Transitions in the

Classroom
EDI 685: Action Research Project

Arienne Bowman
3-22-2020
 The focus of this action research project is transitions between tasks in the classroom.

The main goal of this project was to reduce the amount of time that is lost moving from one task

to the next in order to increase meaningful learning time and improve overall class management.

The research for this project was carried out in my 6th hour U.S. History class. This class is my

largest class of the day with 34 students and as it is also the last hour of the day they struggle the

most with staying on-task, especially during transition times. At the start of class my 6th hour

students usually do not have any issues with getting started. Our school has a bell system in place

so students know that when the second bell rings they are to be in their seats and they should

have their warm-up sheets out. The sound of the bell signifies the transition from passing time

(in the halls) to class time. However, my students were struggling with the transitions that occur

during the hour. The bell system is a daily occurrence; students know what sound to listen for

and what that sound signifies. For my research I postulated somehow regulating the transitions

during class time so that students would know to expect the end of one activity and the beginning

of another. The thought behind this being that if I could regulate transitions during class time, the

way transitions between classes are regulated, then I would be able to improve transition time for

my 6th hour class. The result of which would be more class time spent on learning, and an overall

improvement to class management as a whole.

Once I identified the issue of class transitions as my area of focus I began looking into

literature available. Much of the literature I found focuses more on transitions in an elementary

classroom setting but these strategies and ideas could easily be applied to a secondary classroom

setting. Interestingly, there were several common factors among all the articles I read. First is the

idea that either a signal or some sort of physical cue should be used to signify a transition.

Second, the various articles I read shared the idea that direct (explicit) instruction would also be

1|Page
an effective means to achieving smoother transitions in the classroom. And lastly, the

overarching theme that tied everything together was classroom management. While each of these

articles discussed how to improve transitions in the classroom, they all did so under the umbrella

of classroom management.

One of the most commonly discussed strategies for improving transitions was that of

implementing either a signal or a physical cue to signify the transition period. This idea was best

summarized by Codding and Smyth in their article when they stated, “signals provided to

students regarding the end of an activity and the beginning of the next serve to increase

predictability in the classroom and thereby increase the likelihood that students will remain

engaged.”1 This suggests that students do better with a predictable routine; something that is

always the same and is expected. This took me back to my initial thoughts in regards to my

action research. Initially I noted the fact that my 6th hour students do well with transitioning from

passing time to the start of class. This is largely due to the school’s bell system; students know

that when the second bell sounds, passing time is done and class time is starting. This is

something that is routine and predictable, and students know what to expect when they hear that

sound. I had also initially postulated doing something to regulate transitions during class time.

By this point in time I had decided upon using a countdown method where I would give students

time to transition and then count down from 5, by the time I reached 0 the expectation was that

students would be ready to begin the next task. After reading about the strategy of using a signal

or physical cue, I knew I was moving in the right direction to be able to improve transitions in

my own classroom.

1
Codding, R., & Smyth, C. (2008). Using Performance Feedback To Decrease Classroom Transition Time And
Examine Collateral Effects On Academic Engagement. Pg. 328

2|Page
 The second common strategy that was shared amongst the literature was that of using

direct, explicit instruction to guide students through the transition periods. The main idea behind

this being that as teachers, we can enhance our classroom behavior management and increase our

effective instruction when we provide our students with direct, explicit instructions about when

and how to perform transitions.2 Thus while using a signal or physical cue can help alert students

to the start or end of a transition period, coupling this with direct instructions on what to do can

then further increase the likelihood that students will remain engaged and on-task during these

periods. The regular use of a signal, along with open communication, lets our students know

what to expect from us (the teacher) and what is expected from them.3

Above all, classroom management was the overarching theme that encompassed all of the

literature I read on classroom transitions. As each article discussed strategies for improving

transitions, these were all discussed within the context of improving classroom management as a

whole. “Rather than assuming that students know (or should know) how to transition

appropriately, teachers can enhance their classroom behavior management with explicit

instruction and practice in behavioral expectations and routines.”4 From this example it is clear

that while discussing transitions, the success or failure of the transitions is ultimately couched

within the skills of classroom management. Another text phrases this correlation in a slightly

different manner, “teachers implement responsive classroom management components to

reinforce appropriate student behavior and discourage problem behavior.”5 Across the various

