Bureaucratic Speed Dating

After 3 days of learning about the bureaucracy, our last day I wanted to assess student understanding in a way that was not a multiple choice test. I’ve done speed dating to review Supreme Court cases in the past and kids loved it, so I thought {on my way to school because these ideas tend to be last minute} why not do it with the bureaucratic agencies?

The overall goal here was not to memorize each agency. I wanted an overall view of how the bureaucracy interacted with our every day lives. I made that clear to them because understanding the goals of the assignment are necessary for optimal student success.

We had read “What is Milk?” talked about iron triangles, and done the bureaucracy of pizza {which fascinating to the kids}. I assigned Bureaucracy Speed Dating on Tuesday and each student chose their agency. I didn’t let any of them have the same. I told them they only get 60 seconds so they don’t need to write me a huge essay.

I also allowed them extra point if they 1. dressed as their agency and 2. Tweeted about their agency and used our class hashtag {#apschley19} I loved how they interacted with their agencies! The dress up was an idea of one of the students and I loved it!

The day of was amazing! The energy in the room was palpable.

Students had notes with them to help them remember and this student was the FBI

The National Weather Service discusses what they do.

Room set up for 1st hour that we ended up changing for the rest of the day thanks to the advice of the kids!

Extra points for students who dressed as their agency

I used the Kagan turn timer to give the time clues to the kids.

Every one in awhile, I’d stop the dating and ask student what interesting things they’ve heard. I didn’t require them to write anything down because I wanted them to listen. The rule was, you cannot interrupt. You just need to listen.

When students were finished, I had them do a reflection. {Speed Dating slides}

I have between 25 and 32 kids in my classes. The room was loud and buzzing, but it was a fun way to get students engaged and involved!

2019-2020 Update:

After student feedback, we switched it up a bit. There were a lot of comments about the noise level, so my 2nd hour (32 students) switched it up to Bureaucratic Support Groups. I put them in groups of 5-6 and they each had a minute to speak while everyone else listened. Although they didn’t get to hear each person in the class, they got enough information for it to be successful.