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The temperature is rising. The sun is shining. State testing is done. And all anyone is thinking about is the sweet taste of summer. The beach, lemonade, lazy hot days, and catching fireflies.
For students and staff alike, the last few weeks of school can fly by or drag on. It depends on your perspective, attitude, and what's going on in your classroom and school. If you and your students are so immersed in learning, celebrating, or sharing accomplishments, the last weeks of school when everyone is usually burned out might be the most exciting weeks of the year.
When I was an assistant principal, I was fortunate to work with one science teacher, an innovator who challenged the status quo and ruffled some feathers in the building. The culminating project students worked on was a self-created research study.
....if you open yourself up to a new way of doing things, you might find a level of success you never expected. And just perhaps that will make you rethink everything you do during the school year.
They drafted their hypothesis, conducted their experiment, and wrote an actual scientific paper in the style of what they would encounter in college. A completely different type of writing than they were used to. This culminating project gave students autonomy and challenged them to think differently and try new things.
While the last few weeks tend to be unstructured regardless of the grade level, they can be super productive. If you decide to “think again” as Adam Grant says in his book, Think Again: The Power of Not Knowing What You Don’t Know, if you open yourself up to a new way of doing things, you might find a level of success you never expected. And just perhaps that will make you rethink everything you do during the school year.
In this week’s post, I’ll review the concept of burnout and why it can be so detrimental to anyone experiencing it. You’ll hopefully see that burnout doesn’t have to happen, especially at the end of the year. Instead of dreading the weeks that seem to drag to on, shift your mindset. Then, I’ll share 5 strategies you can incorporate to make the most of the last few weeks of school so that student engagement continues.
What is Burnout?
We’ve probably all been there. Feelings of exhaustion. Possibly tears. The fear of having to get up and face what is to come. Burnout can be completely debilitating and up until the 1970’s, it wasn’t really defined.
American psychologist Herbert Fredunberger first proposed the concept of burnout in the 70s and used the concept to contextualize how care and focus can deteriorate after experiencing sustained stress (Boada-Gra et al., 2015).
When faced with burnout, individuals can become cynical or pessimistic and feel incompetent (Zhang et al., 2007).
The Davidson Institute defines academic burnout as “the chronic exhaustion that stems from a mismatch between the individual and their current educational environment.” Burnout can be characterized by a lack of motivation, apathy, exhaustion, and irritability (Dlugosz, 2021).
When faced with burnout, individuals can become cynical or pessimistic and feel incompetent (Zhang et al., 2007). Burnout affects us not only physically, but also mentally as our light fades and fades when experiencing burnout (Nikodijevic et al., 2012).
Considering education, in a 2022 survey of 242 teachers, burnout was one of three challenges identified, the other two being student behavior and learning challenges (Walter, 2022).
No one is immune to burnout. It can happen to the. best of us. But if we make some mind shifts and begin opening ourselves up to new and better ways of thinking and being, then perhaps we can recenter ourselves and re-engage our students.
5 Strategies to Engage Students at the End of the Year
While the strategies I present below are geared toward the end of the year, they can and should be used throughout the year to prevent burnout and increase engagement. When we are actively engaged in what we are teaching, learning, or doing and have moments of joy, balancing our personal needs with our professional, we can counteract burnout and keep our flames going all year long.
1. Think differently
While I haven’t read Adam Grant’s Think Again: The Power of Not Knowing What you Don’t Know yet, I do follow him religiously on Linkedin and listen to his his podcast, Rethinking. Grant is an organizational psychologist and his ideas and perspectives, if adopted in public education, could revolutionize our field.
I challenge you at the end of the year to think differently or "think again." Think like a scientist as Grant says and try out new things in your classroom. Honestly, what better time to do this than at the end of the year? Be creative and explore. Your state tests are done and kids are yearning to do something different than what they have been the past 9 months.
Flip the script on kids so that maybe they are teaching the class a topic or leading a symposium. Explore AI and figure out how you can use it purposefully in an assignment. Have the kids define and solve a localized problem. The world is your oyster when you think differently.
