I like to talk. I like to talk a lot. I’m sure all my friends are going to clog the comments below with “no kidding Alice.” I think a lot of us would be surprised at how many minutes we actually spend talking during class. I was at a workshop lately that said in a WHOLE DAY kids typically only get a chance to talk 2 times.

The person doing the work, is the person doing the learning.

Student Centered Learning

Modern teaching is more of the student DOING and less of the student memorizing. Information is free and easy to get. I literally ask my phone when I have a question. That technology is not going to go away and it is only going to get better.

Especially for secondary teachers, we love our content. We get really excited to talk about our content. This is good, who wants to be a student in a class where the teacher doesn’t want to teach it.

It is HARD to Talk Less

I am guilty of this myself “class I am going to tell you something really quick and then get you going.” 20+ minutes later the students are still sitting and listening.

The Challenge

Give a kid a timer. Tell them to set a 5 minute timer and BZZZZZZZ “time’s up Keeler.” Think of it like a cooking show, no you can not just add that last bit of parsley. Hands in the air. Time is UP!!!

You can not talk for more than 5 minutes at a time before kids are doing something.

Google

If you open a window in Chrome and type in 5 minute timer, it starts a 5 minute timer!