Have Some Free Time!

Have you ever been asked mid lesson by your students:"can we just have free time?"

My first reaction was always no, we have things to get through! And to be quite honest, I knew they would just abuse it by being on their phones or chatting to their friends.

Now, I devote one whole lesson a week to it!

It all started when we began implementing the "edge" program into our classes. This program promotes student voice, choice and autonomy over learning and encourages the practice of skills in equal or higher priority to content. After a few weeks of introduction to this program, students began to request ‘free time’, as they called it. When I asked what this involved, they came up with many ideas. Some were obviously just ways to do nothing, others were legitimate reasons such as exploring new activities, developing upon prior skills, winding down for the week or to get in a workout that they knew they wouldn't have time for after school.

I decided to give it a go and let them try it out. I started with one group who were particularly passionate. They even rebranded it the lesson of "making time for yourself" and requested for it to be every Friday, since it was their last lesson with me of the week and it was also the time where they felt the most tired, stressed or overwhelmed with the week’s activities and could really use it to help them reset.

We began as a group together, taking walks outside while the weather was nice, all working out in the gym or having small-sided games on the main court.

It soon branched out into individual or pair work with one student using the time for yoga, some using an app to follow a workout program and others trying different activities each week or continuing to work on the main unit that had been chosen in our earlier lessons that week.

I began to notice the students who were committed versus those who at times were floundering a bit, unsure on what they should be doing. This allowed me time to have conversations about what they were doing, why they felt stuck on what to do and how could they re-focus and use the time wisely. Did they sometimes need some additional structure or support from me?

In addition to this, I was able to build a much better rapport with my students and have the time to really get to know them better. I remember one lesson in particular where a student just was not in the mood to do anything, so we spent some time talking about general life topics and were able to build a rapport that I don't think I could have ever built over the year if my lessons were consistently structured as they used to be. Rapport building did not only happen between student and teacher, but student to student. Of course this meant that students looked and were off task, but this time was crucial for building stronger collaborations in future lessons.

I sometimes refer to it as the ‘buffer’ lesson as it provides time for students to also engage in reflections on their learning, finish work they had missed or go over a concept that they may have had trouble grasping. There were also times where we did have to cancel it as students just had too much to finish from the week, but I made sure that this was a group decision. I didn't want it to be used as a carrot and stick kind of approach, although there were times when it got very close to being that way!

I made sure students documented each week what they did. After 3 sessions (3 weeks) we reflected on what they had done, how productive it was, whether they needed extra support, guidance or ideas on what they could do. All these questions allowed them to experience the process of potentially being bored, exploring different topics and finding something they want to work on and running with it. In addition, skills such as self-regulation, collaboration with peers, decision making and many more were also evident. They may not have been as evident when you walked into the class, but they were there, all for students to figure out in their own time.

After a 6-week period, I decided to gather further feedback from the same group. All but one fed back that these sessions were beneficial to them. It was a great opportunity to talk with the one student and discuss how these sessions could cater better to their needs. All that student needed was some encouragement, re-focusing with some resources to help them feel comfortable.

Fast forward to today, and every one of my classes now has this type of lesson embedded in their week, always the lesson closest to the weekend! The funny thing is that I didn't choose to insert this across the board, the classes requested it in their own time and trialled it at different points in the year. Sure, some classes don't go as well at times, and feedback from students means that each one looks slightly different depending on the students in the class. However, common threads include the freedom they have to explore, how they cope with self-regulation and what they choose to do when faced with low levels of motivation. It is still a constant work in progress, but one I know my students appreciate. I trust them, or at least I show them I do, even if it sometimes comes back to bite me!

All you have to do is see their eagerness to come in, not wait for my instruction and start working, to see the real value in spending a lesson as ‘free time’.

The positive environment, when you look around, is often surprising, even among students you wouldn't expect to be so engaged. Just this past week, a student came in before class started and demanded the key to the storage cupboard so she could get her equipment out quickly. I guess I will pick my battle on the topic of asking politely later...

• This article was originally published on Linkedin