IF "Activity" Than "Activity"?

[jater]

I have to schedule Planning Periods for each faculty member. I have setup the planning period as an activity with no student assigned. When a planning period takes place, the students need to be in another classroom. In our case, art, physical education, music, computers, or STEM are options. I need to be able to setup a constraint that says when a teacher has a planning bell with 0 students, then those students MUST be in one of the classes listed above (either: art, music, computers, STEM). How do I set this up?

[Volker Dirr]

hmm... I don't understand why you want to do it that way, but can't you just add a tag to that activities and use a preferred rooms constraint for that tag?

[jater]

Is there a better way to set this up? I am letting the software choose when a teacher can have the planning period activity, so I am not sure how a preferred room constraint would help. I am still learning all of the options with the software. Please advise.

[Volker Dirr]

hmm... I fear you need to tell us more detailed your deficition of "planning hour".

Your request above sounds a bit strage to me:
"When a planning period takes place, the students need to be in another classroom. In our case, art, physical education, music, computers, or STEM are options."
Why should the students that have music go into the physical education lab? Sound's to me like you done it wrong. You should use subject prefered rooms for art, physical education, music, computers (Maybe also STEM. Not sure. If it is math only, then you can maybe choose nearly any classroom. For other maybe special rooms are better.).

[jater]

Let me try to explain better.

Each teacher is required to have a planning period (activity) every day. During this time they will not have students. The options available for those students are to go to either music, or art, or STEM, or computers. The students must be assigned to one of those listed above.

Currently, I have the planning period setup as an activity with no students assigned. I have the music, art, STEM, or computers also setup as activities. I need a method to tell the software that when a planning period happens, it needs to assign the students to either music, or art, or STEM, or computers.

Does that help?

[Volker Dirr]

Yes. Looks like you are mixing 2 things.

A students set must go into the music room, if they have music. Use a subject preferred room constraint.
A students set must go into the art room, if they have art. Use a subject preferred room constraint.
...

Now you have also planning activities. I don't know why you need to have them in parallel to that division (we also have something like that for teachers, but not forced to be in parallel).
There are different variants how to do that. Depending on your data set and also depending on why the teacher must have the planning activity in parallel.
Please tell me, why that hour must be in parallel to the students with subject art, music, ... . Why is is not allowed to be in parallel with English or History or ... ?

[jater]

Ok. I think I now understand. The reason they must be parallel is because these teachers are 'self-contained'. It is the only teacher that teaches all of those subjects. For example:

Grade 1 Teacher teaches: Math, Science, English, Religion, Social Studies. This teacher needs a planning bell.

When they aren't teaching the subjects above and are in their planning bell, the first grade students have the option of being in either music, PE, computers, or art (what we call specials).

I am allowing the software to choose when the Planning Bell can occur as well as the specials for scheduling purposes.

[Volker Dirr]

There are at least 3 variants possible:

a) add a pseudo division. So maybe add 'students' called "PSEUDO" or "-" or something like that. Since in fact there are no pseudo students, there is no student that need to care about that activity, but you can now just place the planning teacher into an activity with that students set. So he will be always in parallel  and you can just give him also a prefered own room.

or

b) Use a virtual room. So for example if you have art room "Art room", then maybe add a virtual art room called "Art room " (with space at the end!) So nobody will see that extra space. But now you can use the virtual room feature to just set subject prefered room art into the virtual room and in this virtual room you add the correct art room and also the class room. So that activity in fact always blocks the class room.

or

c) just add a constaint same starting time for that teacher and set a room constraint for that activity.

or

...