Tranquil Transitions - Maintaining Your Sanity from Playground to Classroom

The following piece was produced collaboratively with two of my colleagues - Allison Blumanis and Sharon Rankmore. Students late, unruly, fighting, crying, falling, hands reaching out from all sides to let you know about lunches, notes, money, toilet, lost homework, home readers, news. You repeat whatever mantra keeps you calm as you direct, negotiate, nag, prioritise and feel upset for the students that are actually ready to work, whilst you try not to escape to your happy place. Now picture this... Students arrive on time, wait, enter and begin morning routine calmly, and happily. You, feeling your classroom is your happy place. Handled well, the transition from playground to classroom can be virtually painless for all and will positively set the tone for the lessons that follow. However, the movement from the busy, noisy, unstructured playground environment into the structured and focussed environment of the classroom has the potential for disaster. This transitionary period can be especially challenging for students with special needs, who often have difficulty with change (Adreon & Stella,2001; Dettman, Simpson, Myles & Ganz, 2000). Mismanagement of this crucial transition will inevitably result in chaos, leaving you and your gaggle of students cranky, frazzled and not switched on for learning. So how do we ensure that all of our playground-to-classroom transitions are tranquil? This article aims to provide you with a few golden rules and a few smart tips to help you maintain your sanity and help your students get set for productive learning sessions. Tranquil transitions dont just happen by luck and they wont happen overnight they require hard work, consistency and persistence. But following a simple action cycle will ensure that youve covered all your bases and are set for success. ASSESS Whats currently happening at transition time? Use informal or formal observations to examine whats going on at the moment. Think about whats happening before/on the way to class (pre-entry), getting into the room (entry) and after entering the room (post-entry). Think about what youre doing, what the kids are doing, and whats happening in the environment. Also consider why these things may be happening. GOALSET Now that any problem areas have been identified, its time to sit down and daydream. What kind of transitions would you like to have? Have a look at where youre at now and where you want to be. Clearly and positively state your goal behaviours in terms of what they look like Not kill each other when entering the room is too broad and too negative. This would be better framed as Students will walk into the room in single file, keeping their hands to themselves.However, not everything can be achieved at once, so choose your first battle wisely its usually best to tackle things chronologically this has the advantage of setting the tone for what follows. Be sure to set small, achievable goals success will give you the confidence to keep going. STRATEGISE Once you know where youre going, its time to plan! Whats your transition routine going to look like? To begin with, you can browse the 10 Tips for Tranquillity and Re-entry Rituals included in this article and see if any apply and appeal. As these lists are not exhaustive, its also advisable to discuss other strategies with your colleagues who no doubt have pearls of wisdom to share.

IMPLEMENT Explicit teaching, consistent expectations, practice and reinforcement these are the keys to successful implementation of your well-planned strategies. For additional ideas on implementation, have a look at our 10 Tips for Tranquillity. EVALUATE Are your strategies working? Refer back to your goals and consider if theyve been achieved and if not, has there been any improvement? Even if your goals have been achieved, its always useful to review your transition strategy on a regular basis we change, students change, the environment changes, and we need to always be ready to make adjustments. RE-ENTRY RITUALS Re-entry rituals are familiar and predictable activities that students can engage in on their return to the classroom. This predictability is especially important for students with special needs. The choice of tasks whether independent or teacher-led - is entirely dependent on what suits you and your context. However, its useful to use independent tasks if you have to mediate or investigate lunchtime dramas on a regular basis. Below are some re-entry rituals that have been tried and tested and have ensured tranquil transitions. THE FINAL WORD Investing time and energy into streamlining your playground-to-classroom transitions will reap great rewards for both you and your students in terms of minimising disruptions and behaviour problems and maximising learning time (Hoffman Koser, 2007). Additionally, the creation of a calm and predictable transition routine will help alleviate anxiety for those students who find change challenging. In essence, tranquil transitions are REFERENCES Adreon, D., & Stella, J. (2001). Transition to middle and high school: Increasing the success of students with Asperger Syndrome. Intervention in School and Clinic, 36, 266-271. Dettmer, S., Simpson, R. L., Myles, B.S., & Ganz, J. B. (2000). The use of visual supports to facilitate transitions of students with Autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 15, 163-169. Hoffman Kaser, C. (2007). Successfully managing student transitions. In Series on Highly Effective Practices. Retrieved from http://education.odu.edu/esse/research/series/transitions.shtml