The first time you teach is just killer. I teach a similar class, and I’m now at the point where I do very little prep outside of class. It gets easier with repetition.
This is the answer. I almost had a breakdown my first couple of semesters teaching ft. I'm a natural worrier, and the stress of that and just teaching the type of students I was getting almost made me want to quit.
As you say, it gets easier.
If you want efficient teach a lecture/test only class. If you want good, stick with flipped. It'll take more time, but your students will learn more. And it'll take less time the more you've taught it.
First things first: new preps take longer than courses you have already taught.
1. Your course prep depends on if you plan on teaching the same thing again. If not, ignore this. If so, don't prep for tomorrow, but instead prep for every time you teach the topic in the future. If it takes X time to prep for tomorrow, it takes 1.5X time to "generalize" the prep.
Examples: You teach stats. You can make a dataset in Excel for your students to analyze. Or you can write a program that can generate datasets so you can switch them up between semesters.
2. Prep as you go. You don't need to do everything at once, even though it seems like it will be helpful to "get it out of the way." At the end of each class, write some test questions based on what you taught that day. When it's time to make the test, it will bE easy to put together, and you won't have the issue of trying to remember what you covered over the last month. If you're feeling inspired, write a bunch, and you can eventually build a personal test bank.
--
Prepping for "forever" takes longer than. Prepping for "now," and first preps take longer than subsequent preps. But if you "work smart and hard" now, you won't have to work (as) smart or hard later.
Do lots of prep the first time you teach a class, it’ll get easier after time. Both of those things are true.
Also, I can’t stop giggling at the typo “porf”
I use alternative teaching, including some flipped classroom stuff, and while it's awful the first time through, if you are organized it should decrease your workload going forward. A few tips specific to flipped classes:
- Make your videos as generic as possible so you can reuse them. I found recording videos was a very time-consuming task but saved lots of time in later semesters.
- If you have a decent LMS, automate as much as possible. I use D2L and I use Intelligence Agents to send reminders and check ins, I set up regular announcements to automatically release through the semester, for low stakes quizzing use the online system to autograde or if you do it again in person, I use Zipgrade to scan quizzes with my phone.
- Consider aspects of standards based grading, inquiry based learning, or team based learning to offload some tasks to students or simplify your tasks. Grading strong/satisfactory/unsatisfactory can be more efficient than waffling over point values. Having students lead discussion or question sessions means less prep for you (as long as you can think on your feet).
- Anything you can do to answer questions once instead of dozens of times is great. For example, one thing that I do in my stats class is notecard check-ins where students fill out notecards with either a question about the class, or a response to a fun question (e.g., what superpower would you pick?) This way everyone is writing, and it helps them realize lots of students have similar questions. I often can stop notecards halfway through because they get more comfortable just asking questions out loud. I also encourage them to come together to office hours. Often students who work together will attend together which saves us all some time.
-Not sure what program you're teaching, but this year I used R Shiny to create some tutorials for students that were helpful for testing their skills outside of class so they had more specific questions for class time.
Also, part of it is just the fact that it's a stats class! My office hours are packed when I teach stats compared to other classes so some of the time pressure is just a reality of the topic you're covering.
> Grading strong/satisfactory/unsatisfactory can be more efficient than waffling over point values
This is true, but a lot of the value of standards-based grading is giving a lot of feedback (to help the students reach "satisfactory" next time) and allowing second attempts (which requires having and grading extra problems).
Yes, but in stats the feedback is relatively straightforward. For my students, we don't do hand calculations so the only way they can go wrong is writing code incorrectly, misinterpreting results, or incorrect writing. After teaching the class a semester, I have those snippets of feedback saved in my key so feedback in this context is just copy-paste. If a lot of students get something wrong, I just post it as an announcement so everyone sees it.
I suspect OP is in a similar field where stats is one class, rather than that they actually teach in a stats department given the way they framed the question
>"Consider aspects of standards based grading, inquiry based learning, or team based learning to offload some tasks to students or simplify your tasks. Grading strong/satisfactory/unsatisfactory can be more efficient than waffling over point values."
\^\^This. I have 200 students a semester and switching to standards based grading where all homework exercises + exam responses are graded pass fail freed up a lot of time and mental space.
I have a google doc where I keep the most common feedback so I can quickly copy/paste. I don't teach stats + my homework has a lot of writing -- but still with the standards based grading and a really thorough rubric, I've found this grading system more efficient.
I think we differ. I can read the (written, usually) answer and give a mark almost instantaneously (most of my short answers are out of 2 or 3 points); giving the right feedback takes longer, even if I am using Crowdmark and have a comment library to pick from.
The number one thing I tell all my grad students and postdocs I mentor is that they need to negotiate around prep limitations. Why? Because IME it always takes 3-ish iterations of a aingle course (i.e. "prep") to build out naterials and work out kinks so that teaching is not a massive time-suck.
