Making Self-Direction a Habit

“Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.” (Clear, 2018).

Peeking into a Classroom

“Hands on top!” the teacher calls out.

“That means stop.” The kindergartens respond immediately. Arms reach up, hands rest on their heads and their bodies intentionally frozen in place. Walk into most primary classrooms and you will hear similar callouts to engage students in focusing behaviour. These focusing routines are put in place so that the flow and pace of the classroom are maintained. A targeted routine that takes time and intention to establish at the beginning of the year but later preserves instructional time. Another example, when I taught second grade, I had a windchime that I would use to indicate to students that they needed to join me at the meeting carpet. The routine had been set up so that the students once hearing the windchime, would clean up their space, push in their chairs and find their designated spot on the carpet. Overtime, this routine was executed quickly, and I was able to begin instruction, with few reminders or corrections, pace and flow was maintained.

What about the older grades? Every class, every grade, needs a fresh appraisal. Recently, I was in a class of fourth graders who could not line-up in a quick efficient manner that was expected by that grade level. A line-up routine that should have been effortless, required back to basics reteaching. In the older grades, they require a review or reteaching of habits and routines. They benefit from structure that prepares them for instruction. We must move away from assumptions that students in older grades, are better prepared and can move quicker to adapt to new habits and routines or that students know what is expected, from prior school experiences.  

From A Student’s Perspective

           We want students to be self-directed learners yet imagine a student arriving in a space with no clear guidance of behaviours and expectations. The students have two choices: do what they have done before (desirable or undesirable) or watch what the other kids do (desirable or undesirable) and then decide how to navigate the new space. Either choice, is dependent on previous experiences or judgment. Remember that this not just a yearly decision, moving between grades but also daily moving, between classrooms. With no expectations specified, students flood into the room, general goals – find a seat and put down their belongings. Time is at a premium.Ideally, teachers would like to walk into their classrooms and deliver lessons, thinking- if the lesson is well planned, everything else will fall into place. The everything else, the habits and routines, can develop organically but often in undesirable ways. Without intentionally designed habits and routines, teachers are in a constant state of delivering reminders. We begin, we stop, remind, we stop and begin again. In all that, clunky instruction, we lose the kids, and end up repeating what we started, in an unproductive loop.

Defining Habits and Routines

Habits are learned and reinforced behaviours executed with little thinking. A common example is brushing your teeth. Most people brush their teeth as part of habit. Little thought goes into it, you just brush your teeth. At school, a habit can be raising your hand to answer a question or pushing in your chair after standing.

Routines are a combination or chain of habits initiated by a cue. A common example is a home-based morning routine. The cue for the routine is the morning alarm, first, you might exercise, shower, get dressed and then eat breakfast. At school, the cue might be the bell and the routine might be – take off your outside shoes, hang up your coat, unpack your bag, find your desk, put on your shoes, and sit down.

The Benefits of Habits and Routines

“Our environment shapes us, so it makes sense to design an environment that works for us, not against us.” (Hardy, 2018).

Most teachers and students start the day with a finite amount of willpower. An amount that varies across individuals. For some, avoiding negative habits and behaviours is at a low threshold. We know that some of our students can only “focus” so long. We also know that some of our students can only “sit” for so long. Similarly, we know that some of our students can only “self-regulate” for so long. Teaching often feels like a race to see how fast “we can get into a lesson and get out.” A race against the clock, and a race against the willpower meter. Instead, we need to shape the environment, establish those habits and routines, and leave willpower untapped if possible. Otherwise, we are fighting a losing battle and inevitably bound to repeat rules and expectations, each class. 

Habits and routines reduce the cognitive load required for a task. If students use all their cognitive load up trying to figure out how to negotiate their classroom environments, we have already lost valuable energy for instructional time. We need to recognize that most students thrive with established habits and routines.

Putting a Plan Together

We must be intentional in the way that we design our habits and routines. We must align them with our current situation, environment, and classroom profile. When we look over student needs, there are two categories of habits that support self-directed pace and flow: directional and emotional. Directional habits facilitate pace and flow by helping students proceed in an orderly fashion and promote focus, for example visual schedules and signage. Emotional habits facilitate pace and flow by helping students to move forward with positive emotions at the beginning of the day, and at the close of the day, for example the feeling of belonging and confidence. It is also common for habits to address directional and emotional, at the same time. Chart 1.1 provides an example of where the habits fit in a sample schedule. Following Chart 1.1, the habits are unpacked.