2
McIntosh, K., Herman, K., & Sanford, A. (2004). Teaching Transitions: Techniques for Promoting Success Between
Lessons. Pg. 32-33
3
Buck, G. H. (1999). Smoothing the rough edges of classroom transitions. Pg. 227
4
McIntosh, K., Herman, K., & Sanford, A. (2004). Pg. 32-33
5
Collier-Meek, M. A. 1. mel. colliermeek@umb. ed., Johnson, A. H. ., Sanetti, L. H. ., Minami, T., & Eckert, T. (2019).
Identifying Critical Components of Classroom Management Implementation. Pg. 349

3|Page
literature I read the essential message was the same, in order to improve class transitions a

teacher would need to use the same strategies that are used for good classroom management.

I took all of this information from the literature and used this as I began to carry out my

action research project. As aforementioned, I carried out my action research with my 6th hour

U.S. history class. This is a freshman (9th grade) course at the high school and my 6th hour class

is the largest class of the day with 34 students. This is also the last period of the school day and

the class is approximately 55 minutes long. One of the main reasons I chose this hour to do my

action research was because they struggle the most with their transition times; a lot of

instructional time was being lost each day because too much time was being given to transitions.

My goal for this project then was to improve the transition process in this hour so that more of

class time could be dedicated to instruction and learning.

To carry out my research I collected data in two primary ways. After looking over the

research I decided on a method to use for classroom transitions. Each time I needed my students

to transition from one task to the next I used the same four steps: 1) give students a verbal

warning a minute or two prior that the current activity would be ending, 2) end the current task

and provide explicit directions for what I expected students to do during the transition time, 3)

provide students time to transition, and 4) signal the end of transition time by repeating the

instructions I gave as actions that should be completed or coming to an end; while repeating

instructions I hold up my hand and then count down from 5 with the expectation that the

transition is complete by the time I reach 0. This is something that I did at least once a day (or

more depending on what the lesson for the day was) with my 6th hour and after each time I would

record my observations in a notebook. This way I could go back and look at how the class was

progressing with this action and determine if my current steps were working or not. The second

4|Page
primary way I collected data for this research project was to have the class fill out an anonymous

survey. At the start of my research project I created a survey through Google forms that my

students filled out. This survey contained questions that asked students to assess both their own

individual performance, as well as that of the class, in regards to class behavior and transitions.

After the two week period of collecting data I would have asked students to fill out the survey

once again with the hope being that their assessment of themselves and the class as a whole

would have improved overall. However, due to the unprecedented circumstances regarding

COVID-19 and the school closures, my research was shortened a few days and I was unable to

collect the exit surveys from my students. Even without the exit surveys though the observations

I made each day showed promising results for my action research.

As aforementioned, at the start of my research project I had the students in my 6th hour

class complete an anonymous survey where I asked them to assess their own individual

performance as well as that of the class as a whole. A majority of the class took the survey but

due to absences I have only 29 of the 34 responses. For this survey students answered the

following questions:

 Overall, I think we have a positive classroom environment. (on a scale of 1-5)

 On a scale of 1-5 (where 1 is bad; needs much improvement, and 5 is great; needs little to
no improvement) how would you rate overall class behavior?
 On a scale of 1-5 (where 1 is bad; needs much improvement, and 5 is great; needs little to
no improvement) how would you rate your own personal behavior?
 To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Overall the class does a great
job of transitioning from one task to the next. (i.e. follows directions quickly and quietly
without needing directions repeated)
 To what extent do you agree with the following statement: Overall, I do a great job of
transitioning from one task to the next. (i.e. follow directions quickly and quietly without
needing directions repeated)
 In your own words, please briefly reflect on class behavior, and how well we transition
between tasks.

5|Page
  What is a short term goal you have for the class as a whole, in regards to class behavior,
for the next 2 weeks?
 What is a short term goal you have for yourself in regards to classroom behavior for the
next 2 weeks?
These results gave me a reference for how the students perceived their own behavior and

whether or not they themselves believed that anything needed to change. For my students, I did

not show them all of the results but I did summarize all of their short-term goals and made a

class poster that they could reference. This way they could see the short-term goals that they had

set for themselves. And even if they personally did not think anything needed to change, they

could see what the rest of their classmates thought in regards to the matter.

