Detailed Lesson Plan
I have found in my past three years of teaching that a very detailed lesson plan works the best. On the first day of class I always tell my students there will be no surprises. They will always know what is expected of them; however, that doesn't mean you can't be spontaneous in the classroom--you need a strong dose of both to keep your students interested and on track!
Jodie Liedke
A detailed lesson plan is a great idea but you are correct,if you teach the same class at different times, there is a tendancy to wonder if you are repeating yourself or if you have said it at all. I help myself by writing things on the board that I may have missed in one class, thereby reminding me to say it at the next scheduled time.
Hi Mark,
Your comment about the use of a checklist made me smile when you mentioned remembering what you said to what class. I teach the same class back to back. 4-7 pm and then 7-10 pm. Since they are the same day and within hours of each other I depend heavily on my checklist to make sure I say the same thing to each class.
I will say to the class remember we talked a topic and I get blank stares because I mentioned it twice in one class and not in theirs. That doesn't instill confidence in the instructor by students. So with the checklist I avoid those situation, plus I feel more confident that I'm not going crazy.
Gary
The module refers to developing a checklist. This can be used both as a pre-instructional tool (to make sure that you have all your supplies, the learning environment is ready, etc.) and as an instructional tool (to make sure that you teach everything you meant to teach). This could be incorporated into a detailed lesson plan, or could be an adjunct to the plan. This can be especially important if you are teaching more than one section of a course. "I know I showed somebody how to do this dosage calculation - was it this section or the last one?"
