One of the most common fears I hear about using circle architecture is that it takes too long to get the students into a circle and then back to individual work.
For this reason, I was delighted to hear from our partners at West Wallsend Public School about mastering the art of swift transition.
Dean Cattley is a Year 3/4 teacher with a diverse class of students including Aboriginal students who speak a variety of dialects. Dean’s classroom is quite literally ‘old school’ – it t was built in the 1880s!
As part of Dean’s restorative commitments, he’s begun using circle architecture to engage his students at a higher level. Apparently, his record for getting the students to a learning circle and ready to engage positively in their learning is 11 seconds.
That’s roughly the length of time the 100m runners will take to win a medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Dean’s students reportedly thought, “Mr Cattley had gone crazy,” when they discovered the adapted classroom layout and routines, but now boast of their new learning architecture and the immense variety of uses they’re collectively discovering for circles.
This fabulous school, under the stewardship of their Principal Vanessa Linstrom, is posing a question for the rest of us.
If it only takes 11 seconds to architecturally position your students for optimal learning, connection, cooperation and engagement… why on earth aren’t more of us doing it?
Keep fighting that good fight,
P.S. ) Last week I was interviewed by the Teacher Takeaway podcast about restorative teaching, and the small changes that can make a big difference in your practice. Take a listen here.
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