Chart1.1 Habits in a Sample Morning Schedule

Routine: Entry from outside

• Habit of Bookending – Opening Routine (Directional and Emotional)
• Habit of Following Signage (Directional)
• Habit of Putting Belongings Away (Directional)

Routine: Reading Block

• Habit of Welcoming (Emotional)
• Habit of Reviewing the Schedule (Directional)
• Habit of Reading (Directional)

(Placeholder for Instruction)

• Habit of Smooth Transitions (Directional)

Recess (outdoor break)

• Habit of Body Breaks (Directional)

Routine: Math Block

• Habit of Smooth Transitions (Directional)
• Habit of Reviewing the Schedule (Directional)
• Habit of Mise en place (Directional)

(Placeholder for Instruction)

• Habit of Putting Belongings Away (Directional)

Lunch

Habit of Bookending Your Day (Directional and Emotional)    

An anchor habit leads to all other habits readily occurring. Having an opening and a closing routine is referred to as bookending your day. This habit of bookending is illustrated in the old episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Mr. Rogers would enter his house singing a welcome song, change his sweater and shoes. At the end of the episode the reverse would happen, Mr. Rogers would sing a closing song, change back into the original strategies and routines. This bookending effectively created structure and predictability for the viewer to follow the episode. In real life, bookending creates structure, increasing flow, driving momentum, and instilling a sense of accomplishment. In the classroom bookending routines serve a similar purpose but in addition, bookending routines assist large groups of students orientating them in the same direction, towards pace and flow. The habit of bookending can be applied to a single subject block.

Habit of Following Signage (Directional)

Students need to know where they are going. As they come into the school or your classroom, make the entry doors clear. Depending on the age of your students, do they know where to hang up their coats or store their things? This needs to be made clear the first day of school and every semester change. If possible, in addition to your name outside your classroom, add your picture or a fun name for your class-for example, History Lane. We notice the importance of signage in the stores, with organizing customer flow. Signage encourages pace and flow with the provision of nonverbal reminders freeing up the teacher to attend to unexpected emergencies.

Habit of Putting Belongings Away (Directional)

Students need to know where to place their belongings. For some this will be their coats and shoes. In every classroom, students need to know where to put their books and materials. This must be made clear on the first day. It sets the tone and promotes orderliness when dealing with other materials that are used throughout the day Although this seems obvious, if not specified, other materials from daily lessons will end up in disarray, causing unnecessary disruptions to pace and flow.

Habit of Welcoming (Emotional)

This habit is about acknowledgement. The idea that we are welcoming each other, into the room and into the space. “Hi, welcome! How do you feel in this space today?” What can we do as teachers, to increase belonging? At the beginning of the day or block, many teachers stand at their doors, offering students a hug, handshake or high five. This habit supports emotional connection between the teacher and the student. An opportunity to gauge the continuum of emotions that students are feeling and the initial chance to redirect the students if necessary. This habit helps teachers to adjust pace and flow to support individual and group needs before the main lesson begins. 

Habit of Reviewing the Schedule (Directional)

Previewing the day, prepares the mind and gets you ready for the day. This can look like a visual schedule, at the front of the room or some students might have a smaller version on their desks. It can also be part of a slide show presentation and projected on to the screen. When students know what is expected, they are more likely to be prepared. It also limits the amount of flow stopping questions like, “What do we do now?” and “When is… (fill in the blank with a subject or break time).

Habit of Affirmations (Emotional)

According to Creswell, Dutcher, Klein, Harris & Levine, (2013) self-affirmations ease stress, when in problem solving situations. This would suggest that students can also use this self-affirmation habit to ease stress that might be brought from experiences at home

Habit of Intention (Emotional/Directional)

An intention is to set forth what is to happen. Intentions set a direction and focus. This can be an emotion or desired feeling; it can be the desire to complete a task. This can be in the form of a learning goal or behavioral goal, co-determined by the teacher. Intentions promote pace and flow by narrowing the focus and lessening the need for further decision making.

Habit of Mise en place (Directional)

Mise en Place is a term that refers to a culinary process, having everything out, organized, and prepared. Similarly, in the classroom, plan for students to have out what they need and the materials available in proximity. The most basic ways we see this lived in the real world is pens attached to clipboards, sink and shower caddies. Also, changing tables, everything within in reach. Habits are built when it becomes impossible to not do the right thing. If we want students to be prepared to learn, then we must help them set up their learning spaces for success.

