My Classes are 4 hours long and while most would think that was a sufficient amount of time if not too much to cover all required materials sometimes it is not. In order to ensure that we are keeping pace with my lesson plan students are given a breakdown of what is to be covered each day at the beginning of each module. The same objectives are then written onthe board at the beginning of each day along with the approximate time it should take us to cover the material. We always leave 30 mintues at the end of class to use as a discussion period to eliminate the number of distractions throughout the course.
I personally write out my lesson plans out and put time frames into them so that i can stay on topic. I alot time for discussion but keep it within a specific amount of time so i don't fall behind or have to rush.
What always drove me crazy as a student (and what I hear recurring complaints from my students about one or two other instructors at my institution) is that instructor whose lecture consists entirely of reading straight from the textbook (passages that the students have already been assigned in the syllabus to read). Nothing could be more boring. Sure, it can fill the entire class period, but man is it dull and bespeaking just a mind-blowing lack of effort. Don't be that guy.
But what if you never get to that material because the class ran according to plan?
If it's material that need not be hit, are we not just wasting the students' time by subjecting them to it because of out failure to maintain our own schedule? Or is there something that they're supposed to get out of it?
Quite some time ago I found that peppering the lectures — which, due to the subject matter of my course, will sometimes just have to be long lectures (particularly the history of specific aspects of graphic design) — with jokes, or entertaining tangents, can go a long way toward keeping the students engaged.
When one is teaching the same class over and over, as is the way at our institution, however, it can be difficult to keep the telling of those jokes/stories from becoming rote, flat, insincere. I am reminded of the classic Bill Murray comedy, Groundhog Day, wherein, having lived the same day countless times, the protagonist is just going through the motions, lifelessly rushing through the inconsequential moments of the day to get to the big moment that he thinks will change it all, and break him out of the endless loop.
Anyone have thoughts on how to keep oft-repeated material fresh?
Perhaps I'm just a puzzle snob (I totally am), but I have to question the value of the "word-find" puzzle. I mean, I suppose it will help the student, at a later date, to recognize the word as one they've seen before. I'd think there'd be much greater value in the crossword puzzle, though, with its clue-and-answer structure require students to actually know something about the word in question (other than which letters it contains).
(No response necessary; I realize that this was a rather throwaway comment on a somewhat inconsequential point of a larger discussion.)
I teach several classes that include adult learning exercises. Normally I use facilitation skills to manage the time of each exercise and keep the students on track.
To ensure keeping pace with my lesson plans, I plan ahead what I will be teaching and demonsrating on the subject. I write down the objectives and lab activities we will be dealing with for that day, and follow that stepswise. My goal is to have finished the lecture, when the calendar states is to be finished. I am usually on schedule with lecture and lab activies. But sometimes with the dental lab activies, it may be that students are to ketch up, or that the procedures to be done with the lecture are many, and so students might delay with their skills as they are learning/ practicing, the subject.
In such case, I do not hurry students, but keep encouraging them to improve their skills and telling them they will do well.
But at the same time, I keep demonstrating subjects to them if the lecture asks for it, and tell them they can go ahead and do those anytime they feel comfortable to do so. For example, in my current class, students have learned to take alginate impressions and pouring gypsum for a model. Some get it rigt right away, others still need some time to practice. At this time I let those who need more practice to taking an alginate impression do so, while others can start puring the gypsum model. I stay and keep attention to both groups of students - those who are ahead, and those who still need practice - and keep encouraging them. And if it still takes a while for some to get it right, I still keep up with the schedule of the lecture, moving up to demonstrate other procedures. This way I prevent myself as the instructor to be behind with the lecture. In the end, students pull through, and they all can get their grade for their projects.
It is good to prepare a little extra. We plan for the full time but, at times we do finish a little early.
Before my class begins, I make sure I write out everything that I need and want to accomplish that day. this helps me with my time management.
I always break up the class time into smaller segments. This allows for me to move easily between topics. I always have additional resource materials that can be used if the material I planned to cover took less time then anticipated
I like to have side notes or things to discuss in case the class moves along fairly quick. I have things of sub-importance to be able to talk about to fill time.
I always review a quiz either immediately after it was taken (if I had time to grade it) and review the problem areas. I try to have enough of a buffer built into the beginning of my class to cover all points that the students were quizzed on if I feel it is necessary. I can always adjust what is covered the rest of the class and the next class. After having taught the mathematics class for five years, I know where students tend to have problems and my lesson plan takes that into consideration. It is rare that I have to present an entire lesson a second time.
Richard,
Giving a quiz on previously learned material, is an excellent strategy to assess student retention of information. Have you had a situation where a consensus of the students do not perform well on the quiz? If so, do you present the lesson again?
Tremayne Simpson
I use different strategies depending on the subject. In math classes, I give a quiz on what we covered the last time we met. I then cover new material one section at a time. I assign homework for each section covered and if there is still time left, I give the students time to work on their homework as I go around assisting them where they may need help. In a business class that contains more lecture, I will still quiz them on what was covered the last time we met. I will then lecture (sometimes using PowerPoint) on the new material. I will next assign them some work that utilizes the material covered and any remaining time will be used by letting them work on the assignment or their course project. Both of these approaches allow me to use the full amount of time allocated for the class meeting.
Kathy,
This is an excellent way to appropriately use "open" class time. Do you provide the students with an accompanying questionnaire or activity for the videos?
Tremayne Simpson
Timothy,
I agree with this approach. I have broken down lessons into "units" and have found that it positively impacts the student retention of information. When lessons are not segmented, the amount of information covered, can be daunting for the students.
Tremayne Simpson
I teach a three hour course that involves both a lot of hands on and a lot of theory based teaching. I make sure I stay on course with breaking the theory and hands on sections up into segments.
What I like to do in my class to keep a good pace is to have a layout out of what I want to accomplish each day. It helps me stay on track and not to get too carried away with class discussions.
I use a timeline for each day of class clearly out lining our day and objectives. I walk the students through this first thing so expectations are understood. I define break periods so they do not become anxious or feel trapped. I also attempt to break up the day into sections each one focusing on a separate objective. What I have found is that the students seem to be more focused and have a better understanding of what they are working towards. Historically we actually will finish a little earlier than other classes because we are able to stay on time with our goals and get more accomplished. Than we can have open discussions about matters not covered in the class.
