W.I.N. time stands for What I Need and is a special time set aside in the school day for students to do what they personally need to do in order to succeed. This “unstructured time” is a valuable part of the school day, giving students a chance to meet with a specific teacher to catch up on work, get tutoring in a subject they are struggling with, or have the time for enrichment activities if they are all caught up. Many students are not willing or able to stay after school to meet with teachers and get extra help, and especially at this age they do not want to stand out in doing so.
But if everyone is making the most of their W.I.N time during the school day, individualized instruction and learning becomes the norm rather than the exception. Although each individual school can create the specific parameters of the W.I.N. time for themselves, the bottom line is that a school can offer more to its students with this time.
There are a variety of benefits for students that are offered during the W.I.N. time, and because middle school is such a critical time of growth for students, this W.I.N. time is quite valuable for this age group. Below are some of the key benefits students will experience if schools institute W.I.N. time for their students, with age-appropriate examples for each as to how the extra time can help in each category.