Lesson Planning
For a 10 week session do you recomend doing all of your lesson planning in advance or week by week?
Susana,
Go ahead a feel better because your assessment about how you need to be flexible is right on. I have taught a long time and I have hardly ever used Plan A. It seems like something or someone moves me to Plan B or M or Z so I need to be prepared to go to that plan so I can the students can be successful that day. Something always will and always does come up so as an instructor we need to go with what is happening and still engage our students in learning.
Gary
I'm so glad to hear that you only plan a week at a time.I felt bad that I ususally can't stick to the plan, and i always have to revise; which has lead me to do 1 week at a time. I think you always have to tailor your lesson planning to the students...sometimes certain content goes more quickly and other areas slower than a prior group, or it can be a scheduled school event that I have to work around and make sure all content is covered and comprehended. I feel a little better.
That's the method that seems to work best for me - weekly planning of the lessons, following the outline that's already in place.
Having a good lesson plan in place is essential. Although there will be circumstances that you will have to alter that plan due to time constraints, or other unexpected events.
I also plan the same way you do. I first plan the entire course and then each week I plan the individual lesson.
Each day I review the day's lesson and my class runs smooth.
Hi Matthew,
Good point about the planning process. This also helps to relax an instructor because he/she knows where they are going and can make adaptations along the way based upon student needs.
Gary
I agree about the importance of planning the whole term at the start. It can be easy to "wing it" each week, but the planning helps identify the most important elements and the structure for both you and your students.
I have also found that after teaching a class a few times, I have better teaching/management skills to help keep the class on track so there is less need to adjust the schedule.
Hi Nathalie,
This is what good teaching is all about. Making adjustments as needed by "reading" the class. You are doing that with your tweaking of course as you progress through it. Good job.
Gary
By having all 10 weeks done I find that I am able to tweak as each week passes. That way if my class needs to work on something longer I am able to adjust the remaining weeks without having to sacrifice anything.
Hi Jennifer,
I lay out the entire course so I can see the big picture. I do my lesson planning one week at a time because each time I teach a course it is different than before due to the dynamics of the students currently enrolled. By planning a week at a time I can change direction or make modifications as needed to keep my students engaged and focused on the course.
Gary
Hi Jennifer,
In my experience, I have found that creating a lesson plan in advance for the whole session is preferable. Life always seems to get in the way at the most inconvenient times. By having a complete course/session lesson plan developed in advance, I am prepared even in the event of some unexpected event that may arise. I have had to fill-in for other instructors who have had family emergencies or unexpected illnesses. If they had not had their lesson plan in place, I would have had a difficult time teaching the required material. You can always adjust timeframes and lesson content as you go to adjust for unforeseen or unexpected issues. For instance, if your class is having trouble understanding a concept, you may have to spend more time on that concept to provide clarity. This may push your schedule back. There are times when we just have to go with the flow, be flexible and make minor adjustments in order to ensure our students are grasping the material.
