Enjoying The Lazy Teachers’s Handbook at the moment. Love this idea – will try it in the New Year.
“may I suggest something I like to call the Photocopier Challenge, an easy and straightforward way of finding out the extent to which you are wasting your own time, let alone letting others waste it for you too. And once you have tested yourself in this way, try the test on your colleagues. You will be amazed at how many heated debates you can start just standing in line at the photocopier. Simply print out the list of questions below which challenge the pedagogical imperatives of your impending actions with the photocopier and stick it on the wall near the machine:
- Why have I printed paper copies?
- What types of activity will this lead to?
- Are these activities to do with learning or filling the time or crowd control or something else?
- How is the sheet going to be marked?
- How is the learning going to be assessed?
- How much of the worksheet do you intend to read to the whole class?
- Do all students have to start from the beginning?
- Do all students have to work through to the end?
- How could it have been done without any photocopying in the first place?
The list could go on, but I am sure you get the idea.