Teach Like a Champion - Every Minute Matters

Summary

This video script emphasizes the importance of utilizing every minute in the classroom effectively. It humorously illustrates how teachers often waste the last few minutes of class and proposes the 'Every Minute Matters' technique. This approach involves using short, high-energy review activities to engage students and maximize instructional time. The script suggests various strategies, such as vocabulary reviews during transitions and mental math while lining up, to keep students on task and learning continuously. The speaker also shares personal experiences, like using entrance tickets for vocabulary quizzes before class starts, to demonstrate practical applications of this time management philosophy.

Takeaways

• 🕒 Every minute in the classroom is crucial and should be used effectively.
• 😅 Teachers often inadvertently waste the last few minutes of class by not starting new activities or giving students time to relax.
• 📉 Losing just 3-4 minutes per class can accumulate to significant instructional time lost over a school year.
• 🔥 Use the 'Every Minute Matters' technique to engage students with high-energy review activities instead of wasting time.
• 💡 Keep a variety of short learning activities ready to take advantage of unexpected spare moments during the school day.
• 🚶‍♂️ Teachable moments can occur anywhere, such as walking to the bathroom or lining up for lunch.
• 📚 Reading aloud to students while they pack up their backpacks can be an effective use of end-of-day time.
• 🧠 Incorporate mental math and vocabulary reviews during transitions to keep students engaged and learning.
• 🎫 Use 'entrance tickets' to quiz students on vocabulary or other subjects while they wait outside the classroom.
• 💡 Maximizing instructional time not only increases cognitive workload for students but also helps teachers stay connected and engaged with their students.
• 🛑 Teachers should view every spare minute as an opportunity for learning, even if it's outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Q & A

What is the main message of the video script?

The main message is that every minute in the classroom is precious and should be utilized effectively to maximize learning opportunities for students.

Why is time in the classroom compared to water in the desert?

Time in the classroom is compared to water in the desert to emphasize its scarcity and value, as both are essential resources that need to be carefully managed and conserved.

What is the 'every minute matters' technique mentioned in the script?

The 'every minute matters' technique refers to the practice of using every available minute in the classroom for teaching and learning, including the last few minutes of class, by engaging students in high-energy review activities.

How does the speaker suggest using the last few minutes of class?

The speaker suggests using the last few minutes of class for high-energy review activities or challenging students with interesting problems instead of giving them away as free time.

What are some examples of short learning activities that can be used to fill small gaps of time?

Examples include vocabulary reviews while walking to the bathroom, reading aloud while students pack up their backpacks, and mental math during lining up for lunch.

How can teachers use the time when students are waiting for buses?

Teachers can use the time when students are waiting for buses by having them think of adjectives to describe the bus, which keeps them engaged and focused.

What is the purpose of 'entrance tickets' in managing classroom minutes?

Entrance tickets are a method for teachers to manage classroom minutes by quizzing students on vocabulary or other topics as they wait outside the classroom before class begins.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of staying connected and engaged with students?

The speaker emphasizes staying connected and engaged with students to ensure that every minute is utilized for learning and to maintain a positive and interactive classroom environment.

How does the 'every minute matters' approach benefit both the teacher and the students?

This approach benefits the teacher by providing a structured way to use all available time effectively and keeps them connected with students. For students, it increases cognitive workload and engagement, leading to better learning outcomes.

What is the speaker's perspective on using break time at the end of class?

The speaker suggests that if there are a few minutes at the end of class, it can be used as a break time for the teacher while still engaging students in meaningful activities.

Outlines

00:00

🕒 Maximizing Instructional Time in the Classroom

The paragraph emphasizes the importance of utilizing every minute in the classroom effectively. It starts with a light-hearted joke about a frozen apple to illustrate the concept of time being precious, like water in the desert. The speaker points out that teachers often waste the last few minutes of class and proposes a hypothetical scenario where losing just 3-4 minutes per class could accumulate to a significant loss of instructional time over a school year. To counter this, the speaker suggests using the 'every minute matters' technique, which involves engaging students in high-energy review activities to make the most of these minutes. The paragraph also provides practical examples of how to integrate learning activities into seemingly unproductive times, such as waiting in line or walking to the bathroom, to ensure continuous teaching and learning.

Keywords

💡Time Management

Time Management refers to the process of organizing and planning how to divide available time among different tasks. In the context of the video, it is crucial for teachers to manage their time effectively to ensure every minute in the classroom is used for instruction. The script emphasizes the importance of not 'giving away' the last few minutes of class and instead using them for high-energy review activities.

💡Instructional Time

Instructional Time is the period during which a teacher is actively teaching or engaging students in learning activities. The video highlights the value of maximizing instructional time by utilizing every available moment, such as the end of class or time spent waiting, to reinforce learning through activities like vocabulary reviews or mental math.

💡Hypothetical Scenario

A Hypothetical Scenario is a situation that is imagined or supposed for the sake of argument or to project a possible outcome. The script uses a hypothetical scenario to illustrate what could happen if a teacher loses just 3 or 4 minutes per class,累计 over a school year, which could amount to several weeks of lost instruction time.

💡High-Energy Review Activities

High-Energy Review Activities are engaging and dynamic methods of reviewing material that can be used to energize students and reinforce learning. The video suggests using these activities to make the most of the last few minutes of class, challenging students with interesting problems that are more engaging than regular lessons.

