To much information
How do you know if you have to much information in your lesson plan? As a new instructor I do try and pick out the very important material that the students will need. Sometimes I feel as if I give them to much information. I just want to make sure they understand what Im teaching and showing them.
This is a great question. I teach 4-5 hour blocks once a week. Beginning in MAY 2014 we will have the same students 2-times a week. So our terms will be 5-weeks instead of 10-weeks. This is both scary and thrilling. Our students will be challenged and MUST do the same amount of work. THIS IS THE MAIN THING THAT I AM SAYING IN ALL OF MY LESSON PLANS and Syllabus. My MIDTERM exam will be class 2 of week 3. My FINAL exam will be given during the last class!!! YES!!! NOW all of this said, I am only giving the BARE MIN of info to my students so not to overwhelm them. WE all are already overwhelmed so I AM GIVING THEM ON A NEEDS TO KNOW BASIS - a bit each class period, hour by hour!!! I hope this works and I will soon know!!!! THANKS
CoCintheane,
Our institution will be going through a similar transition, in May as well. I feel that this is a great opportunity for instructors to maximize the potential of the student portal, by creating a pseudo-hybrid, classroom learning environment. In that, the classroom lectures/demonstrations can be fully supported with additional material, via the portal, outside of the class. This will give instructors more flexibility in the classroom, while having the ability to deliver the same content, just in a different format. This of course, requires the students to more active and self-directed in their learning.
Tremayne Simpson
CoCintheane,
Our institution will be going through a similar transition, in May as well. I feel that this is a great opportunity for instructors to maximize the potential of the student portal, by creating a pseudo-hybrid, classroom learning environment. In that, the classroom lectures/demonstrations can be fully supported with additional material, via the portal, outside of the class. This will give instructors more flexibility in the classroom, while having the ability to deliver the same content, just in a different format. This of course, requires the students to more active and self-directed in their learning.
Tremayne Simpson
I find myself given too much information in my lesson plan.Then again, its not because someone in the class always need that extra information.
I find this difficult also, although the more I teach the better I get at discovering what really needs to be taught. I'm very detailed and find that I'm trying to fit every single thing in. I recently went through my old Powerpoints and they were SO dense that I felt bad for my students back then! Now I try to figure out the main points of what the curriculum requires and keep it simple.
I give to much because it is easier to take out less essential material as warranted.
I'm in a similar situation and yes, I agree that the use of outside-of-class material is crucial. It seems that more and more schools are heading this direction. It can work really well, if done right. But we ultimately need to spend time with the students in class, and if this time will be cut short or more frequent, we need to make sure that everything we do in class is totally relevant and purposeful. The worst place I find myself in the classroom is after a long adventure on an unrelated topic. Invariably, I have to cut something important out of the class when this happens.
I agree. The more information the better. I f a co-worker or substitute wishes to remove an item that is ok, but I'd rather be more prepared than less.
