Stress of teaching a new course
I will be teaching a course that is new to me next term and I am completely tress out over it! Any suggestionson how to deal with this situation?
I usually ask my co-workers for any material they have. This then gives me a guideline to follow. Also check with the book company on any material they may be able to provide. Don't let the students know that you new at this course. They will eat you alive!
There should be no stress experienced when teaching a new course. If this will be your first time teaching the course, study your material. And always stick to the basic information you want to give the students. Making your lectures complex will just put you in a spot wherein students will start asking questions about what you said and you might not have the answers for it. And if this happens then you become stressed.
Catherine, It is nice to be able to build on existing power point presentations that we own or that fellow instructors provide for us. Thanks for sharing this tip. I also have to say that I agree about seeing things on the screen. Sometimes, having our thoughts organized in a presentation format makes everything feel so much more organized.
Dr. Melissa Read
I feel less stressed out about a new course when I am able to tweak power point presentations for the course to include the data that I am the most worried about. Somehow seeing it on the screen makes it less threatening. I don't know if this would work for you, but it makes a world of difference for me. The downside to this is not having adequate time to prep in this way. Sometimes that is the reality.
Cathy
Robert, So true. Often times, instructors have no prep time at all. Sometimes we've got to make the most of the time we have, even if it's limited. We also have to invest heavily in our work when we do have time, to set ourselves up well for the future.
Dr. Melissa Read
It seems prep time is often limited,or cut short by other issues of life, thats stressful in itself.
Use the syllabus as a guide, find supplemental material just in case the amount of material is not adequate
Kristina, Sounds like the right approach. It's always better to be over-prepared when compared to not preparing enough! Over time, as you continue to teach the same courses, your preparation time will decrease significantly and it won't take you long to be overprepared in the future.
Dr. Melissa Read
Have you looked for electronic resources from the publisher? Many have power points available that can be modified to cover your individual content. I try to package a class completely and then review each week a week ahead. I find it easier to prepare the quizzes and exams before finalizing the lecture materials, to make sure I remember to cover key points. Even returning to a course I have taught previously, I find the textbooks have often been updated and I am back at the beginning again. Are there other instructors on campus with resources that might be helpful? Good luck!
Whenever teaching a new course I make sure I am somewhat overly prepared. By overly preparded I mean I like to allow for some flexibility in my lesson so that I can be responsive to student needs. I also like to build some extra activities into the lesson in the event that we move faster than expected.
