A teacher usually has many classes throughout a day and sometimes has to reconcile different types of subjects as well as different levels of ability.Therefore, the preparation is harder work than many people think, since teachers have to plan each class and organize how they’ll teach the lesson. This process is fundamental to be able to effectively transmit the knowledge to the students and to generate ad productive learning dynamic in the classroom. However, you don’t always have as much time to plan as you would like, so the GoConqr learning platform suggests five tips to organize your classes in record time.
How can you plan a class quickly and efficiently?
Even though you already know the subject that you teach and you’re able to explain it at any time, it’s bad practice to improvise a class. To attract students and provide them with the best possible learning experience, it’s recommendable to follow these guidelines:
1. Have a clear purpose and complete picture
First of all, you must be clear about the main purpose of the class; plan what parts of the subject you want to teach and what approach you’ll take to be able to transmit it in the best way possible way. You can use the GoConqr’s mind maps to create simple and organised diagrams in a few minutes. In this way, you’ll have visually attractive notes to better assess the complete picture of the class and the message you want to convey to your students.
2. Lesson hook
It’s inevitable that on many occasions you need to teach dense and boring concepts during a class. So once you clarified the message and goal, you should think of a hook that motivates the students and encourages them to pay attention to your lesson. That hook can be an entertaining story or anecdote related to the lesson, a brief video that illustrates the imparted knowledge or games that generate competitiveness among the students. You shouldn’t take too much time to think about the hook, since the simplest things are often the most effective for students.
3. Write the key points
Take a minute to write down on paper the key concepts you’re going to discuss during class. It’s an effective method to avoid the risk of leaving anything out and have a guide to turn to in case you turn blank. You must write those concepts of the lesson that you consider most important for the students’ learning process.
4. Anticipate possible doubts of the students
The teacher’s job is not just to explain a lesson as if it were a monologue, but to be constantly responding student’s doubts and interacting with them. Therefore, you should underline those parts that you think students may have more difficulties to understand so you are better able to respond to their doubts and questions. You will not need more than three minutes for this process and it will help to be more prepared in case students are confused with your lesson.
5. Group and individual evaluation
Before entering the classroom you should know what homework you’ll give your students to do at home. Individual assessments are one of the most important processes in education, so it’s recommended that you review the key points you have outlined and review the mind map you created with the complete picture of the class to prepare their tasks.
Following these steps, it will take you no more than fifteen minutes to plan an entertaining and enlightening class for your students.
