Good point Jennifer. I like to plan on having extra time for student questions and class discussion. There has to be room for flexibility.
Carol Myslinski
Carol,
This is an excellent suggestion. If time permits, do you allow the students to reflect upon the three main topics that they learned about that day? It is a great tool to assess the students' retention of information and application of topics.
Thank you for your post.
Tremayne Simpson
My course run in 3 week intervals and I usually repeat in the same course. I have the timing down due to experience and can easily accomodat a meeting, snow day or a class with a unique learning style.
We have discussions during the lessons about their experiences pertaining to the topic. Furthermore, if I have the oportunity, I show the students in a lab activity the topic in action.
i adjust my class as needed to keep up with the students learning, if i move to quick it can hinder there growth, glenn
I try to be as flexable as possible with my plans. I outline what we need to cover each day after recapping the the last lesson. Depending on the class I will adjust the timing to meet their needs best. Some need more classroom time and some need more hands-on lab time. I always try and have some time each day to work in items of intrest to the students that are not in the course but are timely and pertain to the subject.
So far, I've found that the most efficient tactic is to list all of the topics I intend to cover on the board at the beginning of the class. It looks like a list to myself, really, just a word or two relating to each topic off on the far side of the board. As I finish each one, I check it off with a red marker. This way, the students have a way of marking the progress of the class. On their own, they tailor their comments and questions to accommodate the time slot without any intervention on my part.
Sections of the lessons such as lectures, Q&A, test and other forms of assessment and participation are all structured around specific time line.
Anthony,
I have also found that this method is effective. It is especially useful to serve as a "recap" list of reviewed topics, in the final minutes of the class.
Tremayne Simpson
It is important to pace the material you are presenting in a timely manner.
I try to manage the course material for the class based on the subject that is being covered. I feel that the students tend to retain alot of the subject matter through case studies and class discussions. I try to incorporate that into my lesson plan and keep the pace of the information that needs to be covered within the allotted time.
Carl ,
I agree. Students retain information from case studies and discussions, because it is an opportunity for them to apply learned concepts, withing the context of the class. Several terms after a course is over, I tend to have students that remember a particular discussion from my class...however, they may have forgotten the exact name of class topic of the discussion.
Tremayne Simpson
I have prepared supplements in the form of powerpoint presentations so that if there is extra time, I have additional material that is more in-depth of the subject discussed. I find I run out of time, I never have enough time to discuss everything I want to discuss.
I use a daily log with all other instructors to make sure I am on schedule and presenting the correct information
Mary ,
This is an excellent suggestion. If there is not enough time to deliver the PowerPoint presentations, they can be uploaded to the student portal for them to review in an individual setting. Well-constructed PowerPoints can used to further develop course topics or to introduce additional, related content to the student.
Tremayne Simpson
Daniel,
This is an excellent idea, that can be used to promote instructor collaboration. Is the daily log used with fellow instructors that teach within your discipline?
Tremayne Simpson
I use the course syllabus with it's suggested time line as a basis. I then adapt to the flow of the class as needed so I can help them accordingly as needed.
Carlos,
I use a similar method and provide the student's with an official syllabus addendum whenever the schedule is altered. I also find that this is an indirect way of re-enforcing time management skills to your students.
Tremayne Simpson
I keep lecture notes to review at given points of the class to ensure that I am on track with my lesson. I stop during the lecture and ask questions to ascertain if my students are understanding the material or if I need to review it in a different manner. I usually have worksheets and interactive case studies to use in class as well. These help to keep the topic on track and students interest too.
Jeannine,
Thank you for your post. I use a similar format, when delivering lectures. I make sure to use "Socratic" questions that enable the students to critically think about the topic and apply newly acquired class concepts.
Tremayne Simpson
