4 steps for redesigning time for student and teacher learning

“If only we had more time.” I’ve heard (and spoken!) that wistful phrase a thousand times — in reference to student and teacher learning. I’ll bet you have too. But how can educators approach that challenge ? If you want to move beyond just complaining about the lack of time to actually rethinking how your school uses time, would you be ready to tackle it?

Deepak Chopra suggests that “luck” doesn’t happen in a haphazard way but that we create it by being prepared for potential opportunities (2003). You can prepare for opportunity’s knock by learning from the experiences and successes of teacher leaders who have built teams to redesign time in their schools. Sustainable, effective efforts are rarely the result of individual teachers (or administrators) who have pet projects and pursue them independently. As an African proverb reminds, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.”

Before you embark on any effort to explore how time is being used, begin by building a broad based team that can do the work.