checklist
Making a checklist before your first day is a wonderful idea. How terrible it would be to feel unprepared and set a cold setting for your new students.
I agree. A checklist is the best start in teaching a new class.
Paulette,
Being a check list user myself I know the value of having a list so I can work through it with my planning and instruction. You are providing valuable leadership to your faculty by helping them to use check lists in their instructional planning and delivery.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am in a position where I'm responsible for training other staff and I always encourage them to create a checklist to help them better understand every step to the skill
Angie,
Thank you for sharing the value of using a check list. With some many things coming at an instructor it is easy to forget something along the way or get derailed. The check list as you say helps to keep everyone on task and moving forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The Check list not only helps in ensuring all items are cover in class but also helps in my time management:
*Help getting task completed with anticipation & planning for unexpected situations
*Ensures topic connectivity & proper time investment per topic
*It has allowed me to ensure I do not get out of topic for too long
Amanda,
This is the reason I have a check list as well. With so much going on in preparing for class it is easy to overlook an essential piece of equipment, handout or announcement. The checklist helps to keep everything flowing and reduces stress.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
A checklist has been especially helpful regarding supplies and equipment. When I started my class I found I was missing a lot of equipment and that purchasing didn't have an updated supplies list. Now I know ahead of time what I need and can get it in time.
Kenneth,
Checklists work plain and simple for the reasons you state. We make them a part of our daily planning because it is easy to overlook an essential item when we have so many demands on us as learning leaders.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
A checklist is a tool I used in the field so that when I was done servicing a customers vehicle I was positive it was totally completed. This is a tool I will be using in the classroom as an instructor for the same reason.
Using checklists helps to keep me on track and to be sure that I've covered each topic or goal for the day.
As a new instructor, I can see the value of the use of a class checklist. I can also see where it would have equal value to supply a copy of a checklist to accompany the syllabus for the students to help them know what instruction will be covered or to see what they may have missed in class if they were absent or late.
Frederick,
What a wonderful example this instructor is for his students. Thanks for sharing his professional approach to teaching with us.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thanks for your response. I'm reminded of another instructor at our school who's the opposite of the young man I mentioned in the earlier post. This gentleman is the epitome of everything you're talking about in this ED101 course. He's not perfect (for example, sometimes he forgets to fill out his attendance sheet), but he maintains a high standard of professionalism in the way you describe in the course. The students think of him as strict, but not in a negative way. They know where he stands, they know what's required of them in terms of performance, and--I think, most importantly--they genuinely and deeply respect him. Which reflects back favorably on the learning process they undergo in his classes.
Frederick,
Thank you for highlighting the need for planning and a check list to make sure everything is ready for a class. It is sad this new teacher did not "get it" in terms of planning, delivery and student interactions. Sounds like he had potential but could never pull it together in a way that made him effective.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I always use a checklist for every class. I include it in my lesson plan, and I check everything twice to make sure I haven't overlooked something necessary to the successful completion of the particular class meeting. Conversely, a new teacher joined us this past term, and although he came highly recommended by 3 different sources, he had a lot of trouble this term. The way he dressed was not up to standards, and he tried to be pals with the students, both of which did not help his cause. He has an infectious personality and he's fairly well informed in his area of expertise, but I noticed that he did not use a checklist and seemed always unprepared at the last moment with some element or some equipment he needed to teach his class. He ended up having serious problems in two different courses. Thinking back on this term, so many of the points that have been made in this online course (ED101) were reflected negatively in his professional performance. He should've been required to take this course before starting with us. Unfortunately, he won't be with us next term.
I make a check list for all my classes, trying to cover all the points needed for me not to forget.
Nathan,
Thank you for sharing the value that can come from using a check list. It is easy with all of the demands that come to an instructor while preparing for and delivering instruction to forget something. I especially your point about the checklist being of help to subs should you be gone. This list will help the class to continue to move forward even when you are not there.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that a checklist is such a valuable and simple tool for both instructors and students. During our RN skills day, I make sure that my supplies and equipment are all ready and accounted for. The great thing about a check list is that other instructors can follow it when your not there.
Nathan
Cindy,
Great to hear. A checklist is often the only way an instructor can be sure to cover all of the items needed to inform students about course requirements and expectations.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
