After teaching a course a few times, I know that I can get through about 10 slides of discussion before students need a break. I also know how many slides/day I can get through comfortably. That helps to know how many hours/days I need per topic/lecture. If I don't finish either lecture or lab, it must be carried onto the next day, which complicates things. I've also had to make them learn a topic 'by themselves', in which case I send them home with a print out of the presentation, a reading list & a take-home quiz to assess comprehension. this rarely occurs, but sometimes, you just have to in order to get everything in!
I always keep an 'alternative' list of activities to do in case I finish early (hands-on or workbook material),too, so I never have to worry about that. Students love when that happens- they like the change and unexpected treat (which is usually something gross, like dissecting pigeons!)
Ann,
Thank you for sharing this with the group. If time permits, it is good idea to add "surprises" to the course lesson plan. Surprise activities/discussions can provide the class with a periodic "spark" and it is always exciting to see the student reactions.
Tremayne Simpson
This also happens to me, I find a popup Q's and A's session on the material just covered. This gives a chance to assess the information being retained, as well as areas that need to covered more completely. The mini reviews also help reinforce the information just covered.
It is difficult to stay on a strict time schedule for a lecture class so I try to account for some q & a time. This makes it so if students do have questions they can ask at that time. A lot of times students ask questions that I will eventually cover in class anyways.
I pace myself based on the knowledge level of my overall class. I allow a lot of time for questions and give them the feedback they need to be successful.
Sue,
This method can also be used to establish credibility with your students. Opening up the class for a question and answer session, can provide the students with the assurance that their instructor is well-versed on the subject matter. Credibility can be questioned when there is a heavy reliance on support materials (i.e. textbooks) and limited activities that would make the instructor succeptable to student questions.
Tremayne Simpson
One can always use intersrting ways to fill in exceess time which involve clasrroom activities, such as a subject related crossword puzzle or an imitation of a quiz show usually fill time and encourage classroom participation.
It was not easy in the beginning, since I have to teach 1-3 chapters in 4 and a half hours. I assign time limit to each chapter in my own mind. If the lecture becomes short, I make my students work with the computer resources and/workbook available to us.Sometimes I make them take my place and teach the class and I ask them questions.
Room for flexibility works very well for me, including diffusing classroom tension. A time for questions and answers, and discussions gives me an opportunity to bring back the topic at hand where we left off with ease.
Jeanne,
I agree. "Crossword puzzles" seem to retain their popularity, regardless of the student's generation. Anytime I want to present several new concepts or words to my students, I find that creating a crossword puzzle can be effective in the retention of information. There are several sites that can be used to create-your-own crossword and "word find" puzzles.
Tremayne Simpson
Sameena,
When you have to present a numerous amount of chapters (in a short amount of time
), I find that it is best to have smaller groups of students present the chapters to the class. With this method, the instructor acts as a "facilitator" and adds missing information to the students' presented chapter.
Tremayne Simpson
ELIZABETH,
I agree. The "flex time" should be considered whenever discussions are scheduled. It is impossible to predict how much the students will participate or if additional information will be requested during the discussion. Whenever participation is limited, I always add in a few questions to induce more student comments.
Tremayne Simpson
That is exactly I am doing for last couple of weeks and I feel it to be very productive.
Sameena,
This is great. Collaborative activities really give an instructor an opportunity to see "practice-in-action", also it is great to hear the discussions within the student groups.
Tremayne Simpson
The great thing about a lesson plan is if it is written well it breaks down how long each project should take. It is important that you share the deadlines with your students so they are aware of what is expected. I use my whiteboard as a tool to disclose all goals and timelines. I remind students where they should be when milestones hit.
Chanel,
What is your approach to working with students that feel that they will not be able to meet the deadlines, based on the estimates in the project guidelines?
Tremayne Simpson
Time management is important. I have lecture days that happen for 3 hours with 2 breaks given and production days are 4 hours long. It is important during lecture days to understand how long each tasks take before the day begin and have a game plan before class starts. Production days can be given curveballs depending on the production smoothness for each student. It is important to have time management all the way to the end including clean up as the next classes need to come in. Thanks
I have four hour classes with a small number of students, often only one or two. It remains hard to fill the time with the content given to me and 4 hours is a long time for a student to remain focused on a lecture or information being given. I try to always plan a formal lesson and have some sort of on going project or activity (primarily completed at home) that they can work on if we finish early and get my feedback on how the "project" is coming.
Having some thing ready to go "in your back pocket" is such a daily thing for me since I have no control over the content of what I teach. I have to do every thing the same all the time. If I have a class that responds well and gets the information for the day in a short time period, we are done way to earlier than the companies time line.
I follow the content inclusion that the students need to be successful and still allow time for discussion and questions.
