My design problem I chose to study was How might I make classroom transitions more efficient? I choose this issue because this year because of our schedules we have a very short transition time between lunch and reading enrichment and specials and dismissal. While I have tried my best to assure my students lunch time and specials time is not taken up by transitions it is a struggle to not be late to lunch and specials. This problem was both very relevant to me, my students, and my co teachers. Since I simply couldn’t create more time for students to pack-up because they are not in my classroom before these transitions I worked on finding different ways to make them more efficient.
I think the most meaningful part of the project was brainstorming possible solutions and discussing with other teachers how they conduct transitions. I was able to conduct several observations of a third grade classroom and first grade classroom instructed students to get back up. I also spoke with two fifth grade teachers on how they do them. This process was productive because it gave me insight about how much to expect out of my students and several possible tools to help with them. One of the most productive steps I took was simply sitting down with my students and explaining why we need to change the way we transition. Since my students were losing lunch and special time, my students understood and were excited to figure out a solution. The next thing that helped was making a clear visual that all students could follow when packing up materials for lunch or for the day. The visual timer helped keep students and me on track. Playing music or turning it into a class completion did not work very well. The music seemed to add to the amount of sound and the class completions worked for a day or two but after that my students did not seem very motivated. The hardest part was sticking to the chosen routines I provided for my students. Taking the time to pull up and set a digital timer each time was something I had to make sure I did. Keeping the visual posters up as reminders was easy.
The most important thing to keep in mind for future design research projects is the time to explore what solutions or proposed solutions my coworkers have. As educators we often face many of the same challenges or problems without classes. There are so many brilliant teachers at my school who can offer creative solutions. Taking the time to meet with them, even if it is only for a short amount of time can go a long way. I also think discussing with my students some of the proposed solutions would beneficial because it gave my students role to play in it.
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