The more we surround ourselves with positive people and mindsets, the more positivity will rub off on us. Similarly, if you surround yourself with a bunch of energy vampires as Jim Gordon calls them, then they will suck the life out of you.
2. Shift mindsets
Do you remember the excitement, energy, and enthusiasm you had at the beginning of the year? Reflect and find out why you felt that way and see if you can replicate it at the end of the year.
Call on your students to do the same! Let them join you in a reflection or meditation activity so that you can reenergize yourselves and shift your mindsets.
The more we surround ourselves with positive people and mindsets, the more positivity will rub off on us. Similarly, if you surround yourself with a bunch of energy vampires as Jim Gordon calls them, then they will suck the life out of you. You do not need that kind of mojo at the end of the year when you are trying to stay strong.
3. Celebrate learning
The end of the year is a great time to celebrate all the learning that has occurred. Now, when I am talking about learning, I’m not only talking about all A's and wins. I’m talking about failures as well because we learn from failure.
So while we can celebrate the successes, I also think it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the failures because that is where true learning can occur. I encourage teachers to do this with students and be vulnerable. When students see that we are not perfect and make mistakes, it will normalize mistakes so students do not fear taking risks and actually develop their resilience.
If you decide to celebrate through an end-of-year event, then don’t forget the chips & dip! Everyone likes a little food to celebrate. 🙂
4. Bring on the passion projects.
The year is coming to a quick close, but that doesn’t mean the learning needs to stop. Have students select something they love and let them have at it. Are they interested in art? Have them create their own comic on a topic of their choosing. Do they like math? Have them create a bridge using legos, popsicles, or some other medium and show the math they used. The possibilities are truly endless.
Students will have an opportunity for choice and voice which have both been proven to increase engagement and learning.
5. Enjoy the outdoors
One of the most frustrating parts about the end of the year is that the weather is usually gorgeous outside and we are left inside. This is the perfect opportunity to utilize an outdoor classroom space or to cozy the kids up next to a tree and read.
Even taking a walking break and having students engage in a walk and talk with a peer about the content area could be just the kind of break they need to refocus in the classroom.
Utilize the great outdoors to your and your students’ advantage so that they can get some vitamin D and feel energized.
One Last Thought
Despite what anyone may say, you control the energy and passion you bring to work. So much in our lives is a choice and you can either choose to think like a scientist, not fear failure, and try something new or choose to succumb to malaise and burnout.
My hope is that the strategies I’ve shared in this post will provide you with some structures and ideas to implement so that you not only end the year strong but also recalibrate and rethink throughout the year.
The choice, though, is ultimately yours.
References
Boada-Grau, J., Merino-Tejedor, E., Sánchez-García, J. C., Prizmic-Kuzmica, A. J., & Vigil-Colet, A. (2015). Adaptation and psychometric properties of the SBI-U scale for Academic Burnout in university students. Anales de Psicología/Annals of Psychology, 31(1), 290-297.
Dlugosz, M. (2021, September 8). Burnout in gifted children. Davidson Institute. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/burnout-in-gifted-children/
Nikodijević, A., Labrović, J. A., & Đoković, A. (2012). Academic burnout among students at faculty of organizational sciences. Journal for Theory and Practice Management, 64, 64-53.
Student Stories: Academic burnout is real and preventable. (2023, November 28). Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. https://ospi.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/news-center/special-projects/student-stories-academic-burnout-real-and-preventable#:~:text=The%20Davidson%20Institute%20defines%20it,academic%20burnout%20affects%20students%20worldwide.
Walter, J. (2022, November 11). Tell us how you really feel: A teacher sentiment survey — LeanLab Education. Leanlab Education. https://www.leanlabeducation.org/blog/tell-us-how-you-really-feel?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgpCzBhBhEiwAOSQWQQU308xU5bRGPYm9QgHei0DhdBhHkZA5wiLih2LbhVEkMIzJ2gshwBoCrqAQAvD_BwE
Zhang, Y., Gan, Y., & Cham, H. (2007). Perfectionism, academic burnout and engagement among Chinese college students: A structural equation modeling analysis. Personality and individual differences, 43(6), 1529-1540.
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