Classroom Changes: Application of Atomic Habits in the Science Classroom

“…the process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.” – James Clear, Atomic Habits

I don’t think anyone will argue with me that they changed (physically and mentally) from kindergarten to 12^th grade. I don’t think anyone will argue with me that they changed from 9^th grade to 12^th grade. I would also argue that you change from the start to the end of 10^th grade. As educators we get the unique opportunity to interact with students as they are going through major times of change and development in their lives.

There is no better time than in your classroom, no matter a science classroom or otherwise, to introduce and infuse atomic habits into your student’s lives.

What are Atomic Habits?

James Clear defines atomic habits in his book, Atomic Habits, as small habits that are part of a larger system. They are small routines or practices that are routinely preformed with action towards a larger system.

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In my Future Classroom…

Science can be a hard discipline. It is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it provides invaluable life skills (even if you cannot remember the difference between ionic and covalent bonding). In my future classroom, I want to specifically infuse Clear’s concepts of environmental design, habit compounding, and the 2-minute rule to help my students and myself to discover the ultimate power of atomic habits.

Environmental Design, Habit Compounding, and the 2-Minute Rule are 3 methods that @JamesClear writes about to form better habits. Applying these to our classrooms can make huge differences for our students and ourselves!#EDT431 #scienceteaching #habitsstartintheclassroom

— Colleen Jaycox (@Miss_Jaycox) September 30, 2020

Environmental Design

Clear writes on page 82 of Atomic Habits, “Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.”

To infuse a sense of importance of creating a positive, productive, engaging, and innovative space for my students, my classroom needs to be a model of what this means. Therefore in my classroom I will have…

• A mirror by the door of my classroom.
  • To show that I apricate my students and their appearance.
  • Also, the mirror by the door, not by the lab equipment will show the difference in spaces and how each space is defined.
• Experimental stations on the perimeter of the classroom.
  • There is a space for innovation and hands-on learning.
  • Equipment out on tables is a visual context cue for the students that they will be challenged in a different way. They have the ability to prepare for a different application of their knowledge.
• Group tables in the center of my classroom.
  • Visually encourages a space of collaboration.
  • A space not cluttered, provides less a student has to unconsciously process.

Habit Compounding

Clear, on page 19, provides this chart with the simple title, “Your habits can compound for you or against you.”

I want this quote and table to hang in my classroom. I want it to be a visual cue and reminder to my students that the little things they choose to do in the classroom matter more than just in my classroom.

A Possible Chemistry Lesson Plan:

• Famous minority group Chemists
  • Practice a cooperative learning method – Jigsaw II
    • 4-5 member groups
    • All members are given the same initial starting information
    • From there the students are given a specific topic to research further
    • After some time for research, they move into expert groups for their topic and share what they have learned with other topic experts
    • Come back together to teach their other group members about each other’s topics
  • This would help in relationship compounding through the use of this activity several times. Creating habits of helping people when the student understands could lead to them getting help from other students when they need it.
  • It would also help make connections between different fields, such as Chemistry, History, and English. This could help with showing that different knowledge compounds. Creating habits to keep acquiring different knowledge and that everything works together is key.

The 2-Minute Rule

Clear writes on page 162 of Atomic Habits, “When you start a new habit, it should take you less than two-minutes to do.”

In the short interview below, Clear describes the two-minute rule and what it actually means. I encourage you to watch and see for yourself, the power the rule has!

I am about to say something that may seem radical. Please brace yourself!

A Possible Activity:

• In my classroom, I am going to start the year with giving my students small, 2-minute homework assignments.
  • Students will form a habit of completing homework (in theory) because it is only 2-minutes.
• As the year progresses, their homework assignments will progress in time required as well. (I will aim to not go over an hour threshold for a single assignment – project not included.)
• The students the first 2 weeks will have 2-minute assignments. Then for the next 3 weeks they will have 5-minute assignments and so on.
• The gradual increase of homework time will hopefully follow the “gateway habit” (Clear, 163) that the 2 minute homework completion created.

I hope you follow me in creating atomic habits in your classroom for your students and yourself. As we can see they are too powerful to ignore. Besides, we are all changing every day, so we may as well change for the better.