Teachers Tips: Class Preparation

I have been an Education Coach for XSEED Philippines for over a year. As an Education Coach, I work with schools and their teachers to help them continue to grow and improve in their teaching through the 5As method. I entered this position pre-COVID, 2 months before COVID hit. It was a jarring transition for me at first because I had to mentor teachers with online learning when I only have experience with face-to-face teaching. But as I attended and implemented trainings and seminars, and observed and demonstrated classes, I realized that a lot of the important strategies for both online and face-to-face settings stay the same.

For the next few posts, I'll be sharing with you what I have learned in my experience of observing and teaching online classes. This particular set of tips are focused on what to do and think about before the class.

1. Preparation is key. As teachers we all know the value of preparing before class. It ensures a smooth flow throughout the class which will help in keeping our students' focus and attention at the discussion. Personally, I find the following preparation practices helpful for me:

   1. Write an outline. It doesn't have to be too detailed. But write what you plan to do, from the moment you step into the classroom until how you plan to end the class. Think about your transitions, how to shift from one activity/question to another. Have this outline with you as you teach. It's a cheat sheet, that ensures everything happens when it's supposed to happen without having to think about it.

   2. Have everything on hand. Before you enter your class, make sure all the physical materials are on your desk within reach and all your apps and tech support open and ready to use. This includes your back-ups. This minimizes the possibility of awkward silences, where students are waiting for teacher to get the things they need and such.

   3. Study. You might have taught this subject before, but you also can't expect to know what students already know about your topic or the questions they might ask.

   4. Think about your back-ups. What will you do if you can't open your slides or your internet is lagging? Make sure that you have a prepared back-up for every possible circumstance.

1. Your whole lesson must be consistent to your goal. When we make our lesson plans, we always write a goal/objective/aim. This will help us focus on what our student needs to learn during the class. Make sure that the activities, questions, textbook and worksheets are all aligned to your goal. Let's say you search for a worksheet about Proper and Common Nouns. Just because it says that that is the topic taught that it means it's the same as your current discussion. Remember there are nuances to every discussion, depending on the grade level/level of proficiency. Take the time to read through it.

1. Mindful use of tech/apps. Sharing our screen should not be the first thing we will do when we enter the classroom. Think about is the purpose of tech/apps and your role in the classroom. Less tech can be beneficial because it lessens the pressure on you and your bandwidth. Don't be afraid to just look at your students and discuss.

   1. Less slides, more sights. A lot of teachers have well-prepared slides. Complete with amazing transitions and all the activities and questions you want to present the students. But what I want you to think about is the purpose of those slides. Is it to enhance student learning or remind you of what you planned to do next? Slides are there to enhance the learning experience. When you don't share your screen, students get to easily interact with one another, because they can actually see each other. And you get to monitor what they are doing too. Also, showing slides with a huge bulk of text can be quite daunting, and let's be honest.. nobody really reads those. Use slides for presenting photos, graphs, data, tables and such. Questions and explanations can be done through audio. This can give a more relaxed and less lecture type of mood in the class.

   2. Stick to one. It takes time for students, especially younger learners, to learn and gain confidence when learning new things. They need practice and constant guidance until they are comfortable enough to use it independently. So make sure to choose only one type of app for every activity you want to do. For example, if you want students to collaborate and you tried out Jamboard, stick to it. Don't deviate with different kinds of apps that has the same purpose. If you use it often enough then a time will come where you don't have to reiterate the rules and the instructions because they already know what to do. This will help in managing your time.

These are strategies that I personally employ when I teach and share with the teachers that I "coach". I hope this helps you, as it has help me. Next week, I'll be sharing class strategies I do to increase the likelihood of an engaged class.

If you have other pre-class tips, feel free to share it below!