Predictability and novelty in the classroom – you need a balance of both

As you walk through the halls of a school, you can look around the classrooms and notice many variations in atmosphere and levels of interest and enthusiasm. In some classes there is very little energy. Both the students and the teacher are shuffling and listless. In other classes, the noise level is high and both the students and the teacher seem a little unsure about what is supposed to be going on. What is the difference between these rooms? The best classes seem to be those that have a balance between routines and fun and unusual activities.

What should be predictable in your classroom? What students need to feel comfortable in their environment. What do you need to have a suitable teaching environment? There are several things that you and your students must be able to rely on. They need to know that you are prepared with a worthwhile lesson, that you are in control of the classroom at all times, and that you will not embarrass or humiliate them. You also need to be able to count on certain predictables from your students every day. She trusts her students to be respectful, cooperative, well-behaved, and willing to do what she asks of them. You know this will be the case because you have dedicated time in advance at the beginning of the year to train these behaviors.

Isn’t all that predictable stuff boring? No. In order for you to present interesting and engaging lessons, everyone needs to understand your role. Students need to know what you and other students expect of them. The teacher needs to know what the students expect. Lack of predictability in these elements equals chaos. Your classroom management system always runs just below the surface of your classroom. This is what allows students to feel safe enough to participate and take risks.

Where does the novelty fit? Good classroom management allows you to take some risks and trust in your students’ ability to take on new challenges. You can totally change your classroom and know that your students will adapt quickly.

With younger children, the novelty can be scary (which is why so many young children cry when they see Santa Claus or a clown), so you need to think through the lesson. Make sure they feel safe before you throw them a curveball with something new. You will also need to spend time framing the activity so they are prepared.

Teenagers, on the other hand, crave novelty. One of the reasons they find school boring is that they are counted out by the routine and predictable nature of many of their classes. Doing something unexpected or very different from his normal style will catch his attention. Remember that you can’t be a novel all the time. If novelty exists all the time, it is no longer novel!

Ideally, your classroom should be a mix of the expected and the unexpected. If there is too much predictability, students will get bored. If there is too much unpredictability, students will not be able to relax and chaos can ensue. To brainstorm novelty ideas, think like a student when looking at your lesson plan. If you were a student in this class, what kinds of things would you expect the teacher to do? What would make it fun for you? Thinking like a kid can help you create great lesson plans! Often it is only in the presentation.

Speaking of the Roman Colosseum, I took my class to the athletic field. I told them the measurements of that field and the height of the stands. Then I gave them the dimensions of the Colosseum and we put people in different areas to show the size. This had several benefits. The students did some exercise that increases their cognitive functioning. They were doing something different by going outside. They were able to visualize how big the Colosseum actually was by looking at the size compared to the athletic field. This is not a momentous activity, but it qualifies as novel.

Novelty just means doing something different from time to time. Something that will catch the kids off guard. If they never really know what you’re going to do next, they’ll pay a lot more attention in class. Predictability for safety, novelty for fun and excitement. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing!”

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