In teacher-led classrooms everybody is usually doing the same thing.
🥱 It might be taking notes while listening to the teacher lecture.
🥱 Sometimes it’s working in partners to complete the same lab experiment 15 other groups are performing.
🥱 It might be a teacher created worksheet to fill in countries on an outline map of the world.
🥱 Or problems #10-20 in an algebra chapter.
Walk into a student-directed/centered classroom and you very rarely see two students doing the same thing.
👏🏼 Some are conferencing.
👏🏼 Others are reading and jotting down notes.
👏🏼 Some are building presentations.
👏🏼 Others are working out problems on the board.
👏🏼 Some might be writing in the corner.
It might look something like this…
And while it certainly takes time to build the skills in learners to be 100% self-directed, there is one SIMPLE tool that can jump start the process.
A scrum board.
A scrum board is a task management tool that empowers learners to take charge.
Pictured above are fictitious students allocating, monitoring, completing, and reviewing tasks related to their classwork and projects.
Rather than wait for the teacher to tell them what to do next, THEY take the initiative for their work. And when they finish, THEY seek out peers to check it off for review.
A scrum board is dead easy to create.
Find a free white board space and create a four column table with ‘planned tasks,’ ‘task in progress,’ ‘completed tasks,’ and ‘peer reviewed tasks.’
Students write their designated tasks on stickies with their names, and move the post-it over as they move through stages of completion.
You can use this task management organizer with projects, individual work, teacher assigned tasks, etc. The possibilities are ENDLESS.
Here’s how Mehak, a year 5 teacher organized hers for her year 5 habitat projects…
Note the project groups listed on the left and designated tasks to the right.
Here’s her thoughts around the impact it had on learners…
The best part of a scrum board is the implications it has for YOU.
You will be freed up to facilitate.
Roam around the room and support students on an ‘as needs’ basis.
Move from a static teacher to a – – – – > dynamic facilitator of learning!
How might a scrum board support your classroom?
While I have your attention…
A scrum board is just one of 100 + ideas and strategies for building student-centered environments featured in my hit book, ‘Where is the Teacher?’
Get a copy here – – -> 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments
Have a fantastic week of self-directed learning!
Your [co] learning experience designer,
