Minecraft Class Management Tips

Minecraft Class Management Tips

As we worked through the process of Kids teaching Kids using the Minecraft software we found that setting specific time limits on tasks was the most effective way of ensuring the kids were on task and hitting all the milestones we set for each session.

We realised that kids just don’t get TIME! Young children often have an issue with personal time management and open ended tasks such as the construction and design elements we designed for our program lend themselves to ever evolving and continual add-ons, changes and rethinks. Without a clearly defined goal and set time limit and schedule they would just keep on building. By giving specific time limits for completion of the stages the children adhere to them and get the job done.

How do we manage this?

We use a large digital timer on a screen that counts down the time allocated to the task. The teams begin to use this timer as focus for keeping on task and completing it in the set time. At first it does cause panic and rush, often teams do not finish and the timer is their enemy!! But as time goes by the children begin to innately understand exactly how long 5 or 10 or 15 minutes is in terms of how they can best use their time. They discuss and set their goals before the time begins and while keeping an eye on the timer they get on task and stay on task. The preliminary discussion time sets team goals and gives every team member a defined task to complete.  The timer eventually establishes in the students an inbuilt body clock and before long they know how much they can get done and what are realistic goals to set for each time block.