.

The question that must be asked is, “Have we as a learning community, won or lost this day, this week, or this semester?” Failure to have benchmarks and goals constitutes a lack of vision and leadership. Failure to provide a curriculum and a structure that is aligned with the needs of the students also constitutes a lack of vision and leadership.

Schools need strong leadership. A school principal must be able to lead the students, the teachers, and the family community. Ineffective school principals fail at providing leadership for all three of these groups. Average principals provide adequate leadership for either the students or the teachers, but not both. Excellent principals provide leadership for all three stakeholders – teachers, students, and the families. Excellent principals establish a vision for the school, empower the teachers to accomplish what other people say is impossible. The quote “today we will do the difficult, the impossible will take a little longer” must be believed by all principals and teachers.