Gary,
I believe that most instructors have experience this situation. The key is to make sure to take notes during each session, to ensure that you can remember where you are in the course and material that you were not able to complete in the lecture.
Tremayne Simpson
As a new instructor I find it to be a quick and easy reference point. I also know even though it takes a lot of time and effort to create strong lesson plans now, I'll have a very good tool to use & improve upon later.
Delmar,
I agree that it is time consuming to document lesson plans. However, you will appreciate your effort once you have taught the course multiple times. When you are a veteran instructor, you will only need to update and refresh your lessons, which will simplify the planning portion of the course.
Tremayne Simpson
Documenting my lesson plans has helped me to hone my courses. After each class I make notes of what would have made the day run smoother and changes that can help me with a better delivery. It's great when I get a chance to do even better than the time before and I do feel a lot more confident.
The obvious answers are to be prepared for each day, be prepared in case you have to have somebody else teach and allow students to be prepared, but in our program, we must incorporate many different things into one lesson plan- the presentation, readings, lab activities, practice questions for our field's qualifying exam, case studies and essential skills. This is a lot to do in one lesson, so careful planning is essential! I require all of my instructors to submit their plans to me before the class starts, to ensure that all of these aspects are covered. Then, we post our plans on a common drive so that anybody can access it, in case one of us can't make it into work. Plus, it makes it WAY easier to teach the course for the second time, or help out new instructors/start-up programs at other campuses.
Cynthia,
Each class presents a new set of challenges and experiences for an instructor. With documented lesson plans (with detailed notes) an instructor can compare and contrast previous sections of the class and use them as a "base" for future course revisions.
Tremayne Simpson
Ann,
This is a great, administrative approach to documenting lesson plans. Sharing the plans on a common drive can also make it easier to conduct course observations.
Tremayne Simpson
More than anything documenting my lesson plans helps me stay on track and stay organized. I live by them especially when it is a class that I have taught and am teaching again.
After going through this module I was able to pick-up a few new ideas to use and looking forward to next term to put them into practice.
It is important for a teacher to document their lesson plans because it keeps them organized and in case of an emergency, allows another teacher to take over the class without confusion.
It's important to document lesson plans for several reasons. In the event of an emergency, your lesson plans can be given to another instructor to carry on so the students will not miss out. It also helps you stay on track with what you have planned out for the course/lesson. I teach multiple classes on the same subject and it allows me to track where I am at as well as make sure I keep my classes in the same place.
Our department just when through an exercise to standardize all our lessons plans so that we would be consistent with college requirements, any instructor tasked with being a sub would be able to pickup class quickly,and then placed all of our lesson plans in a shared drive so they can be shared.
Joseph,
In my opinion, instructional freedom is a paramount concept. However, I feel that standardization of syllabi is an effective operational practice, which can ensure consistency in every course.
Tremayne Simpson
Documenting my lesson plans keep me on tract and reminded of the direction my course is going. It also helps me evaluate my own performance as well as that of my students.
I teach the second year of a subject and it would be helpful to review peer lesson plans to ensure that the students are not getting the same information twice.
Documenting lesson plans is essential for good organization. After each class I make notes on my lesson plan and revise for the future if necessary. This helps me with time management and planning course content.
Documenting your lesson plan helps me to stay focused on the classroom subjects. Also, I can improve each class my updating or changing information on my stored lesson plan.
I could see how it could help me remember how things went the last time I taught so I can adjust when I teach it again.
Dixie,
Those are excellent ideas. I'm a brand new instructor and any tips such a those are very helpful. Thankyou for sharing them.
About three semesters ago I started doing this with a digital course I teach. After class was over and everything was still fresh in my mind, I documented what I had just accomplished. I did this after every session of that course. The next semester when I retaught it, I had a better handle with both time management and relevancy to the course objectives.
