It allows employees to vary their arrival and/or departure times. Flex Periods are becoming commonplace in middle and high schools across the country to help them provide more opportunities for their students. Required fields are marked *. The school embraced flex time for relationship building where students will connect with staff and other students who share common interests and/or goals; Academic equity, where students will have individualized access to teachers and resources to enrich and support learning during school hours; and Social/Emotional Well-Being where students wellness needs will be supported through flexible time that allows for student choice during the academic day.. What is a flex period and how can it be used in middle and high schools? If youre interested in learning more about flex time and piloting supports for teachers in implementing effective student-driven learning, please reach out to Jeff Starr at Relay Graduate School of Education: jstarr@relay.edu. They meet for extra help, intervention, enrichment, social-emotional learning, and more. Flex time usually lasts for 30-45 minutes. Better Relationships Between Students + Teachers, 16. The big shift is that the systems, structures, and routines that start out teacher-driven can gradually fade into the background as students become more autonomous. On explore days, there is a range of activities, some that stay constant and some that vary. Teachers can assign students to intervention or review work if needed; otherwise, students can choose an enrichment class to attend, complete homework, or work on class projectsWhile the format might vary from school to school, the purpose remains the same: to give students a chance to follow their own interests and manage their own learning time.. | Theme by SuperbThemes.Com, When Are Volleyball Tryouts For High School? Students also had spaces throughout the building for study hall if they had no particular teacher to see that day. What is FLVS? During class time in a flex period, teachers watch for the desired actions (sometimes narrating examples) and offer precise praise when the actions are practiced effectively. In a typical schedule, employees work the same amount of planned hours as they would if they worked a flexible schedule. "A" and "D" days are reserved for the . Teachers often focus on a single learning habit for a stretch of time until it is consistently demonstrated by students--such as note-taking, help-seeking, or studying. We believe that flex time can both help students learn content and support the development of skills that will prove powerful throughout their lives. Offering students FLEX time at the middle school level provides them with designated tutorials and classes where they are provided with the extra support, intervention, []. With the system in place and implemented, New London High was looking to improve its response-to-intervention (RTI) process and looking for a way to provide enrichment opportunities. If you would like to learn how Enriching Students can help your school manage its flexible time, even if for you, school is happening remotely, reach out to us by scheduling a demo. Physical education, Waters says, now takes more of a YMCA-like format with a list of classes from which students can choose. This could include allowing students to set and evaluate some of their own academic goals in the classroom. Unlike traditional learning models, the Flex model does not need pupils to switch between learning modes at the same time. In this early stage, teachers are building trust and connection between themselves and students and among the students. Labs, projects and certain electives can run for as long as nine modules. not vary by academic achievement. If we turn to self-determination theory to help us understand how to support positive physical and mental health for people of all ages, life experiences, cultures, and backgrounds, we can see that human beings have a universal need for autonomy, competency, and relatedness. In its most basic form, a Flex Period is a more advanced variant of the traditional study period. If you ask schools with Flex Periods why they are important, youll likely get a lot of answers (weve done this, so we know). On their application, applicants should indicate if they are interested in the Flex-Time option. The results of the study showed that over the course of the year, students generally used 19 percent of their flex time for academic pursuits and the amount of time students chose to spend on academics did Flexible High School Schedule Examples | Enriching Students Let K-12 Dive's free newsletter keep you informed, straight from your inbox. Flex Periods are becoming commonplace in middle and high schools across the country to help them provide more opportunities for their students. At Legacy High, some students use their independent time to take an extra class that they need or want. Flex days were built into the weekly schedule, in which teachers in one content area meet together for a day of planning, collaboration and professional learning. What is a flex period and how can it be used in middle and high schools? Flexible working allows employees to start and finish their shifts at various times, as long as they fulfil their contractual weekly hours. As Crawford notes, its how teachers and students use the extra time these models provide is whats important. In addition, the instructor of record is on-site, and students spend the most of their time learning on the physical campus, with just occasional tasks to do in their spare time. In its most basic form, a Flex Period is a more advanced variant of the traditional study period. That said, among the most common reasons youll hear are: they give teachers more time with students that need additional support or opportunities for extension activities, they give students access to opportunities they otherwise wouldnt have without staying after school, they give students