Tips For Ending The Lesson And More ....

After a spritely beginning and interesting momentum maintaining activities during the lesson, it is vital to conclude on a high so that our students look forward to the next lesson; letting a class fizzle out to a boring low key ending breeds apathy in our students to learning and threatens the retention of learnt understandings.
Following are some strategies that have proven successful in ending lessons with energy and interest:

• ask a student or panel of students to explain what learning was covered in the lesson, what they learnt and what new understandings they experienced
• then ask them how it connected with what they already know and any issues they may want to raise for class discussion
• then invite the rest of the class to suggest further opinions and possible explanations to the raised issues; it is not about us, so we must restrain ourselves not to provide the answers to satisfy our tendencies of 'certainty'; remember, curiosity is the mother of education
• do an individual and class brainstorm to explore any applications to real life of the learning that occurred in the lesson
• ask students to open their diary planners just before the end of the class and ask them to write down any 'learning in other settings' (homework) to be completed
• be assertive, the class ends when we say so, not when the bell rings
• ask students to push in their chairs, bin all rubbish and positively farewell them as they leave class
• ensure that students who are to have classroom expectations clarified are clear on what they are to do before the next lesson
• most of all, ensure that we conclude the class in a fashion in which all students leave happy

Further strategies that will benefit the functioning of our lessons include:

• sitting down for an entire lesson is very difficult for our students, especially boys; every 10 minutes ask five students to get up and cross the room to explain to another five students what they have learned; it may be chaotic in the short term, but in time will build fertile learning relationships within the class
• talk less and don’t answer our own questions
• keep our voice low but vary our tones; don’t be monotone
• avoid saying 'yes, but…..' to students when they haven’t got it the exact way we want it; rather say 'I agree with you, do you think…..'
• after giving an instruction regarding expectations, deliberately move on to another student; staying there to see if he/she follows the instruction could encourage an unwelcomed secondary behaviour
• say 'let’s get on with our learning' rather than 'let’s get on with our work'
• don’t hold grudges from previous lessons; start each lesson with a clean slate
• be aware of our students’ attention span; their age plus 3 in minutes
• be aware that Generation Z are OTM and OTM, On The Mind and Out The Mouth
• digress often and encourage students to do likewise, so long as all the class listens; this is when real learning occurs; more learning is caught than taught
• none of my former students have ever thanked me for a special project or worksheet; it has always been about the fun, caring, challenges and enjoyment we shared together

“The new 3R’s – Reading, Relevance, Resilience”