If student cell phone use is getting in the way of instruction (as it was with me), try this:
1. When the students come in, ask them to put their phones on silent (not vibrate).
2. Require them to then place the phone face down on the upper right hand corner of the desk.
3. Tell them that if the entire class can leave the phones there, without using them for any reason (even to “check the time”) for ten minutes, they will be allowed to use the phone for anything for two minutes.
4. However, if just ONE student looks at their phone, the timer will be reset and the process begins again.
5. When the two minutes is up, the students place the cell phones back on their desks in the same manner and the timing begins again. You, as the teacher, can then do a quick check as to how much the students retained from the previous ten minutes (or more) of instruction and move on to the next point.
6. If you want/need more time, adjust it.
I used this in US History and US Government. US History is an SOL-tested class (EOC/high stakes testing) and it worked very well. We were never “pushed” for time and the kids did exceedingly well refraining from cell phone use. No more cell phone cop on the teacher’s part and no more excuses on the students part. I’ve seen it used with 9th graders with great success. I’ve even been told by middle school teachers that it works famously. The bottom line is that it paces the students (and you) during instruction so there is time to absorb, refresh, and assess information.
In a Math class, I observed a teacher doing this and after the initial break, she had the students working on a problem that reinforced the previous ten minute instruction. Her students did better than normal as most were able to solve the problem with minimal help as compared to jumping right into a practice problem.
I also saw this used in an English class where the students were reading Romeo and Juliet. The two minute break was over and the teacher asked the students a question about the reading from before the break. The discussion was excellent. The kids actually debated ideas and points of view for several minutes. The teacher then moved on to the next portion of the reading and set the timer up again. At the end of the class, the teacher overheard several students talking about how time flew by that class, how awesome it was, how they never understood Shakespeare until that class. Talk about a teacher moment!
This does not mean do the same thing every day. Mix it up. Have the kids tweet questions to you or another student during the two minutes. Give them five minutes to do a Vine or have them Instagram the class on something from the instructional time. This helps you assess what’s REALLY going on with student learning and comprehension in the class using tech the kids love to use. Talk about a total buy in! And it makes your life easier because you have a quick diagnostic and a better pace for your class.
The best part is when you invite an administrator into the class and they see the kids using their phones to do all of this. The look is priceless. In one school, the rule was three days of in-school suspension for “unauthorized” use of cellular devices. The teacher explained how this was “authorized” and the students couldn’t get in trouble for it. The administrator wasn’t happy until he saw the test scores for that class – 100% passing with several in the “Advanced Proficiency”. This was well above the school and district averages. Talk about a “WOW” factor.
One question I get quite often about this procedure is, “What if little Timmy keeps messing it up for the class?” My response is to confiscate the phone for the time period and then give it back for the two minutes. Of course, I don’t do that unless the student has messed up twice during that class. Three strikes and all. Also, the next time you decide to do this routine, ask little Timmy if he’d like you to place the phone on your desk. This removes the temptation and minimizes the disruption of the class.
The whole purpose of this blog is to give an example of how to integrate tech that most students have into the classroom seamlessly. This takes very little set-up time and actively engages students. Ten minutes is a good starting point for time since most students are used to that from television (think about the time of the show between commercials). You can adjust it to as much as fifteen or twenty minutes – although, I wouldn’t recommend going over twenty. And if you finish the instruction you had planned for the time period or class, you can adjust the material. I’ve had times where I finished the topic I wanted to discuss. After the phone/tech break, I started into the next day’s lesson. And, yes, it happens quite frequently. The kids learn that if they pay attention, they can have more “free” time with their phones. They also understand the material better and score better on tests and quizzes. It’s a win for all concerned.
1. When the students come in, ask them to put their phones on silent (not vibrate).
2. Require them to then place the phone face down on the upper right hand corner of the desk.
3. Tell them that if the entire class can leave the phones there, without using them for any reason (even to “check the time”) for ten minutes, they will be allowed to use the phone for anything for two minutes.
4. However, if just ONE student looks at their phone, the timer will be reset and the process begins again.
5. When the two minutes is up, the students place the cell phones back on their desks in the same manner and the timing begins again. You, as the teacher, can then do a quick check as to how much the students retained from the previous ten minutes (or more) of instruction and move on to the next point.
6. If you want/need more time, adjust it.
I used this in US History and US Government. US History is an SOL-tested class (EOC/high stakes testing) and it worked very well. We were never “pushed” for time and the kids did exceedingly well refraining from cell phone use. No more cell phone cop on the teacher’s part and no more excuses on the students part. I’ve seen it used with 9th graders with great success. I’ve even been told by middle school teachers that it works famously. The bottom line is that it paces the students (and you) during instruction so there is time to absorb, refresh, and assess information.
In a Math class, I observed a teacher doing this and after the initial break, she had the students working on a problem that reinforced the previous ten minute instruction. Her students did better than normal as most were able to solve the problem with minimal help as compared to jumping right into a practice problem.
I also saw this used in an English class where the students were reading Romeo and Juliet. The two minute break was over and the teacher asked the students a question about the reading from before the break. The discussion was excellent. The kids actually debated ideas and points of view for several minutes. The teacher then moved on to the next portion of the reading and set the timer up again. At the end of the class, the teacher overheard several students talking about how time flew by that class, how awesome it was, how they never understood Shakespeare until that class. Talk about a teacher moment!
This does not mean do the same thing every day. Mix it up. Have the kids tweet questions to you or another student during the two minutes. Give them five minutes to do a Vine or have them Instagram the class on something from the instructional time. This helps you assess what’s REALLY going on with student learning and comprehension in the class using tech the kids love to use. Talk about a total buy in! And it makes your life easier because you have a quick diagnostic and a better pace for your class.
The best part is when you invite an administrator into the class and they see the kids using their phones to do all of this. The look is priceless. In one school, the rule was three days of in-school suspension for “unauthorized” use of cellular devices. The teacher explained how this was “authorized” and the students couldn’t get in trouble for it. The administrator wasn’t happy until he saw the test scores for that class – 100% passing with several in the “Advanced Proficiency”. This was well above the school and district averages. Talk about a “WOW” factor.
One question I get quite often about this procedure is, “What if little Timmy keeps messing it up for the class?” My response is to confiscate the phone for the time period and then give it back for the two minutes. Of course, I don’t do that unless the student has messed up twice during that class. Three strikes and all. Also, the next time you decide to do this routine, ask little Timmy if he’d like you to place the phone on your desk. This removes the temptation and minimizes the disruption of the class.
The whole purpose of this blog is to give an example of how to integrate tech that most students have into the classroom seamlessly. This takes very little set-up time and actively engages students. Ten minutes is a good starting point for time since most students are used to that from television (think about the time of the show between commercials). You can adjust it to as much as fifteen or twenty minutes – although, I wouldn’t recommend going over twenty. And if you finish the instruction you had planned for the time period or class, you can adjust the material. I’ve had times where I finished the topic I wanted to discuss. After the phone/tech break, I started into the next day’s lesson. And, yes, it happens quite frequently. The kids learn that if they pay attention, they can have more “free” time with their phones. They also understand the material better and score better on tests and quizzes. It’s a win for all concerned.