Comprehensive planning always translates as the instructor's confidence in the material he/she is presenting. Instructors that have to go back and forth and run out of time or out of material for the day, send a negative message to the class. I think the key is in the organization and early preparation. It's not so much of what the instructor knows but "how they plan" to present what they know. It's somewhat of a talent show, most of the preparation and planning takes place backstage and way ahead of time and that determines the success and the outcome for the most part.
Mary,
This is a great resource your school provides. This gives you time to focus on your interaction with students and to stamp your personality on the material you are presenting that day.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
David,
Well said. I have colleagues that do not prepare for their classes and just "wing it". They are so stressed that I can't believe they stay in teaching. I like to plan and prepare then go into the class knowing I am ready to teach. As a result I can focus on my students and really enjoy working with them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
At my school, we have recently standardized all of our core classes. This has been a great help because it saves time in class preparation to have a book that includes the outline,syllabus and course content. If someone is absent you can determine where they are and what you need to cover.
I ask my students for 100 % in class and lab, as an instructor I have to also display that, preperation and planning displays my efforts to that standard and my committment to their education.
A well planned lesson provides all of the information to achieve the goals and objectives for the day. A seamless flow through the information can only be accomplished with preparation.
Terry,
So true. You are working within a very tight time frame at 5 weeks. Your instructional planning has to be right on target each and every day because you and your students can't afford to miss a segment or it will be lost for the duration of that course phase.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The importance of early and comprehensive planning became SO MUCH MORE evident when I moved from a college with 16-week courses to one with 5-week modules! With 16 weeks, comprehensive planning is required, but there is more room to speed up or slow down. With 5 weeks, every day and every lesson must be thoroughly thought out.
Caryn,
Now that you are an instructor it raises your level of appreciation for those instructors in your past as a result of what you said. You now know how much effort went into their preparation but you benefited from their effort. Now your students can benefit from your effort because you know what a top quality instructor should be like.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I never knew how much work went into being an excellent instructor until I began to teach. then I would think of instructors that I had in the past that made teaching seem effortless. I spend a tremendous amount of time preparing for my courses and it is a very good investment to make. Comprehensive planning is so important to creating a dynamic learning enviroment.
Robert,
I agree. When you arrive early what are some ways you interact with your students?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I beleave that if your always early and plan right your studints will get more out of your corse
David,
Good plan for coping with the different issues that come up in teaching a class. You need to be flexible and able to adapt your instruction to the current setting. All kinds of things come up that take us out of our plan and we need to be able to change directions quickly and keep the course moving forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There are two distinct concepts in your question.
The first portion, "early", should be a hallmark to planning any course. If you wait to the last minute, so to speak, then one could say that you haven't even planned. An emergent approach to "planning" is not planning at all.
The next concept of "comprehensive", would address one of the barriers that many new instructors run up against, the "what if" concept. Which is to say, that there are always things that arise to impede a course. Sick days, snow days, holidays, meetings etc... If you have a comprehensive plan, it is much easier to adapt to the "what if" scenario.
Brian,
So true. That is a hole that is very hard to dig out of throughout the rest of the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There is nothing worst than having an instructor who is not prepared. This leaves an unfavorable first impression on the students which is hard to over come during the entire course. The instructor will lose creditiability immediately at the start.
Karen,
So true. Rushing into a class at the last minute is very stressful for both the students and the instructor. Preparation enables an instructor to be in the class and get settled while the enjoying interaction with the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It allows us to be prepared and relieves unnecessary stress when class begins.
Iris,
I like your approach. I use something much like this and as a result just as you mention the course gets stronger and better each time I teach it. In addition, the additions I put in help to keep me excited about teaching the course even though I have taught it for years.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
We teach our classes in two-hour blocks of time. There is a lot of information to cover. Therefore, being prepared with a comprehensive outline plan is very important in order to be sure to cover all material. I have an outline which I formulated the first time I ever taught my class, and I add to it each time I teach the class. There is always something new to add, or it may be that I decided to cover a subject in greater depth. So the class, hopefully, gets better and more comprehensive every time I teach it. Reviewing the outline each night before the class affords me comfort in knowing that I am giving the students the information they need.
