To help the students understand what is expected of them upfront for there success in this learning experience
Hi Kelli,
Thank you for these comments. This is what being an instructor is all about. You get to enjoy both your students and your content, plus get paid to do it. How great is that?
Gary
Students pick up on when we as faculty are unorganized. This can lead to confusion and uneasy feelings by the student. Being prepared for each and every classroom interaction not only gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, but it gives the students the same. We want our students to feel confident in the material and we need to exuberate the same type of confidence by being prepared at all costs!
Thank You!
Kelli
Organization, organization, organization. The lack of comprehensive planning can lead to a chaotic learning environment which is not at all productive.
As a fairly new teacher in the Career College industry, I have found that thorough planning helped me to get a handle on the teaching .process.
I constantly review and update each time I teach the course. In a couple of weeks, I will be teaching a new course and I am excited to see how my brief beginning experiences will have changed
That's a huge question to be answered in a dicussion forum post, but in short, comprehensive planning is the roadmap for the instructor, assisting him/her in helping his/her students be successful.
The worst teachers are those who are lazy about planning. They slap together a mish-mash of ideas, mini-lessons, and activities without a clear sense of how those things are (or should be) interrelated with maximum student learning in mind, and they expect the student to piece together meaning.
If the teacher doesn't have a clear sense of where he/she is going, how (or more importantly, why) should the student understand the objectives of the course and how those objectives fit into the broader goal of graduation and success outside of school?
Comprehensive planning (curriculum mapping) is essential to create clarity for both the teacher and the learner.
When you plan your course well, you are being a good role model for your students. A comprehensive syllabus teaches students to look through the course material before asking mundane questions.
It gives the opportunity for the instructor to review and revise before submitting material to the students' view.
This is not only advantageous for the instructor in his/her lesson planning, but also for the student who wants to see more of a path of instruction and learning that is to come.
preparing early will always give you a better perspective of the course at hand, whether you lecture or have lab your better organized which causes you to have more confidence.
If you don't have a plan for yourself, you'll be part of the student's plan
Planning is the difference between an informal conversation and a learning interaction; planning allows to target goal and objectives, using the available resources in a efficient way.
It allows for the instructor to become comfortable and more professional in the delivery of instructional materials.
It allows the instructor to evaluate course content and tools available to maximize instructional effectiveness.
Planning several days before a class gives the instructor time to think further, tweak and improve the lesson before the actual execution of it. We all know that a revised paper is better than the first draft, and that new ideas formulate for you in further drafts. The same can be said for planning a lesson.
Related to the question from the first forum, it gives the students a professional view of you, their instructor, when the class is ready walking into the room instead of trying to finish making materials during class.
Dr. Meers,
I believe that being organized is like planning to succeed as an instructor. Organization allows a smooth development of the class and better classroom management.
Ruth
Early comprehensive planning is important to make sure the faculty member understands the learning objectives and can plan the best lectures, activities, assignments and exams to meet those learning objectives.
Not only is it important to have syllabus and course outline, but also to anticipate the various questions students will have in order to show your knowledge of the subject.
Early and comprehensive planning is important for instructional success because it facilitates a sense of confidence for a new instructor. Teaching for the first time can be an overwhelming experience but preparation and planning will prepare a solid foundation to build upon.
The class I teach is technical in nature. There are many complex moving parts to consider. As a result there are many questions about the functions, and details of these pieces that allow them to operate. Being prepared for these questions is key.
In comprehensively planning early I have learned an important factor. Soemtimes a student or class will want to jump to something I had planned on covering later. I need to be ready for that and be flexible enough to be able to bring the subject back in a circle and tie everything in that was planned without making it appear choppy in information delivered.
Early and comprehensive planning ensures that you, as the instructor, have adequate time to cover all required materials with your class. It also provides an opportunity to make decisions in advance regarding what should be taught and how to best approach teaching each particular topic. Finally, proper planning provides an opporutnity to integrate your course components for the most successful presentation.