The results from this survey were quite interesting. Overall, most of the class did believe

that class behavior and transitions could be improved upon. A total of 79.3% (or 23 out of 29)

rated our class behavior at a 3 or lower on a scale of 1-5. Similarly, 65.5% (or 19 out of 29) rated

our class transitions at a 3 or lower on a scale of 1-5. What was intriguing though was their

perception of their own behavior. In both of those categories more than 90% of the students

ranked their own performance as a 3 or higher. So while the students could admit that as a class

they needed to work on their transitioning and behavior skills, at the individual level no one

readily admitted to needing to work on these skills. In a way these results do accurately represent

part of the problem this hour faces. It is not that the students in this class are inherently bad, one

of the main issues is that there are 34 of them (when everyone is here). With a class so large it is

very easy for students to get distracted, and for side conversations to quickly take over the class.

Because there are 34 of them and only 1 of me, I needed to find a way to better manage my

students’ behavior in order to improve the time spent on transitions. While I originally intended

the survey to be a means for me to assess how my students perceived themselves and the class, it

6|Page
also had the added benefit that it alerted students to the fact that there may be an issue that

needed fixing.

The exit survey I planned for my students to take would have posed the exact same

questions to the students and I would have taken data from that survey and compared it to the

first. That comparison would have informed me of whether or not the students saw change in

their class’ performance, and it would have shown me from their perspective if the 4-step process

I was using for transitions had an impact. The exit survey also would have given students the

opportunity to reflect on the progress they felt they made (or did not make) over the course of the

two week period.

After going over the student responses to the initial survey I began carrying out my action

research plan. As I stated at the beginning of this paper, my 6th hour students do not struggle with

the initial transition from passing time to the start of class. This is due to the fact that our school

uses a bell system so students know when they hear the second bell go off it means that the

passing period is over and class is beginning. It is the transitions that occur after this point where

my 6th hour students struggled the most. Depending on what the lesson is for the day there is at

least one transition, if not more, during each class period so I was able carry out my research on

a daily basis with ease. As previously mentioned, I adopted a 4-step method for carrying out

transitions during this class period:

1. Give students a verbal warning a minute or two prior that the current activity would be
ending
2. End the current task and provide explicit directions for what I expected students to do
during the transition time
3. Provide students time to transition, and
4. Signal the end of transition time by repeating the instructions I gave as actions that
should be completed or coming to an end; while repeating instructions I hold up my hand

7|Page
 and then count down from 5 with the expectation that the transition is complete by the
time I reach 0.
The first couple of days that I used this method it was clear that the students took note of my

directions, however it still took them a little bit longer than the time I had allotted in order to

complete a transition. Day 1 I observed two transitions and on Day 2 I also observed 2

transitions. Even though the students struggled the first couple of days to complete transitions in

the given time, there was already a noticeable decrease in the talking and the off-task behaviors

that occurred during the transition times. Day 3 of my action research plan was the first day

where my students were able to successfully complete a transition in the time I had allotted. This

means that by the time I had had reached 0 all students were ready to move on to the next task.

By this point the students were clearly becoming accustomed to the new routine I was using with

them and they appeared to be responding well to the directions I gave. After using this 4-step

method for a full week in class, it was on Day 6 that I observed my students complete a transition

in its entirety before I reached 0 as I counted down. Day 6 was the first time I had observed an

entirely smooth transition with this class where I could say that my students remained engaged

and on-task during the whole process. It was a great feeling to see that the steps I was taking had

positive effects. At this point I reflected as to what it was that really helped my students with the

transitions and I realized two key changes, both of which I implemented thanks to the research I

had done. The first being that before starting this project the transitions that happened did not

have a defined ending; meaning in no way did I signal the end of the transition period, I would

simply move into the next task. Secondly, I think the fact that I began to explicitly state what I

wanted students to do during transition times also helped to keep students on-task. By telling

students what was expected of them it gave them a tangible task to focus on completing during

the transition periods. As I approached the end of the second week of my research I observed that

8|Page
my students were now becoming pros at transitioning from one task to the next without getting

off task. Typically as I progressed through the 4 steps I laid out I would no longer need to count

all the way down to 0, usually by the time I said 5 all the chatter would die down and by the time

I reached 4 or 3 my students were completely ready for the next task. On a couple of occasions

towards the end I even noted that some students would start to have fun with the process and

drag out being completely ready until I reached 0. Overall though, based on my observations of

using this 4-step process, my 6th hour students did indeed improve their transition time and

decrease the amount of learning time lost during the class period.

