Exit Directions
After a teacher is done presenting to the class, often there is a task for the students to complete. Even if it is not a paper/pencil worksheet, we will still refer to this as seatwork as it will be done independently. Often teachers will give only verbal directions. For example "Get a pencil and open your math journal to page 13. Do page 13. When you are finished put it in your blue cubby. After that you can do math box number 9 or you can can do a math-to-self choice or play top-it." When giving auditory only directions, it requires students to remember a lot of information. Chances are within the first few seconds there will be a student asking "What page are we supposed to do?" Here is an example of what those same instructions would like like if a teacher were to go visual. When visual exit directions are present, it frees up space in the students mind to focus on the academic piece as opposed to trying to remember the management piece. Another key benefit to this is that students will spend much less time interrupting the teacher or their peers if they forget what they are supposed to be doing. If a student does come to ask the teacher instead of being exasperated and answering (for the 10,000th time) "What do we do when we are done?" The teacher can simply point to the directions on the board and smile which preserves the relationship between the teacher and that student and saves the teacher the energy that is expended on being frustrated from answering the same question over and over.
Most important twenty seconds
After the Exit Directions are given the teacher should ask if there are any questions and write the answers if there are any clarifying questions asked (if appropriate) and then signal to students that they may begin. This time is the Most Important Twenty Seconds (MITS). The teacher should freeze their body and wait until students are engaged in the work, modeling concentration, before going out to assist students. The average time a teacher has to wait is 20 seconds. If students are asking for help by raising their hands or speaking, the teacher should keep still and keep their eyes scanning the room. The teacher could give a non-verbal signal to those students that they will be with them shortly but do not make eye contact. This is the time for "educational triage." Who will you go to first? When the teacher decides who to help first (it is recommended that you save the "toughest" kid for last), they should slowly move to help the student individually.
Here is an example of a third grade teacher giving exit directions, asking for clarifying questions (keep an eye out for the "frozen hand'), doing MITS then slowly moving toward a student to help.
Here is an example of a third grade teacher giving exit directions, asking for clarifying questions (keep an eye out for the "frozen hand'), doing MITS then slowly moving toward a student to help.