Learning routines are essential for inclusive classrooms because learning routines are designed to promote student autonomy and community. Most importantly, learning routines provide teachers with time to listen to students and think about how to adjust teaching to nurture meaningful learning. Routines can be broken down into a series of several learning elements (task structures, help, and the option continuum). Teachers use essential skills to implement learning routines and dynamically adjust learning routines in response to specific student learning needs during lessons.
Routines in Our Tools
Explore ALL learning routines, and Elements to find more information and download resources related to the Routine cards in the Agility game.
Each Teaching with Grace practice session demonstrates different learning routines.
Different Types of Routines
Expert teachers identify and build routines. Ron Ritchhart (2002) studied classroom routines and organized his observations into two broad categories, mechanics (i.e. management, housekeeping) and learning (i.e. discourse, and thinking). In 2024, how we think about teaching and learning has changed. Learning Routines can be organized in terms of two large goals Wellbeing (i.e. care, organization) and Curriculum (i.e. thinking and discussion). Curriculum routines are designed to support and building thinking individually and collaboratively that results in learning. Curriculum routines promote individual learning, going solo- when students are learning through their own thinking or learning through collaboration – where students share and build on each other’s thinking. Generally, individual learning routines are individual or teacher directed and collaboration routines are group learning or free discussion.
References
Richhart, R. (2002). Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters, and how to get it. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass