Organization
Being organizedand prepared when you come into the classroom is very important. Students can tell if you are prepared or even motivated.
Hi Daniel:
One good way to prepare for these situations is to have some back-up activities to hand out to the students. These might be good to do anyway, just as a way to break up the monotony.
Regards, Barry
Hi Suzanne:
Great point. To paraphrase your comments, if instructors are disorganized, they may lose credibility with the students, which can have a long term impact on the student's willingness to learn from the instructor.
Regards, Barry
Hi Linda:
In general, if an instructor comes across disorganized, it may send the message we don't care about the student's outcome.
Regards, Barry
Melanie,
Being organized is a great importance in learning. Adult students come into a school with little or no direction and when its unorganized its more confusing than our technology vs our older generation.
Josh Leas
I agree. I also believe the down time is where we as instructors have the potential to lose the attention of our students. Being prepared will definitely help lessen down time.
Well organized instructors are most likely viewed as more competent as well. Having the day's lesson well prepared with all needed materials will provide the students with less "down-time" and more time to focus on the subject being taught.
Hi Theresa:
A prepared teacher does help start the day off better than the hurried, disorganized, running behind kind of setting. That doesn't tend to convey a whole lot of confidence in the the teacher by the students who want to depend on their teacher being ready for class.
Regards, Barry
I agree. I make sure at the beginning of every class to have all necessary supplies and equipment ready and available for my students. They appreciate it and start class with a positive attitude.
Hi Karen:
Even if they never say so, most students like, want, and appreciate order. An organized teacher prepares their class and provides order in many different ways. Your description is common and very useful. When students know expectatatins they will usually do better than just sort of floubdering about, guessing what is supposed to be.
Regards, Barry
One way I show my students I am organized is by preparing a teacher/student lesson plan. I give copies of my lesson plan to the students which shows what we are covering that day, assignments and how to prepare for next class.
Hi Lisa:
Prepared means ready. How do you get ready for anything? It takes some thought, planning, time, effort, and in the case of teaching a class, a drive and desire to want to see your students succeed. So, by being prepared we are demonstrating we care, and the students will notice.
Regards, Barry
I have the Top 10 Commandments that I made up for myself to follow and the first one is the thou shall always be prepared for class. Lisa
I agree, there are some times I have prepared everything for the students, then realized I have taken some of the discovery process and the marvel of learning out of my class.
Hi Atilla:
I see your point. I think in the broad sense organization means being ready. This would be true even if the plan was to have students immersed, engaged, and directly the class - the teacher would want to have thought through the different elements and made sure the needed resources were available.
That said, students need to be accountable for learning and the steps leading to it, whatever those steps might be.
Regards, Barry
While I agree that being prepared is always a good idea, what about doing to much prep work? I've been in classes where the instructor has done everything for the students...I felt that this was too much of a crutch and that students were losing some self-reliance and just becoming lazy.
Hi Rachel:
Well organized teachers convey their competence and confidence when they're prepared. Class runs smoothly, topics transitions in a natural, relaxed paced, and the teacher has time for question, interruptions, or repetition of key information if the students need. They are "There" for their students. Not being prepared is...well awful.
Regards, Barry
Students will display greater organization themselves and mirror the behavior of the organized instructor, knowing that the instructor expects nothing less than their best efforts. It is difficult to keep my composure when I don't have my daily tasks listed on the board, and my students come to expect that information from me.
Hi Melanie:
Students appreciate it when they know their teacher cares to prepare their lessons, and put effort (thought and palnning) into the material. For me, I would expect nothing less from a teacher.
Regards, Barry
