Ratio of Planning to Teaching
I spend more than double the time planning than teaching--at least when it's a new class. Is this ratio really off?
Hi Sarah,
The prep time is really hard to estimate. By now you should be spending much less time on the general aspects of the course. I would concentrate on those areas that you feel are in need of the most work. For example you may want to work on developing some activities for student groups to work on. A quick review of the lesson for that day should prepare you for the lecture or demonstration. Then you could spend time on the activities. Next cycle it might be the PP for that section of the course. Do an analysis of where you feel you are the strongest and most comfortable. By having a course layout you can then consider those sections completed and ready to teach while working on the other sections you want to improve. This is the only way you are going to be able to keep up with your preparation while improving your course.
I wouldn't worry about preparing for all of the questions the students might ask you. As you say it is impossible. Be prepared for the general questions. You might even jot these down as you move through the course so you can anticipate them for the next cycle. Those questions you can't answer you can assign to students to work on and bring answers back or you can just tell them you don't know but will have the answer the next class meeting. The students won't think any less of you for not having the answer but will respect you for bringing in the answer the next class meeting.
Any other questions along these lines please let me know.
Gary
Dr Meers -
Even after 2 to 3 cycles of a class I find I am spending almost the same amount of time prepping as the initial planning stage. Is this to be an expected part of the refinement process or is there some part of my daily lesson plans I should be focusing on polishing. Also, I find it challenging to prepare for every question that might come up. I want to be able to answer all of the students questions, but its sometimes difficult to know what to expect that they will ask.
Hi Ryan,
Thank you for your comments about preparation for your classes. It demonstrates your dedication to your field and your students.
Gary
I agree with what everyone else has said and will just add the ingredient of quality time vs. actual time. With my time as an instructor being stretched beyond the breaking point, I find that I have to start preparing much farther in advance than I used to. This allows me to plan efficiently and economically without the sense of dread that sometimes accompanies the planning process the night before the first class. When the process begins earlier, I have the time to organically find and add material, concepts, delivery options, that I wouldn't have found if I'd left too little quality time to prepare.
Hi Robert,
Well thought out and well said. Do until you are comfortable then you are ready to go. Give it your best and the results will be seen.
Gary
The question reminds me of an old anecdote I heard about Abraham Lincoln. Supposedly, somebody asked him how long a man's legs should be, and he replied, 'Just long enough to reach the ground.'
I don't think we can possibly come up with the right ratio - I think we do well to plan as long as it takes. A rather simplistic answer, and most certainly not what you wanted to hear, but I think our planning should end when we are prepared - not when we've hit some limit or ratio. It frankly never occurred to me to wonder about the length of time I prepare, or what the ratio is. I prepare until I'm prepared, and that's about it.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for sharing your approach to preparing for a course. As you say it gets easier the more you do it. Plus, you can concentrate on ways of improving the course since you don't have to focus just on getting through the course. As you get comfortable you can take some more risks with your instructional approach knowing that you are able to fall back to a proven strategy in case the new activity doesn't work for some reason.
Gary
The first time I teach any course, I spend a lot of time planning and prepping, I seem to even dream about the plans for the course! This is especially true in the first few weeks. As time goes on and I get more familiar with the class and the course materials, the time decreases. This last quarter, I taught a course, where I am quite expert in the topic. I still had to spend time reviewing the text and planning class activities, but my time spent was much less -- close to what I get paid for prep time! That was a good feeling.
Hi Judy,
Not at all. Instructional preparation isn't an exact science so I can't say for sure but based upon my many years in the field that ratio is right on. There are so many factors that come into play as you prepare to teach a new course that this time frame might even increase. If you are selecting the content for the course much time will be spent selecting the most important content needed. Then the delivery methods, assignments, and assessments need to be selected. If you are using a standardized curriculum then your time will be spent on selecting the instructional delivery and assignments.
The key is to enjoy teaching the class for the first time and keep notes on how each class went. This way the next time you teach the class you will be able to reduce your prep time since you know this activity went really well and this activity will not be used again. After several run throughs of the course you will have developed a polished and even flowing course and you can concentrate more on improvements or changes that need to be made.
Gary
