The Power of the Pause

The Power of the Pause: 1 Tip Used 4 Different Ways!

Are you a remote teacher, or having to assign some sort of virtual work? Honestly, these are going to work for all teachers. I have one tip that will serve you in four different ways. It’s called The Power of the Pause and it’s pretty powerful!

For those of you who don’t know me, my name’s Elizabeth Peterson, and I love helping other teachers to get inspired with resources and ideas that are embedded in SEAL, Social Emotional Artistic Learning.  SEAL focuses on integrating the arts with SEL, but it’s so much more. Part of what that means is that we need to look at the work that we do in creative ways.  I think you’re going to really like this new SEAL tool!

Do you remember how we used to use the Pause button?!?

You probably already know about the pause button, right? I mean, how many of you used it when you were making mix tapes? Go ahead and tell me in the comments! Let’s hear from my fellow mixed tape people! 

I remember feeling like a genius when I discovered the pause button.

When you press record, and then the pause button I was sold!  You could not only get the most of that song you were waiting for on the radio, but that pause button made it so that you didn’t have that clunky sound between songs.  It made recording songs with different tapes so much easier!

Those were the days! 

 

Okay… but how does this work for my classroom?

The pause button has taken on a few other roles as well.  I can’t wait to go through all four strategies that are going to apply to the work you do as a teacher.

 

Number One: Pause Yourself and Check Your Work.

This is a great pause button strategy for self-awareness. Let’s face it. Kids are so quick to hit that send button, or to hit that turn in button, or to put their pencil down and say, I’m done.

By using the idea of the pause button, you can emphasize to students to slow down.  When you think you’re done, you need to pause, take a breath, and really check your work.  This can happen in so many different situations.

 

I’ll share an example with you right now.

In my remote classroom, I love to get students’ input over in the chat.  But, they often will just hit send before really thinking things through. Nothing has happened inappropriate per se.  However, when I’m asking for a complete sentence with a capital and a period, I want that done correctly!  And for heaven sakes, will you PLEASE capitalize the word I? 😀

When I see a sentence come through the chat and there’s no period, I go back and remind my students to pause.  Once you’ve typed in your sentence, pause for a moment before you hit send.  To be honest, isn’t that a great lesson in life with the texting, and tweeting and putting comments in Facebook?

Sometimes we all need the little reminder to pause yourself before you hit send.

 

Number Two: Use Pausing as a Tool for Self-Management

The second way I want you to think about utilizing the pause button with your students, is for them to pause what they’re doing in order to help them with some self-management.  There are a couple of ways that you can think about this. Before you actually get to work on a project or an assignment, stop and think.  Pause yourself for a moment, and make sure you have everything that you need.

Do you have your paper, your materials, your research, your resources? Have you asked all the questions that you really need?

 

Taking that moment to press the pause button can be really beneficial so when you get working, you can keep working.

The other way to think about this tool is for self-management purposes.  When my students are really into an assignment and we are running out of time, I like to think about putting them on pause instead of stopping them abruptly.  I will actually say to them, “Put yourself on pause for a moment.”  It’s time for us to go to lunch, or stop for a snack, or go to gym.

 

Change the atmosphere from something that’s rushed and stressful, to something that’s just being put on pause.

So, if you have students that are really hard at work on something, and you know that they’re running out of time, encourage them to just put themselves on pause.  Give themselves that moment to think about what they can finish up in a short amount of time, and what they can kind of set up for when they come back to their work.

 

Number Three: Use Pausing as a Tool for Self-Care

The third way I’d like you to think about the Power of the Pause is for self-care.  This can be self-care for your students, and also self-care for you.

 

I’ve been talking a lot about teacher self-care.

If you haven’t yet subscribed to the YouTube channel, make sure you do!  There’s a lot of great videos that you can watch and a lot of great videos that are coming up!

One you might want to check out is how to Stop, Look, and Listen for your teacher self-care. It’s a great strategy for any teacher, or any one who has a stressful job.

Taking time to pause for yourself is very important.  Think of yourself as that boom box with the pause button.   

Get up, pause, walk away, and then it’s right there when you come back.

Putting yourself on pause is really a great way for you to take a break.  Sometimes we just need that pause button to give ourselves a little break.

 

Number 4: Using the Power of the Pause like an Actual Pause Button

Lastly, you can think about the power of the pause button as an actual pause button.  When you are teaching remotely this is a great tool.  It works for sending out videos for your class to watch in a flipped classroom, or when your students are working remotely from home.  You can teach your students about the power of the pause.

Those videos that they’re required to watch can sometimes go a too quickly.  That’s why I love the power of the pause. Kids can pause at any time and let the information sink in a little bit. They can even rewind videos so that they can watch certain parts again.

 

Instructing students on how to actually use those video controls is a really good benefit for their learning as well.

I always encourage my students to pause a video and let them catch up to whatever it is that’s being instructed for them on that video.

For example, in one of the videos I did for origami, it can tend to go a little too fast for some of my students. I’ve instructed them to really use that pause button, and rewind button so that they can watch, and rewatch certain steps, and get their origami to look the way that they want it to look.

 

This also can really help teachers as they’re creating instructional videos for their students.

When you make your own instructional videos, I want you to have in the back of your mind, the power of the pause. That way you can create shorter, more intense videos, that your students can then watch in sections, pause, take some notes and really be able to reflect on before they hit the play button to keep that video going.

 

Get your own Pause Button!

You see how this SEAL tool, The Power of the Pause, can really be used across the board? But, if you’re like me, sometimes time can get away from you, and you simply forget about the pause button.

That’s why I created the pause button poster to help you remember why pressing that pause button is so important in so many ways. You can grab your own copy of the Power of the Pause button in the description below or click here.

I describe how you can introduce this concept to your students and then have them create their own pause buttons. This is the type of resource that you can add your own creative, unique touch to it.  Have it available to you inside your binder or your planner.  Or, hang it up around your desk so that you can remember the Power of the Pause.

 

Check out more from my YouTube Channel!

The next video you’ll want to go check out is my Stop, Look, and Listen self-care strategy for teachers. It can be found right here.  And if you like this video, please give me a thumbs up.

For more videos that can inspire you with new ways to think about your teaching, go ahead and hit the Subscribe button and also the bell.  That way, you’ll be notified whenever a new video comes out!

My name’s Elizabeth, and I’m here to remind you to get inspired with new creative ideas for your teaching, so that you can be inspiring to your students.

I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day. Now, go watch the next video. 🙂