A Teacher’s Most Crucial 300 Seconds
Daydreaming. Doodling. Email. Facebook. If students aren’t engaged as soon as class begins, thoughts drift. Alluring alternatives snatch away attention.
As teachers, we know what it’s like to look out at disinterest or distraction. Glazed eyes. Heads bent over screens. The tell-tale signs aren’t hard to read.
We also know the buzz we feel when students are totally dialed-in. Focused eyes. Minds in action. Laughter. Constructive dialogue. There’s an energy in a vibrant classroom that’s evident to anyone there. That’s what we aim for, as teachers, and that’s what students hope for when they step into a classroom. The first five minutes are vital moments for teachers and hopeful ones for students.
Professor James M. Lang (who has great books on teaching like Small Teaching and On Course) has made the case for starting with questions to get students thinking. I find that to be an excellent option for the second act, after starting things off with interaction and creativity. Here are three quick games I’ve found helpful for launching class sessions. (I’d love to hear your ideas).
Brainspin
Students spend two minutes writing down as many things they can that they see in a simple glyph — an ambiguous simple line drawing. Then for two minutes they debrief with a partner to compare lists and observations. To conclude the activity a few students share observations with the group.
Benefits: The game gets people thinking creatively, opening up their mind to multiple perspectives. It sets the tone for looking beyond assumptions.
Resources: Brainspin is $5.20 on Amazon (as of this writing) or make your own version with index cards.
Variations: Instead of using the Brainspin deck, pass around a strange object or draw something ambiguous/abstract on the whiteboard. Have each student jot down 10 possible interpretations of what that object might be. For the debrief, students partner up to discuss their lists.
Aha!
Students work in pairs for three minutes to come up with a proposed startup name and tagline after picking one of 13 technology cards (drones, VR, machine learning, sensors, etc). They post the names of the businesses they come up along with taglines on the whiteboard or on Post-Its. Then debrief about patterns or noteworthy ideas.
Benefits: The game gets students thinking practically about the intersection between new technology and consumer needs. It also gives them a chance to work collaboratively with a (new) classmate and illustrates how quickly we can generate ideas when provided with clear constraints.
Resources: Use our Aha! card deck or make your own with index cards.
Variations: The game also includes cards representing journalism goals and consumer needs, so you can use those cards to add more subtlety. Or instead of using our cards, create your own. You could focus on particular underserved communities, societal problems or revenue streams, depending on the subject of your class and your teaching objectives.
Sproing!
This game combines object pictures and simple challenges. For example, a student might have a picture of a broom and a baton and a challenge card that says “use your objects together to come up with an invention that solves a problem.” The idea isn’t to think about a realistic solution, but to conceive of things that might not otherwise have occurred to you.
Benefits: In addition to being a fun ice-breaker, the game encourages students to move beyond assumptions about objects’ functionality and utility. It gives students permission to be creative and to think about the productive potential of unexpected combinations.
Resources: Use the Sproing! card deck ($22) or choose your own object pictures and use index cards to draft a set of challenge cards.
Variations: Rather than each group working on distinct challenges, you can try having multiple groups work on the same challenge and then compare notes on their varied approaches.
More Resources
Here’s an Amazon list I assembled with 30+ games/activities you can try in class. MethodKit has a fun list of 81 creativity card decks. And for more ideas, here’s a Google Doc I put together about classroom idea jamming.
Criteria for Quick-Start Warm-Ups
There are four qualities a quick class warm-up should have. It should:
1. Engage everyone. No one should be idle — everyone should participate.
2. Be brief. Energy tends to fade; you need time for the primary material.
3. Be fun. Students should enjoy themselves so they’re happy to learn.
4. Be challenging. High standards set the stage for a productive class.
Final Takeaway
If students are doing something interesting as soon as they arrive, there’s pedagogical momentum for whatever comes next. Announcements and the class agenda can be on the board or presented afterwards. How we design class openings sets the tone for the level of interactivity, creativity and engagement students can expect during their time with us. That’s why it’s crucial to script activities that get everyone involved from minute one.
