Boredom in class is dangerous!
Getting out of the daily grind of routines and activities in our classrooms is hard. Really hard! As teachers we find our lessons falling into patterns that are both comfortable and predictable.
And for our students, predictable can often be viewed as another word: boring.
Read more about John Hattie's research.
Without getting too heavy into research, let's just say that "boredom" has a seriously negative impact on learning. According to John Hattie's research in his study Visible Learning, which focuses on a wide range of educational studies and the impact that varying factors have on student achievement, boredom is not just problematic -- it's academic poison. With an effect size of -0.49, boredom is more damaging to student learning than lack of sleep, low socio-economic status, corporal punishment, and depression.
Boredom is dangerous. Worry when you see boredom in your classroom. Be additionally concerned if you are feeling bored with your teaching (because teacher efficacy, or believing in your own ability to make an impact on learners, is the MOST impactful thing you do).
If that's you, it's time to act!
In my time as an instructional/technology coach, I have been developing coaching relationships with teachers across my district. My goal isto help these teachers find ways to meaningfully integrate technology so they could move beyond substitutive uses of technology (doing what they have always done, but simply doing it with technology). The work has been nothing short of inspiring as we have watched transformation over time in these classrooms. Technology allows for so much opportunity in your classroom. And the reality is that technology can be learned by just about anybody. If you are a classroom teacher interested in stepping beyond the routines you live in today, but you feel that you do not have the technical chops to learn the technology, I promise, you are not beyond hope. You can learn this. You need an encouraging, patient coach in your corner, a fast finger on the YouTube play/pause button, and a focus on finding ways to engage your students. You will be amazed by the payoffs!
(Interested in the SAMR model? Click here to learn more.)