something to look forward to during the school day. Knowing the benefits can also help invest other people, like your staff, students, family, central office, or community at-large, in why theyre worth implementing in your school. Its clear students find value in Flex Periods and want them in their daily schedule. While there certainly could be some other factors at play, students having more time built into their schedule to get help or work on assignments when they need to, or even spending time with friends or in a quiet study hall for a break, has to be helpful for students balancing their work and personal interests. Show me, Pondant remembers. Flex-Time is an enrollment option designed to give entering students the flexibility of taking a reduced course load of eight or nine credit hours each semester and having up to five years to complete the requirements for the J.D. During this hour there will be opportunities for students to participate in a variety of activities ranging from club meetings, support groups, and academic support. Social-emotional learning activities with instructors and peers that are centered on general wellbeing and connection are recommended. Students seem to be more present during class since each day is so different, Kostelecky says. Some schools begin adapting their schedules in order to build in more time for teacher collaboration and planning. It is our goal that Flex-Time will help all students to be more successful. When other schools try to replicate this process, they mistakenly jump into a late-stage version of flex time, where students have lots of autonomy; they forget to build up the systems that support such freedoms. While they go by many names, like Intervention Blocks, Enrichment Periods, Tutorials Periods, Activity Period, Mascot Time, or even Advisory, schools find many reasons to implement them based on their own unique culture and goals. As students are given more flex time, we see some specific actions taken by teachers to support this autonomy: Strong whole class openings: When a flex time period begins, the teacher can spend a few minutes setting the tone for the class, having students create a learning target, reminding students of what they are working on, and focusing on any habits or behaviors that might need reinforcement. You know these are the important things Ive got to hit.. A Student at Saint Anns Died by Suicide. One teacher operating in isolation thats the beast that eats kids and eats teachers, she says. What Is Flex In School? (TOP 5 Tips) - Kentucky Charters information about the variety of services the centers provide to remove the perception that they are only for struggling students. Every district should open a flex model so that everyone can visit and experience the future of education. One high school teacher in Nebraska shared their thoughts on the impact, citing student grades: I have had an opportunity to help students improve their grades and get better understanding (especially in the area of writing) than I ever have. For example, middle schools and high schools sometimes allow students to have an activity, advisory, flex, or study period. While they go by many names, like Intervention Blocks, Enrichment Periods, Tutorials Periods, Activity Period, Mascot Time, or even Advisory, schools find many reasons to implement them based on their own unique culture and goals. FLVS is one of the world's leading online learning providers that delivers engaging and innovative experiences so students can enjoy a safe, reliable, and flexible education in a supportive environment. the next step for school leadership was to better understand student behaviors in order to fine-tune systems that could help them improve academically. Students may take more classes because of the schedule flexibility, and they get more one-on-one time with professors as a result. Its a focus on how we can help students learn to collaborate and advocate for themselves. Tolleson Union High School District Flex Time What is Flex? school year. "Flex" days were built into the weekly schedule, in which teachers in one content area meet together for a day of planning . Because of this, its not surprising that when we surveyed schools, we found: 83% of students claimed to enjoy their school day more because of their school's flexible period, 89% of students said their flexible period was important to them, and. Targeted academic support from teachers to assist in reinforcing or reteaching previously learnt material Meetings of clubs and activities. Flextime: What Is It And Should Your Company Use It? - Sling The Challenges and Benefits of a Zero Period Class, Advantages of Flexible Learning, and Ways to Implement It. This allows both parties to have more intentional actions and build relationships more organically than during their scheduled time each day. The challenge, however, comes in trying to spread such models across a district, says Marilyn Crawford, who works with School by Design to help educators rethink how they can use time and staff members to accomplish what they are trying to achieve with students. Reacting to these results, among others discussed in the report, leaders at LHS and BPS found that though the flex time schedule was to provide students with free time and rest periods, student usage of the Most of us have heard of the terms first period or second period class when students are describing their high school schedules, but how about Zero Period? In that case, those elective teachers go into the classrooms to provide students with extra help. "Flexing" time in school The introduction of technology is not the only change in today's classroom, as many students struggle with availability of time, which is an issue that resulted in the Flexible Time Model (FTM). In our survey of schools, 83% of students agreed that they enjoy their school day more because of their school's Flex Period.
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