Habit of Momentum (Directional)

Sometimes, students need motivation to just get going. A clever mantra (Robbins, 2017) is simply to say out loud-in a quiet whisper or in your head, 5-4-3-2-1. This countdown can be added to any habit to get started. The assumption is, once we countdown from 5 to 1, we just “go” when we hit one. We do not reflect whether we want to do something or not. Motivation happens upon action. When we start acting on something, momentum continues. To sit and wait, nothing gets started. This is important for students to understand, is that we often do not feel like doing things, but once active, the momentum carries us through. This habit can be added to the beginning of a routine (habit chain) to get the ball rolling. This habit helps pace and flow by removing a layer of anxiety or doubt.

Habit of Reading (Directional)

Reading is often included as part of a morning routine. Why is that? Centering. It centers the student. Calms them down, brings an inner focus to their work. It is important, to keep the pace and flow, to have the book already chosen the day before and accessible.

Habit of Gratitude Journals (Emotional) 

For many of us, writing down our moments of gratitude increases the feel-good endorphins. Endorphins create a feeling that allows more space for learning. When we are positive, we are more likely to be engaged in tasks. The act of expressing gratitude has been known to make a student feel more expansive. We know from experience as teachers that students feeling negative, shut down and the learning shuts down too, reducing the pace and flow in the classroom.

Habit of Putting things Back Where They Go (Directional)

Put things back where they go. This seems obvious but, the materials in your class, need to go back to free up space for other work. When I taught art, all cabinets were labeled. The shared student supplies were numbered. Each student was matched up with a number. In this way you quickly knew which supplies were missing. This also increases the chances of ownership, as in, I know someone, the teacher will be checking.

Habit of Body Breaks (Directional)

Body breaks have become a popular, focusing strategy. Body breaks are like a “focusing” reset. Its almost like cleaning up the mind, putting everything back to start a new task, in a way, it is like preparing for task switching. Imagine shaking an etch-a-sketch, like that, clearing out the cobwebs. Body breaks can be as long or as short as you have time for. This reset aids pace and flow in the classroom by increasing learning energy and reducing the amount of task redirection once learning restarts.

Habit of a Fresh Start (Directional)

Clean up before the day or block is done. This habit is about preparing the workspace for the next day, or the next class. This habit is part of a bookend day. It puts everything in full circle and provides closure. It creates closure for the lesson and sets up the next lesson or day for success. 

Habit of Goodbyes (Emotional)

How do we say goodbye? Exactly, the same way that we say hello. Teachers can stand at the door, at dismissal, again offering a hug, handshake or high five. This brings teachers and students full circle, back together, connecting before they leave, offering an emotional connection that answers the student question, “Why do I want to return to school each day?” When students are along for the ride, there is less chance that teachers need to slow down the classroom pace and flow to instill a connection each day.

Habit of Smooth Transitions (Directional)

Transitions happen during a lesson. They also happen before, between and after lessons. Many books tout “bell ringers” as a place to start. These are activities that are posted when students enter a classroom. Transitions need to be self-directed, practiced so that students know what is expected. Most students can handle a basic entry or subject switch routine. If you have the same students after a natural transition or break, plan for something before they come back so when they return, they can jump right into it. I call this jumping the transition. For example, pre-teach a minilesson, have materials – mise en place, ready to go. I have used a sketchbook to jump the transition. This sketchbook can be as basic as paper inside of a duo tang. A sketchbook is easy to get started, while you can post prompts, most students like free choice. I find this a quiet activity, that gets the students “into the zone” and focused for what is to come. Its easy for them to remember – sketchbook. “Yes, I sit, grab my sketchbook and draw”. This works for all ages. A transition routine saves you time. You are not waiting for the whole group to settle before explaining what to do, so pace and flow are maintained. In addition, it leaves you available to help students who may require extra focusing support.

Conclusion

Habits and routines wrap around the school day like a warm hug. On the path to self-directed learning, teachers need to create an environment that fosters pace and flow. What does it look like altogether? In my writing workshop, this sounded like quiet whispers, with a buzz of light energy. This looked like, students focused, frequent glances at their work, moving their pencils, then stopping, then moving again. Students working in areas of the room that they preferred, clipboard on their laps. Some at a table, surrounded by others in proximity, quietly interacting to get materials. Yes, my clockwork class. They had flow. They had well established habits. They knew what to do and now, you do too!

References

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits. Avery.

Creswell, J.D., Dutcher, J.M., Klein, W.M.P., Harris, P.R., Levine, J.M. (2013). Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stress. PLoS ONE 8(5): e62593. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062593

Hardy, B. (2018). Willpower Doesn’t Work: Discover the Hidden Keys to Success. Hachette Books.

Robbins, M. (2017). The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday. A Savio Republic Book.