There are several reasons; planning helps the instructor feel more confident in the lecture, it also assists in allocating time to each topic so that the lecture does not end early or run over, and planning also helps the instructor to appear more organized to students.
Comprehensive planning is important because it not only shows your professionalism, but it serves to make for a better learning experience. If I go over my syllabus well in advance, I'm more apt to spot any potential short comings in my lecture/presentation.
Hi Sara,
Lack of preparation is unprofessional and does not one any good. You make a good point about the need for good planning prior to sharing course content.
Gary
Hi Quynh,
Good analogy. It really is like a road map. It tells you where you and the student are going and what they will accomplish when they have arrived at the end of the course.
Gary
Preparation and planning are important so the instuctor can handle any situation or problem that arises. If the instructor were not prepared, students know this and will eventually not trust the instructor.
I think planning is like a roadmap. I find that if I plan early and comprehensively, it's so much easier once class is in session--for myself and the students. Just like the students, my term gets busier as it moves towards the end and personal life issues come up and takes up the time I had dedicated to preparing lesson plans. When I make the effort to organize my class early, I can adjust much easier to issues that may occur.
Hi Amanda,
Good comments about planning early and the advantages of doing so. The idea that by knowing what you are going to do in advance gives you insight into how to do it even better is a good one. This will increase your effectiveness as an instructor while reaching students at a much higher rate.
Gary
Hi Christina,
There is a saying that reflects your comments. "To teach is to learn twice." Think about it a little and you see it is true. This is why it is so important to spend some time reviewing the content before each class to make sure we have a clear picture in our minds on how we are going to deliver the content.
Gary
Early and comprehensive planning is important for instructional success as developing skills as a lecturer takes time and a lot of practice to get it correct. Not only that, but there are times when you will get good (or better) ideas for lectures so the earlier you plan, the better your chances your lecture will be a success. The quality of teaching improves the more you do it so early planning gives you more time to practice and improve.
It gives us time to understand the material. If we are confused about any little bit, more than likely the student will also be confused. So it would be our responsibility to dig a little and do more research so that we as the Instructors, we can actually understand it and explain it to the students.
Planning early allows for adequate time to cover unexpected set-backs or additional study required for your instruction. The planning should also be comprehensive to incorporate additional resources with key information pertaining to your subject matter.
Any instructor who is not prepared for a course they will be teaching, bascially puts himself or herself behind the eight ball on day one. Students may not know the material you are going to present, but they can spot an instructor who is not prepared quickly.
This is important to ensure that all material is covered for each term, per the syllabus. I make lesson plans for the entire term prior to its start, remembering to allow for Holidays or teacher inservice days, etc., in which there are no classes. I use the syllabus to do this, to ensure that I allow sufficient time to cover all book material & demonstration/return demonstration/grading of skills.
Early planning helps the instructor to focus on acutally teaching the course material.
Early planning is important because it allows the instructor to be prepared by having a preplanned outline of how the course is supposed to go by having the syllabus available and you could focus on covering course material.
Early planning will allow for the instructor to consider the material, plan for adjustments, and prepare extra materials to be used in the class to supplement and add to the textbook material. It will also allow for the instructor to identify possible areas of difficulty in the course.
It's really hard for me to enter the class if I'm not prepared. I fell that if I don't have all my ducks in a row the students will know it. I'm more at ease when I have my syllabus, books, notes, hand-outs and props all set up and waiting for class to start. The students are more surprised and alert when everything goes just as I plan. Being able to report to class early and with an agenda is definitely a plus.
so students know their direction and what are the expectations.
When I’m well prepared for class I have planned a number of different activities that I will use to stress the points I want the students to learn. Four-hour classes are a challenge so having a variety of activities helps keep students focused is critical. When I’m well prepared the activities seem to flow into each other and that makes the time seem to go by quickly. In addition, the flow of activities helps me connect with the students and keep them engaged throughout the entire period.
It gives you a chance to make sure that you can touch all areas of the outline, and also because students learn differently, it will allow to plan accordingly to their needs.
