Planning and Preparation
How much planning and preparation is too much?
There is never too much planning and preparation. Planning and preparing ahead of time will help an instructor meet the student's educational goals.
Because I prefer to have too much material to present than to have too little, I prepare about 150% of what I will need during class. The "too much" investment aspect comes into play if I feel "cheated" because students raised questions or had comments and there wasn't enough time for what I had planned. Since I expect this to happen it helps me let go of the stuff we didn't get to. This way I keep my enthusiasm and the students know (or should know) that we are driving together towards our goals.
This approach also models responsibility. If I can plan for our classes, they can do their assignments. Sounds good doesn’t it?
Hi Joel,
You are right about the over prep aspect. I like knowing I have a plan A, and B and C and D, etc. just in case because as you mentioned you never know what will come up or happen.
Gary
I also ask myself that because I want to have good lesson plans for my students but I also have another full time job and a family to spend time with so balancing the planning and prep for a new class is difficult. I've found that my students let me know know when I need to spend more thime planning certain subjects based on their performance.
Dr. Gary Meers,
I agree with your answer. I personally like to go into class with a little too much prep to feel confident and cover any distractions from the given lesson plan. For example, A distraction might be; one or more students that complete the assignment on time and or one or more students that are falling behind. A distraction might also be the power going off or a classroom that is not available.
Joel Freese
I agree. There is never too much planning. There are classes that I have taught many times but I can always get something new out of them. I get a different perspective and insight, which is great!
Too much planning and preparation isn't really possible, but it makes an instructor a dull person from the old adage all work and no play makes a person dull. I plan two sessions at a time to ensure continuity of instruction and follow-up.
Hi Barbara,
Not sure how to answer this question because it seems like we instructors can't plan too much. On the other hand an instructor should plan and prepare sufficiently to the point that he/she feels comfortable that they can cover the material with appropriate examples, situations and activities for that class meeting. The key is the feeling of being confident in that sufficient preparation has been made.
Gary