Table of observations during action research project.

Day Observations during Transition time
Day 1 Students seem to take note of directions but still talk and are off-task during
transition time. They were not ready to begin the next task when I reached 0.
Second transition is about the same as the first. Students still remain off-task during
transition time.
Day 2 Students do better at following directions today. Not as much talking during the
transition. Still not ready to being next task as I reached 0.
Second transition goes better. Students did a better job of following directions and
responding to the signal to end the transition.
Day 3 Today is the first day students were ready to begin the next task when I reached 0.
Day 4 Students continue to respond well. Some are still off-task but students manage to be
prepared for the next activity when I reach 0.
Day 5 Students still responding well. They were ready to start the next task by the time I
reached 0.
Second transition -15 minutes left in class- did not go as well. Some students not
ready when I reached 0.
Day 6 Students did very well today. Less time off-task during transition. Students ready for
new task by the time I reached 2 (still counted to 0 though)
Day 7 Students continue to work through transitions well. Little time off task. Today they
were ready to move on by the time I reached 3.
Day 8 Great transition. Students remained on task. Ready to go by the time I reached 3.
Second transition also great. More students are remaining engaged. Ready to go by
the time I reach 3.
Day 9 Excellent transition. Students had materials for next task out and were ready by the
time I started counting.
Second transition also great. This time I had students having fun with the process –
either posing or purposely delaying being 100% ready until I counted down to 1.

9|Page
 For future research it would certainly paint a more accurate picture to have the exit

survey completed by students. This would provide insight as to how the students assessed their

progress during the research period. However, given these unprecedented circumstances amidst

the COVID-19 pandemic my research will not contain this data. Outside of this though I think it

would quite beneficial for future research to look at the two changes I made separately in order

to determine if only one or both of these changes were necessary. In my research I added the use

of a signal and used explicit instruction. In the future I think it would be beneficial to look at

each of those factors separately; so have one class where only the use of a signal is added, and

another where only explicit instruction is used. Those findings could provide insight as to

whether or not the presence of both is necessary in order to have successful transitions.

In conclusion, despite not being able to carry out the exit survey I had intended to give

my students this project still showed positive results. By giving my students explicit instructions

for what I expected them to do, and by using a signal (in this case the countdown method), I was

able to better direct and guide my students through transitions. This resulted in less time being

wasted talking and more time being devoted to instruction and learning in the classroom. The

action research also had the benefit of improving class behavior as a whole since more time was

spent on learning. Thus, while I may not have completely finished my action research project,

the data I collected does indeed show that the steps I took with my 6th hour class did lead to an

improvement in their transition skills.

10 | P a g e
 Works Cited

 Buck, G. H. (1999). Smoothing the rough edges of classroom transitions. Intervention in

School and Clinic, 34(4), 224.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/10.1177/105345129903400406

 Codding, R., & Smyth, C. (2008). Using Performance Feedback To Decrease Classroom

Transition Time And Examine Collateral Effects On Academic Engagement. Journal of

Educational & Psychological Consultation, 18(4), 325–345. https://doi-

org.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/10.1080/10474410802463312

 Collier-Meek, M. A. 1. mel. colliermeek@umb. ed., Johnson, A. H. ., Sanetti, L. H. .,

Minami, T., & Eckert, T. (2019). Identifying Critical Components of Classroom

Management Implementation. School Psychology Review, 48(4), 348–361. https://doi-

org.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/10.17105/SPR-2018-0026.V48-4

 McIntosh, K., Herman, K., & Sanford, A. (2004). Teaching Transitions: Techniques for

Promoting Success Between Lessons. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(1), 32–38.

11 | P a g e