Get Your Students Hired
I always do this, too. My lesson plans always have more packed in than there is time for, and that is by design, so that I'm never caught unprepared with extra time to fill.
time management is a huge task to stay on top of. Keeping students on track in the lesson and class time is so important to student success. Keeping organized really helps with time management.
I like the idea of having "canned" material as one of the respondents shared. The "canned" material should be something relavent to what is being covered.
I usually plan something like a fun learning game once a week incase I get through my lesson ahead of time.
I try to make a rough sketch of the activities or topics I will cover with the approximate time it will take on each one. Then I keep a close eye on the clock to stay on schedule. At times I even list it on the board as a reminder to myself and to let the students understand what we will be covering.
James,
Eight hours is a long class session. How often do you give your students breaks during the session?
Tremayne Simpson
Edwin,
Do you memorize the talking points of the lecture or the entire "manuscript"? If you memorize in manuscript style, how do you adjust delivery based on student questions or discussion?
Tremayne Simpson
each class is different, the more that the class participates the less I have to worry about having extra time left to fill. I try to include true stories or examples that they can interact with.
I have my students for 8hrs, so time management is a crucial component. I try to have varied activities with specific time for each. However, like most, the subject often gets covered quicker than expected. Therefore, I have several alternative activities ready to go in case this situation arises.
My time management starts with memorizing the entire lecture as it coordinates with the lesson plan - this allows you the latitude to increase or decrease the speed of the lecture accordingly. Then deliver the lesson with a brain brakes every fifteen minutes or their about. One must remain flexable for the the students queries will increase or decrease the length of the lecture - more questions tend to lengthen lecture time.... This seems to assist the pacing of information delivery enabling then teacher to adhere to the lesson plan closer.
keith,
I agree. This also provides the students with a sense of ownership, in that they are responsible for comprehending and applying the information, with their classmates.
Tremayne Simpson
My classes are four hours long.Normally I try to plan ahead and have fillers as I like to call them. They are fun activities related to that days subject. This gives them hands on learning.
To help keep their attention, I often break the class up into small groups. It is easier to accomplish the assignments that way.
My total daily lecture time is approximately 3 hrs. As the courses are set up by the national headquarters and with the number of chapters I need to cover for a selected program, I deliver the average of half of my lecture at each class period.It is rare that I don't have time to utilize outside resources in virtually every class period and properly & fully cover required material.
My classes are four hours long, and like the other instructors here I occasionally find my students zipping through the material. And the truth be told, three straight hours of me, wonderful as I am, gets a little tiring. So the fourth hour, I often have a few fun games I use to help wake ourselves up. Or if we need to cover the material but the pace needs some sweetening, I'll sneak in pieces of candy or early departure for a winning team as a reward!
I keep my lesson plans from all my classes and write comments if I need to add more material or cut unnecessary items. I also write down any websites to view with the students to fill extra time or help them understand a concept. Then the next time I am going to teach it I review it and make adjustments. I always have worksheets and puzzles on hand on the topics if I need to fill in time.
I teach baking and pastry to adult learners. My class meets everyday Monday- Friday for seven hours a day
of continuos lab, with only the first hour spent in lecture. The class is 15 days of lab which works out to 3 weeks. My lesson plan is split into three learning groups. Learning to keep pace with my lesson plans has become a flexible work of art.
I have so many extra tricks up my sleeve that I can fill space when needed, short impromptu lessons that actually motivate students to work through their break time to get extra "learning tasks".
I find the lesson plan to be more of a living breathing document, always flexible, lively, and forever changing and hopefully improving. While writing lesson plans is sometimes tedious work it pays off in the end to keep you on track and to make sure all objectives are being met.