If you do not but the time and effort to prepare for your class, you student will know. To present a good speech you must rehearse, the same is true about teaching a class. If you have four hours of instruction, you have to plan each fifty minutes block, and have plan B if you get done early. If your students are sitting with nothing meaningful to do, you are wasting your time and theirs. When I train performance skills, review the step for the procedure before showing the students the skill. I like to use the steps I was taught in Drill Sergeant school explain, demonstrate, talk the student through, then have them practice to standards. I tell new instructor that it take about three hour of prep for each hour of new instruction you are presenting. As you repeat the classes it takes less time to prepare, but we must not skip this step. A well prepared lesson plan also helps a substitute instructor if you are out.
Nick
Benjamin,
Glad to be of help and have a small part in your professional development as an educator. Happy Teaching!
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dr. Meers,
I can understand how the amount of preparation would vary depending on the individual. I really connected with your suggestion on being one to two sessions ahead of the student. I will definitely take that away from this and work on implementing that once I start instructing. Thank you so much for all your insight and for taking the time to respond so quickly.
Benjamin,
Good planning helps with teaching confidence and does free up the instructor to interact with the students prior to the class starting. As for the question about over planning in my opinion there is not a clear cut answer. You need to plan and organize to the point you feel confident you can deliver the content in a way that engages the students and meets the goals of the course. For some instructors this time is minimum and for others it can be extensive due to the differences in how instructors approach the planning process. Planning should start with the development of the syllabus and then unfold for the duration of the course. Being one to two class sessions ahead of the students is always a good place to be in case something comes up and you have to make adjustments and this way you will be ready.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
If the class is planned out, an instructor is free to greet students upon entering which will create the inviting learning environment. The instructor will also be a lot more confident about what is to be taught that day and if any last minute preparation has to be done, it will most likely be researching a specific question a student had the day before or preparing an activity for the class. An instructor (especially a new instructor) displaying confidence because he has comprehensively planned the class will be much more likely to succeed and enjoy the class which will have the same effect on the students.
Questions: At what point does comprehensive planning become over-planning? How early should planning start for a class?
Eric,
Right you are. This lets an instructor relax a bit and concentrate on students since he or she knows they are prepared and ready to conduct the class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Why is early and comprehensive planning so important for instructional success?
Early and comprehensive planning will allow you to analyze the topic, gather proper amounts of information and look for relevant and current documents and situations that will help the students understand the ideas as well as see how they can be used in a "real world" setting. Starting the process early helps the instructor avoid rushing to complete the lesson plan.
It helps prepare the instructor for questions that may arise during the lectures and it gives the instructor confidence.
Landis,
Great advice for all instructors especially those just starting their teaching careers. They need to read your comments and heed this advice so they won't be left standing in front of a class that runs for 2 hours and they have five minutes of content to share. You gotta have a backup plan, always!
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Early and comprehensive planning is very important to instructional success.
One key element is textbooks. I have had situations on both ends of the spectrum. On my second class of Intro to Computer Science, I literally received the revised textbook 5 days prior to the start of one of my classes. Thank God there were only minor changes/updates. Fortunately I was well prepared and I always have a back up plan for situations such as this or if I do not have a computer classroom for my CS class. On the other end of the spectrum, I have started a new class and found out the morning of the first class that the textbooks had not been ordered for the class. Again having a good back up plan gave me the ability to teach the first class without a problem, but I had to ensure that prior to the next class, on a break, I had copies made for the next weeks class ready before the end of the class.
So having a back up plan is essential in the planning process in order to achieve instructional success.
Landis
Sue,
A mentor is a wonderful thing to have as you start your teaching career. She can give you so much insight that will help you to move forward in your professional development as well as maintain control of your classes while your develop your teaching skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am also a new instructor, and have had the advantage of having a mentor who is comfortable with the program. I use some of what I have learned from her, and put my own spin on things. The most important thing for me is to be well-prepared and organized.
Henry,
This is a very good point. You cannot fake it or the students will eat you alive or if not they will just turn you off. Also, your suggestion of having a variety of options in terms of activities is a must because you never know how the course will unfold.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Student will know very quickly if you are not prepared and it will quickly set a negative tone. No one can be 100% prepared, but having options in your back pocket will allow you to glide over the rough patches.
Michael,
Thank you for these comments about the value of comprehensive planning. It is so important for the reasons you list and in addition it greatly reduces stress because as the instructor you are ready to go and you can relax a bit and enjoy talking with your students as you get ready to start the class. I really enjoy this time because I can take a read of the mood of the class and then make any adjustments I need to make, knowing I am prepared for the upcoming class session.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Why is early and comprehensive planning so important for instructional success?
Being prepared for the start of class is important because this is when students have the most initial energy engaged for learning. The student had to consciously make the effort to get to the classroom or online computer ready to learn.
When the material is set up in comprehensive manners such as projection, video, text reference, or board work the interaction between the Instructor, classroom, and students becomes fluid. This opens for discussion and increases understanding though the different types of communication and a big plus if students engage with each other’s thoughts too.
Instructional success is more likely when lessons are prepared ahead of time with assigned materials to keep clarity and focus on the objectives designed for the course.
Nancy,
Well said because a lot of the field that we prepare our students to enter are based on professional experience, expertise and judgement. The goal we need to have is to help them develop their skills in the judgement area so they can be effective and efficient problem solvers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Having a good handle on the course and the "blueprint" on how to accomplish the goals frees up my mind in order to "think outside the box." One of the biggest challenges for teaching subjects that are not black and white, is how to open up the mind to accept that black and white have varying degrees of gray, if you will.
David,
This is a common challenge for all of us educators. We have content to share but wonder what is the best way to do it. My suggestion would be to do mini-lectures of approximately 20 minutes and then do an activity such as small group work, case study, role play, Q&A, etc., then back to another mini-lecture and repeat the cycle. Interject examples from the field, utube videos and any other form of media that will help catch their attention. You will not get them all and some students are there just to be entertained and not really study in the career field. Work as I know you already are to show them the connection between the classroom and their career potential. If they can catch part of that image they will increase their motivation and hopefully their effort as they see the relevance of what is being taught. I also understand the 10% rule, and that is about 10% of the students will not be excited about this field of study. I work with them to try to get them through the course but I don't let them pull me down. I focus on those that want to be there and as a result do very well in the course. Their excitement is what feeds my own enthusiasm for what teaching and sharing.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I prepare thoroughly for each class, and being an expert in my field know that I can teach the material, but struggle with making lecture interesting. I find the material interesting ,and enjoy instructing, however my students literally expect me to cater to their desires to be entertained. I don't want to coddle them, but feel like I should do more. How do i bridge that gap, and where do I draw the line?
