Get Your Students Hired
The Power Point projector went down. The training aid you were going to use broke. The students are going to sleep with your lecture that you thought would be entertaining. Do you have a Plan "B"?
Hi Matt,
Thanks for sharing your Plan B with us. It seems that we are on Plan B as educators most of the time since the classes and student needs change so quickly.
Gary
My plan B is having the power points memorized, most classes I do one to two lectures without the projector to keep them guessing. Another advantage of the Sacramento campus is the CRRT side, it has many cars to go look at for the variuos lectures if the lab is not available with double starts going on. If all else fails, shadow puppet theater on the white board.
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for the list of great strategies. These are all good ideas for how to engage students in the learning process. They get to use their creativity to acquire knowledge and skills which I know will be of much value out in the workplace.
Gary
A good plan B might incorporate a mini-review lesson followed by a short project to get students engaged in the material.
The Jigsaw concept works well, when material is chunked and each group of students is responsible for mastering a section.
I like to add a dimension of surprise -- ask them to write a rap song, silly poem, skit, improv, etc. -- something to get their creative juices flowing. You can also have them design a scavenger hunt for each other.
Plan B usually works well as long as plan B doesn't start to become plan A. Students know when spontaneous activities begin to substitute for teacher guided instruction.
This is an excellent point, Robert, as it goes directly to the fact that effective instructors constantly "pulse and pace" in the classroom. The "pulse" is the observing of students and their body languages, questions, comments, mastery of applications, etc., and the pace is adapting accordingly to different learning styles, levels of ability and unexpected situations as the class unfolds. It makes teaching almost as exciting as learning!
Jay Hollowell
MaxKnowledge/CEE
When I first started teaching I did not know what plan “B” was all about, I found out the hard way. The overhead projector will not work. The lab test equipment is broken. With a little planning and thought you can execute a plan “B” in the class room or lab with most students never knowing it happened. Just keep the plan in the back of your mind because there will come a day when you will need it.
As an instructor I think you not only need a good plan A but you need a plan B,C,and D. But having said that keep in mind that once that class starts all plans at some level fall apart and when they do a good instructor has to able to rely on his expertise in the subject matter and a flexable teaching style that is open to all teachable moments.
Hi Wayne,
Good to hear about your progress in developing both Plans A and B. It is for sure you will need Plan B sometime in your teaching career. As you well know in teaching things can change very fast and you need to have a back up plan for when they do. Good luck with your teaching.
Gary
As a new instructor I do not have a Plan B as of yet. But doing these module and observing classes, I'm finding Plan B is a very good idea. I would imagine by the time my training is up Plan b will be put in place for future reference.
Steven Pino,
I remember my first year of teaching and I always had a power point for aid, so happens one day my afternoon class there wasn't any more power point aids left. I felt I couldn't go on with the course. Plan B was, well students always cry saying more lab time.I'll take tem to lab and introduce todays lecture at the lab.
You should always have a back up plan in case of things that might go ary. Try to involve students if possible to ask questions, ie: Tim how would you diagnose this problem. Ask questions on previous info to reinforce thier learning.Depending on where you're at in a lesson, may help you to adjust where you need to go