(upbeat music) - Hey y'all, it's Ayo here. Let's talk about stations. One of the most impactful ways you can establish a more consistent classroom and setup for better instruction is to use a station rotation instructional model. But why?
And more importantly, how? Our students learn best when they have great instruction, guided practice, and time for independent work and practice. If you're mostly using a large group instruction model, with your staff maybe circulating to manage behaviors and provide individual supports, it may be time to try it another way. So what do you need to do to get started?
You'll have to do three things. First, you'll set the stations. This is more of a physical sense of the word. You're gonna define two or three workspaces inside of your classroom that makes small group instruction easy.
If one area is already set up for independent work or computer-aided instruction, then there's one space that's already defined for you. These small group stations should allow for easy access for the students and be set up so the staff can easily reach and support everyone. It's also best to set up with some space in between if your class supports it. That way it doesn't feel like y'all are right on top of each other.
As you set up your stations, would it help your students to have a color coordinated system or station names? Probably, so add those too. You'll also wanna add a timer to signal when it's time to change or when the tasks are finished. Finally, consider flow.
It's easier to have students all moving in one direction as they change stations, like clockwise or counterclockwise. It just keeps the room flowing. All of this is part of setting the stations. The second thing that you'll need to do when you're setting up your stations is add the activities.
Most of us have three activities planned in a lesson without even knowing it. We usually have some direct instruction piece where we're explicitly teaching students. We usually have a practice components, like a worksheet, a quiz, or an activity, and then we have a hook or possibly a project. The hook is establishing prior knowledge, like pre-teaching vocabulary or sharing in an experience to build a foundation, like maybe a demonstration.
The project may be added part of the lesson, like a science experiment or real world math connection, or creating a presentation. All of the activities you typically do, you're just going to split into two or three and address in different stations. By breaking up the activities and approaching them in smaller groups, the level of student support is much higher. What's more is that students tend to have a higher retention level and their learning is more substantial.
Plus, you make better use of staff. So, take what you've got and split it up. The third step to making stations work is to assign groups. Groups may be by student level, by capability, by random decisions you make in the beginning of the day.
You know your students best, and what is working for them. So set up in a way that's going to be optimal. But don't be afraid to put two students who are less than best friends together to help them build tolerance towards one another and learn to work together. Mixing things up with your groups means you can target some functional skills along with academics, like communication skills, interpersonal skills, and problem solving.
Once you've set the stations, added the activities and assigned the groups, you're ready to roll. Hold up. I know you thought you were ready to roll once you set the stations, added the activities, and assigned groups, but there are a couple of important things here to remember. First, remember, nothing is perfect the first time.
When you start stations, be prepared to ruffle some feathers. Front load the process so students know they'll be transitioning more than normal, and review the schedule to make things run smoother. Second thing is to teach, practice, teach, practice, and keep doing that again, especially if you're new to stations with your students. It might not happen naturally for your students or for your team.
So start with some easier tasks and focus on the systemic process of rotating. Let your team and students get into the rhythm, and remember, practice makes perfect. The third thing to remember is that your consistency is what makes stations magical. The routine of getting into stations and rotating after a set amount of time in a particular way, and working within certain expectations makes stations a predictable anchor in your classroom, and supports the classroom climate you've always wanted to have.
So, commit and be consistent. I'm Ayo here, reminding you to stay strong and teach on.