💡Cognitive Workload

Cognitive Workload refers to the amount of mental effort required to process information or perform a task. The video emphasizes increasing the cognitive workload for students by keeping them engaged and challenged throughout the class, which also helps to maintain their focus and prevent off-task behavior.

💡Vocabulary Review

Vocabulary Review is the process of revisiting and practicing words and their meanings to reinforce learning. In the script, the teacher uses vocabulary review as an example of an activity that can be conducted during otherwise unproductive times, such as walking to the bathroom or lining up for lunch.

💡Reading Aloud

Reading Aloud is the act of reading text out loud to an audience. The video suggests that reading aloud to students while they are packing up their backpacks at the end of the day is an effective way to utilize time that might otherwise be wasted.

💡Mental Math

Mental Math involves performing arithmetic calculations in one's head without the use of external tools. The script mentions using mental math as a way to keep students engaged and on-task while they are lining up for lunch, turning a mundane task into a learning opportunity.

💡Adjective

An Adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. The video gives an example of having students think of an adjective to describe the bus as they are getting on, which is a creative way to use the time productively and engage students' language skills.

💡Entrance Tickets

Entrance Tickets, in an educational context, are small tasks or questions that students complete before entering the classroom. The video describes using entrance tickets to manage minutes with students by quizzing them on vocabulary words as they wait outside the classroom, which helps to start the learning process even before class officially begins.

💡Engagement

Engagement refers to the state of being actively involved and interested in an activity. The video stresses the importance of keeping students engaged throughout the class to ensure that every minute is used effectively and that students are not just passively waiting but are actively participating in their learning.

Highlights

A joke is shared to lighten the mood before discussing the importance of time management in the classroom.

Time in the classroom is compared to water in the desert, emphasizing its preciousness and the need to conserve it.

Teachers often risk wasting time by giving away the last few minutes of class.

A hypothetical scenario is presented where losing 3-4 minutes per class leads to significant instructional time loss over a week.

The 'Every Minute Matters' technique is introduced to reward students with high-energy review activities.

Teachers are encouraged to challenge students with interesting problems during the last minutes of class.

Ways to maximize instructional time include keeping a series of short learning activities ready for unexpected opportunities.

Teaching can continue outside the classroom, such as during walks to the bathroom or while waiting for buses.

Multiplication problems and mental math can keep students engaged while lining up for lunch.

Students can think of adjectives to describe the bus as they line up to go home, turning waiting time into a learning opportunity.

Entrance tickets are a method to manage minutes by quizzing students on vocabulary words before class starts.

Students get excited and engaged when they are quizzed on vocabulary, showing off their knowledge.

The 'Every Minute Matters' approach increases the cognitive workload for students and keeps them connected with the teacher.

At the end of class, teachers can use the 'Every Minute Matters' technique as a break time for themselves while still engaging with students.

The importance of maximizing every minute with students is emphasized to ensure continuous learning and engagement.

Transcripts

[Music]

in your classroom every minute

matters before we jump into a pretty

serious topic here's a little joke to

lighten the

mood I just ate a frozen apple

hardcore to a teacher time is like water

in the desert your most precious

resource to be husbanded guarded and

conserved because in a classroom every

minute

matters but a lot of us put ourselves at

risk by putting ourselves in a variety

of situations in which we're letting the

minutes slip

by I know for myself that often the last

few minutes of class are just given away

I've often said ah we don't have time to

start anything new or we work so hard so

I'm going to give you guys a few minutes

to

relax here's a hypothe itical for you

and one which I think is quite

realistic let's say that you lose 3 or 4

minutes from each class and that you

have six classes a day over the course

of 5 days a week if you did that every

day you'd give away about 75 hours of

instruction several weeks of

school instead of giving those minutes

away use the every minute matters

technique and reward students for their

hard work with some high energy review

activities so that you can challenge

them with a more interesting problem

than you could during the regular lesson

time every teacher has the same amount

of time with students but not everyone

uses that time with the students here

are a few ways that you can maximize all

of your instructional

time to begin you want to keep a series

of short learning activ activities ready

so you're prepared when a 2-minute

opportunity emerges which might be at

the end of class or in the hallway or

waiting for

buses teaching never has to stop a walk

to the bathroom is a perfect time for a

vocabulary review packing up backpacks

at the end of the day is a great

opportunity for reading aloud to

students there's no better way to keep

kids from getting off task while lining

up for lunch than by peppering them with

multiplication problems and mental

math getting out to the bus to go home

have every student think of an adjective

to describe the bus you can always be

teaching entrance tickets are one of the

best ways I manage minutes with my

students waiting with most of my

students outside of the English class

for the last few students to arrive

before I start class is is the perfect

time to begin quizzing students on their

vocabulary words I might ask them dis

spelling translation synonyms and

antonyms disguise the limit the idea

here is that I want to maximize every

minute with my

students the students are standing in

line in the wholeway just outside the

classroom class has not even started yet

not in the classroom not not during

class time and I don't care there's

learning to be done Meanwhile my

students get excited they're smiling

they're happy to be engaged in showing

off their knowledge with

me not only does every minute matters

increase the cognitive workload for each

student but it forces me to stay

connected and engaged with my

students sometimes if I have a few

minutes at the end of class I'll use it

as a break time for myself

every minute matters reminds me that

those minutes should be spent with my

[Music]

students