taking control of your time
When in the lab i lose alot of time due to students pulling parts without maintaining the areas cleanliness . To help cut back on the time i spent cleaning up after them i have assigned each group an area to take ownership of and maintain its condition . I find now they help control other students as well as take pride in their area.
Interesting approach Tammy. Sometimes the behavior we desire is motivated by reinforcement. Other times and in this particular case, it's punishment. I try to focus on reinforcement where possible.
in our labs we assign the student that was late that day or wasnt in class the day before to make sure the lab area is clean when the students have lab orientation they are shown the way the lab should look so there is no question and this has worked well
I to put students in charge of different areas of the lab and equipment care. Without a doubt they are the best crictics of keeping it clean and equipment charging. Also their the first to let you know if the equipment needs maint.
I like the idea of a rotating list. Thanks for sharing John. I also like the way that some items on the list are constants. I think this kind of list format could work well for many instructors.
I have an assignment list that rotates as the weeks goes on. This is posted in the lab and the time to start cleaning is kept a constant.
This has helped me be more attentive to things like making sure all of the equipment is in working order before leaving, which frees up about an hour of my 'support time'.
In my labs , students have regular rotations to be lab assistant and all of the supply duties, cleaning and equipment check-in/out are of their responsibility just like in an office. This gives the students an awareness of the mess that they can make and also take ownership of being organized and time managed so they may leave at the correct time
