Teachers have a lot to accomplish in their classrooms, and it can be difficult to balance all the activities, apps, assessments, and coursework for every student. Platform fatigue is a term used to describe the feeling of exhaustion or frustration that arises from excessive or prolonged use of multiple digital platforms. In the context of K-12 education, this can be particularly concerning as students are increasingly exposed to a variety of online learning tools, platforms, and apps. It is common for new teachers, or classrooms taught by temporary or substitute teachers to rely heavily on online platforms to provide instruction. While this is often a necessary solution for schools amidst teacher shortages, platform fatigue can be the consequence. So what can we do about this problem?
To address platform fatigue, MathTrack trains teachers on implementing classroom operating routines that support differentiated instruction and blended learning. One of these routines is called the 5-day sequence, and it can be adapted to many different types of classrooms and instructional requirements.
The Components of the 5-Day Sequence
The 5 day sequence is made up of 3 different types of days focused around a specific type of instruction: Content days, Activity days, and Progress days.
- Content days are focused on the instruction and practice of course content. For a math classroom this might look like a combination of micro-lectures, small group rotations, or individual work time on math topics.
- Activity days emphasize interactive and hands-on learning. These activities can cover course content but also serve as excellent opportunities to develop soft skills, such as a growth mindset, or to engage students in interdisciplinary topics through project-based learning.
- Progress Days are all about checking in with students on their progress, both as a reflection of recently completed work, but also considering appropriate future expectations. This can be done through self-reflection, but can also be done through 1-1 meetings with the teacher.
While the overall purpose of each type of day is unique, it is recommended to have similar routines for starting and ending each class day, such as implementing Do Nows and Exit tickets to open and close each class period.
The 5-Day Sequence
There are lots of ways to adapt the 5 day sequence, but it's helpful to have a clear understanding of the recommended default application of this technique first.
The 5-day sequence look like this:
Day 1, 2, and 4 are Content Days where students are focused on learning and practicing course concepts. It should be clear at the start of the week what students should be accomplishing and Do Nows and Exit tickets are a great way to measure progress throughout the week.
Day 3 breaks up the normal course content with an Activity Day, where students have a chance to engage in a more interactive way. If students primarily access coursework on the computer it's a good idea to use activity days to engage students in hands-on activities. If you are looking for ideas for the math classroom we recommend checking out Youcubed which is supported by the Stanford Graduate School of Education and has many pre-made lessons and activities for engaging students of all ages creatively around mathematics.
On Day 5 the week ends with a Progress Day where students assess whether or not they met expectations, and have time to catch up on anything incomplete. Students who have nothing missing might enjoy free time or rewards for their hard work. Before the week ends students should also participate in setting goals for the next week, which do no have to be the same for every student.
Recommendations for the 5-Day Sequence and their Benefits
When MathTrack first developed this method it was primarily designed to address platform fatigue and differentiated instruction. By breaking up the week with an activity day students have a chance to engage in coursework differently, and regular progress checking provides a flexible routine for differentiating expectations for each student. There are a few other recommendations and benefits worth noting.
- Content days are not restricted to just one type of instruction or curriculum. Adaptive curriculum makes it easy to differentiate instruction and coursework for students during these days, but micro-lectures, MTSS interventions, paper worksheets, peer-to-peer learning, or even assessments might also take place during this time. Not every content day has to look the same, but the expectation of making progress on content mastery would be a consistent goal for these days.
- Activity days should be more about celebrating effort and creativity. For example this gives students with math anxiety or dyscalculia a chance to successfully engage in mathematics differently, and this is a great time to connect math topics to real world applications.
- Activity days are also a great time to work with students on projects or activities outside of normal course content. For example taking time out of the week to focus on growth mindset can help students perform better on content and progress days, because they are in a better mindset for learning and struggling effectively. Working on active listening could provide students language and tools for handling conflict in the classroom, or engaging in a physical activity outside might build community and trust with your students. The possibilities are endless and teachers are encouraged to listen to their students and select activities based on current student needs.
- Progress days give you a chance to check in with each student in a consistent way. The students who regularly meet all expectations still deserve individual attention from the teacher, but it's recommended to start with these students because they likely do not need much or any redirection. That leaves the rest of the class period to spend more time with struggling students who likely need more individualized support.
- Do Nows are a great way to check in with students on coursework they worked on previously, or practice the kinds of problems they will see on standardized tests. Students should be expected to attempt each Do Now problem and should have a chance to see the correct answer, however, for the sake of time you might skip actually grading this work.
- Exit tickets are a great way to engage students in self-reflection, long form responses, or try more challenging problems. This can generate great data for you as the teacher on how successful lessons were or who might need more support.
- Weekly expectations should be documented somewhere that the teacher and the student can both access. A great way to do this is through goal-setting worksheets like the one provided in our blog about SMART goal setting.
Adapting the 5-Day Sequence
Schools all operate a little differently so it's very possible that the default form of the 5-day sequence is not compatible with your school's requirements or schedule. However, it's entirely possible to adapt this method while still gaining its benefits. Here are a few suggestions:
- Block schedules may mean that you don't see students every day of the week. You can rotate through the given 5-day sequence whenever you do meet with students, or adjust the days to better fit your schedule.
- Longer class periods over an hour long may make it difficult to keep students focused on thing the whole time. In this case you may do multiple days within one class period such as starting with an activity and finishing out the period with regular course content, or hosting progress checkins at the end of a content day.
- Brain breaks are different from full length activities and are a great way to respond to student needs while still breaking up regular coursework.
- School mandated curriculum may make it difficult to distinguish between regular course content and activities. It is up to the teacher if this language is helpful or if this distinction is unnecessary for their classroom.
- Differentiated student abilities can make engaging all students in coursework difficult, and it can be stressful for students to be seen as behind by their peers. Implementing an adaptive curriculum can simplify the process of assigning unique tasks to each student, and progress days can be utilized to set individualized expectations without drawing undue attention to these adjustments.
Whether you are a teacher or administrator there are many benefits to the 5-Day Sequence to provide structure for your classrooms in a flexible way. If you are interested in learning more about this method and other MathTrack tools and resources, you can check out our page about MathTrack pedagogy or access more training through our Professional Development (PD) program.
