Plan B
It was terrific learning that we should always have a plan B in case the lessons we planned don't pan out as we anticipated. Sometimes as instructors we get really passionate about plan A. This knowledge encourages us to think more flexibly.
Plan B should always be there when you are having new students coming into a different Mod. Due to the previous students in your class are familiar with your lesson plans. Some students latch on quickly than others.
Rochelle,
Unless the need for plan b is very obvious, good back up plans can be implemented rather seamlessly, sometimes as if that was the plan in the first place.
Barry Westling
I definitely agree with the fact that having a plan b for unanticipated circumstances will help restore the students' confidence in us as instructors, and at the end still be able to carry out the course objectives in a different teaching methodology.
Miriam,
I call this situation "change-up", where what I had planned, and how it would be presented is immediately modified. Most times, the more involved the students are in any activity, the class will be more interesting, and students engaged.
Barry Westling
I feel there is always a need for a plan B. Being a instructor and being in the field for over 40 years I have learned students some days need a different approach then what I may have planned in A.
Olga,
Yes, certainly the flow is interrupted when things don't go as planned. I think a good back up plan is topical, low-tech, easy to implement, and keeps students engaged so they don't feel like they're just filling time.
Barry Westling
