New Instructor
As a first year instructor, I am still trying to maximize my effort preparing the lesson plans. I give myself about an hour for every three hours of instruction. I know this may be much, but until I get a better feel of the material I will continue putting in the extra time. I am certainly not very good at winging it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Natalie,
Be yourself and project your personality and passion for your field while presenting your content. This way your students will see you as their learning leader and your confidence will grow. Also, keep in mind that experience is one of the best ways to gain confidence so as you spend more time in front of your students your expertise will grow along with your confidence.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a new instructor, having never taught before. I have found (through trial) that looking at the week's material is good structure. However, I must only study each day's material. Additionally, I give 1hr study time for each class. Somehow, when in front of class, I feel only 50% confident. Any suggestions?
ANTHONY,
You have a very good plan going for you. Each phase of this plan helps you to expand your expertise and engage your students in the learning process. This is a professional development plan that I know is going to yield great results for you.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a first year automotive instructor. I usually find that I am preparing 2 to 2.5 hours for an 1.5 hour lecture. It's not that I don't know the subject matter, I'm just trying to figure the best way to deliver it to the students. I usually walk into the class with a with a paper that has bullet points on it with the topics that I want to discuss. Next to the bullet points are highlighted key terms which I feel are important for the students to understand. Usually at the end of class I write down the areas that I struggled through so I can try to improve my delivery the next time. I also write down the areas that the students appear to be having difficulty understanding, and then I usually ask another instructor if it was the way I taught it or if he has any ideas on how I can make it easier for the student to understand. I find that if you have a mentor or a go to person with experience it just makes my job easier.
Brian,
Great advice for beginning instructors. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When I was a new teacher, I over-prepared each lecture, which made it easy to feel comfortable that I would be able to handle any questions thrown at me. If you have the time, spend the time!
-Brian
Katherine,
I would concentrate on one area of my course try to get that part well organized and ready to teach. The move to the next and then the next. If you try to take on the entire course you will be overwhelmed and not be able to bring the refinement you are seeking in your course planning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a new teacher I find that there are not enough hours in the day to prepare for a class. Unfortunatly I still feel disorganized, even though I have taken the proper steps to prepare.Any thoughts on how to fix my problem?
Tracy,
Glad to hear about your progress. You have a lot of offer and with your attitude about growing as a professional I know you are going to be settled in and hitting your stride very shortly as an instructor. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I really appreciate the input in this discussion. I'm a new instructor as well, and I'm gaining a lot of insight concerning preparation requirements. It's good to have industry feedback. As a result of each forum, I become a little less clueless.
Becky,
As a new instructor you are right on target with your planning and delivery. By keeping on using these methods you are going to be an instructional delivery expert before very long.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I too am a new instructor and it can be quite intimidating and over whelming at times. I have used the idea mentioned regarding using the same lesson and shifting it one way or another. This way I see it as a learning tool for the next time around.I also try to have a plan B for the times I want to avoid having any awkward silences!
Cathy,
If you are disorganized in your classroom approach and preparation it is often times like a shark smelling blood in the water. The students prey on the fact that their instructor is not prepared and is stalling to fill time. At that moment control of the classroom has shifted to the students and the instructor is no longer the learning leader.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I currently am a clinical instructor and have not taught a didactic class for a while but when I do I plan on preparing more efficiently so that I do not feel unorganized.
Angelica,
Right you are because this is how you reinforce your expectations as well as student development. Knowing the students are comfortable with and understand how the class is going to be conducted is very important for classroom management.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
i think thats great. it is important to feel comfortable with what you are delivering. your students will see the effort and it will motivate them as well.
I agree..I prepare about 1hr per class..I think if i were to do more i would get burnt out
what a great ideal. Its good if you have a previous one that you can expand off of. you can still use some of the same formats but may want to stress different points or have different projects or portfolios you may want them to do.
Steven,
An hour of preparation is great. I actually feel like I need more time than that to do an excellent job preparing for my class. I also work slower than most people. Anyways, I just want to encourage you! Its great that you're taking the time you need to prepare!
-Tiffany B.
