Teaching priorities and time management

Thinking about it.  I’ll get back to you soon.  Timed Lineups are my first thought.

I'm looking for ideas to teach time management and setting priorities to high school students through experiential education. Does anyone know of any good activities/iniatives that are along those lines?

Hi Sarah,

So, Silent card line-up might be an activity that could be useful.  You get one of those big deck of cards (4x6”), or borrow one of ours, and give everyone a card.  They should hold it against their belly and not look at it.  This is a silent activity.  When you say go, they move their cards up onto their foreheads so everyone else can see what number they have but they can’t.  The object is for the group to get in order from lowest to highest, as quickly as possible.  Don’t give them any planning time.  If they ask if aces are high or low say yes.  Tell them you’ll know that everyone is happy with where they are when their other hand is raised.  Stop the time and have them look at their cards and count off to see if the order is correct.  Ask if they were successful in the activity.  Usually they will say yes.  This is actually a trick question about following the rules that means did anyone talk?  Usually, someone does.  A good time to talk about academic integrity.  Tell them their time.  Round two is the same activity, but they will have two minutes to plan as a group, before they become silent.  Tell them that their new goal is half the time of the first round.  Before starting the second round, have everyone make three card trades with different people, being careful not to peek.  Then say “Go”.  Usually they will come close to their goal the second time, unless something really goes wrong.  Play a third round, giving them another minute to plan, but before you do, facilitate a conversation about efficiency and effectiveness, using the following definitions:

Efficiency is the ability of the group to complete a task in a timely manner, with minimal “off task” conversation or effort.

Effectiveness is the ability of the group to accomplish a job successfully, correctly, and without mistakes or errors.

The efficiency and effectiveness talk usually brings across the point that they more time you spend planning the work, or prioritizing, the better and quicker the job usually goes.

This could also lead to a conversation about learning styles being different and how you need to be aware of your own style to be the most effective and efficient, but how you need to respect others as well, even if they don’t match yours.

The above activity can also lead into discussions on individual responsibility and mutual accountability, which are really just like time management and setting priorities.  If you are being responsible enough to take care of your business and be prepared in the best way you can, then it is going to be tough for you to live up to any standards the group sets.  Because even though, as teens, they all like to think the world revolves around them, it in fact doesn’t.  They don’t live in a vacuum and need to consider how their actions impact others around them, even if it isn’t directly.

Ok. I’ve rambled on long enough here.  Let’s talk face to face if you have any other questions.

Yours in the Adventure,

Mike

I'm looking for ideas to teach time management and setting priorities to high school students through experiential education. Does anyone know of any good activities/iniatives that are along those lines?