I make sure that I follow the sylibus provided. It makes the flow of the class much easier.
Ryan,
This is an excellent method for time management. In addtion, the running times of your lectures, coincide with the attention span of your students.
Tremayne Simpson
I like to break my lecture time into ten minute increments. Depending on the lecture content, I can adjust during my lectures by summarizing parts as needed. I also do a dry run prior to class to gauge timing.
I am a Culinary Instructor and face some of the same challenges William faces in following my schedule. I find that some classes will sail through a lecture with lots of time left over while other classes will go over time. Being able to be flexible is the only way to deliver great experiences for our students.
Dennis,
I beleive that course material should be prioritized based on the learning objectives of the course. Material that indirectly achieves the course learning objectives, should be used only if time permits.
Tremayne Simpson
By separating the lesson plan into small bite sized pieces, I have the time to ask questions and review the material before the class ends.
That sounds like a great a great strategy. But how do you determine the material that may or may not be used depending on the pace of the class?
I always plan extra activities, either to have time to do or not. This is a great back-up plan even if it's just a Q&A segment with both students and myself asking and answering.
I teach court reporters and time management is everything. A rule of thumb for them from day one of class is managing time. Mark due dates a week ahead of the actual due date, mark appointments one hour before actual appointment time. Class begins at 9. So do most courts. They need time to set up equipment and be ready when court/class begins. Set up time between 8 and 8:30. Ready to go at 9.
I am an Aviation Maintenance instructor, and we have the option to utilize an instructor schedule. This schedule will always leave you with too much left over time.
I try to implement extra resources for my students to understand the concepts that have just been lectured. These may include;
Explanative videos for visuals
Hands on visuals that give them the real life perspective
Also, discussions at the end of class that will help them think about real life scenarios.
You will always need to be flexible as a teacher.
I use a white board in my class and daily I write out a outline and objectives for the day. With the outline I number each eara and know that each area I want to go over or discuss has a set time. . I then know with each eara I have to finish at a certin time and it keeps me on pace so that I finish on time and do not go over.
I make sure that I have a minimum amount of lesson to cover a 4 hour class. If the lesson moves slower than planned, I have additional information that can be covered. I include plenty of summary segments and skip some, if possible, if the lesson is moving slower than planned. My lesson plans include a time schedule to make time analysis simple.
One of my time management strategies includes outlining my "Mrs. S's To Do List" on my whiteboard at the beginning of each class. This helps to keep me on track and makes sure that I don't miss key components of my 2 hour class. I include attendance, announcements, homework hand in,Title of lecture,key lecture points, wrap up review, homework handout.
This type of outline helps me focus on the class and it gives the students an idea of what to expect. I think organizational tools are beneficial for both the student and the instructor.
our class size can range from 5 to 35 students. The smaller classes always take less time. we have videos that relate to career topics to play in such situations.
Thomas,
To counter this, I generally create a "checks and balances" system for collaborative activities. Group members are given evaluation forms that they use to assess each member of the group and I read the comments to find "unversal" themes in regards to individual student contributions.
Tremayne Simpson
Thomas,
To counter this, I generally create a "checks and balances" system for collaborative activities. Group members are given evaluation forms that they use to assess each member of the group and I read the comments to find "unversal" themes in regards to individual student contributions.
Tremayne Simpson
In my lesson planning, I will build in extra worksheets, games, hands-on projects, or quizzes, to keep my class focused. Also, I use times where they have to work quitely on an assignment. Even though we have "adult" students, when they don't act it, "quiet time" seems appropriate.
Maria ,
I agree with this approach to lesson planning. It is a great idea to leave flexibility within the schedule, to allow for spontaneous activities, that will assist with the delivery of the learning objectives.
Tremayne Simpson
We have two hours after four lab task to complete a revive of the lab tasks so I time them to the first break.
In the classroom, I tend to over prepare while at the same time remain open to unknowns that may happen during class time that can either accelerate or delay lessons planned for the day.
I like to read through material that I am going to be teaching for the first time and identify areas that I can stretch into longer segments by including personal experiences. I also go through and identify the areas that are not directly related to the course objectives and so can be shortened if necessary.