I know this doesn't address OP's current need and request, but just want to reiterate here that this is a thing those on the market should be discussing in their negotiations. It's sometimes an easy "win" in negotiating the first time out the gate with a big potential impact on quality of the job.
What took up so much time? Recording the lectures? Grading their work? If we know what your major time sinks were, we can speak to those particular issues.
Primarily it was preparing the notes/lectures. I wrote pretty extensive notes before every class, and then the students would read the notes before very class and send in questions about them. I would then go through the questions and prepare a mini lecture at the start of every class answering the questions.
Ok so the notes writing is done, you can spend a fraction of the original time updating them. You already have a good sense of the kinds of questions students will have, and you have mini lectures prepared for those common questions. Sounds like your second time around is going to be a lot more efficient!
Oh shoot. I dont know how to do that work more efficiently. But maybe you could do other stuff more efficiently like grading (completion basis, self-graded, assigning things that are easier to grade, etc)??
Grading is easier with specific criteria sheets because you can circle the point value and it already shows the feedback (see the book: **Instructional Design for College Teaching: Moving Students toward Optimal Knowledge, Skills, and Efficacy**). Create effective step by step job aids, especially in using your stats software, so the proficient students can move on without you and you can spend your focus on those students that need more assistance. Create multiple-choice exams and let Blackboard grade. Also, use a structured lesson format to help create efficient lessons (again, see above book for examples.)
well, first advice re flipped: don't do that. it's way more work, and in my experience (from reading reviews) it's often not well received.
second: the first time you teach a course spend a lot time with prep and make yourself excellent notes. teaching the same course is far easier after that. i still use some notes i wrote as a postdoc. but yes, the first time can be painful.
If you're teaching a different class next year, I would use a semi-flipped approach. Prepare some material in advance, e.g. record a short video and spend time in class doing an assignment based on that video. Mix it up with: a short lecture that students can put in practice right away and a conclusion in which you give the students pointers about the next class.
I used the videos I prepared during the pandemic for a flipped classroom approach. I found that this worked well at first and in the first few weeks of the course. I noticed that other courses moved back to the more traditional lecture/seminar format and students began to expect this across the board. Even though the preparation is structured and is supposed to save them time, some students perceive it as time-consuming (a mix of students who are used to doing no preparatory work and coast in class and students who are stressed by the workload and other responsibilities). I found that some of them missed basic things because the lecture was based on the assumption that the students had done some preparation. A common criticism of the flipped classroom is that it relies on a high level of engagement and the reality is that it's always going to be a mix.
I now make some resources available in advance based on the assumption that students are more likely to do the work in the first 6 weeks (or so) and other resources are extra. It also saves me time because I spent a lot of time preparing interactive classes, which needed regular updating, and now reuse lectures. In your case, you wouldn't share all of your notes with students and use the rest for a lecture.
["Teaching What you Don't Know"](https://www.amazon.ca/Teaching-What-You-Dont-Know/dp/0674066170) is a good book about doing prep for a class the first time you teach it.
The first time you teach is just killer. I teach a similar class, and I’m now at the point where I do very little prep outside of class. It gets easier with repetition.
This is the answer. I almost had a breakdown my first couple of semesters teaching ft. I'm a natural worrier, and the stress of that and just teaching the type of students I was getting almost made me want to quit. As you say, it gets easier.
If you want efficient teach a lecture/test only class. If you want good, stick with flipped. It'll take more time, but your students will learn more. And it'll take less time the more you've taught it.
Never try to make a course perfect. I treat every one like a pilot.
First things first: new preps take longer than courses you have already taught. 1. Your course prep depends on if you plan on teaching the same thing again. If not, ignore this. If so, don't prep for tomorrow, but instead prep for every time you teach the topic in the future. If it takes X time to prep for tomorrow, it takes 1.5X time to "generalize" the prep. Examples: You teach stats. You can make a dataset in Excel for your students to analyze. Or you can write a program that can generate datasets so you can switch them up between semesters. 2. Prep as you go. You don't need to do everything at once, even though it seems like it will be helpful to "get it out of the way." At the end of each class, write some test questions based on what you taught that day. When it's time to make the test, it will bE easy to put together, and you won't have the issue of trying to remember what you covered over the last month. If you're feeling inspired, write a bunch, and you can eventually build a personal test bank. -- Prepping for "forever" takes longer than. Prepping for "now," and first preps take longer than subsequent preps. But if you "work smart and hard" now, you won't have to work (as) smart or hard later.
Do lots of prep the first time you teach a class, it’ll get easier after time. Both of those things are true. Also, I can’t stop giggling at the typo “porf”
I was gonna tell him to make sure to profread everything. XD
Haha I am very typo prone.
I use alternative teaching, including some flipped classroom stuff, and while it's awful the first time through, if you are organized it should decrease your workload going forward. A few tips specific to flipped classes: - Make your videos as generic as possible so you can reuse them. I found recording videos was a very time-consuming task but saved lots of time in later semesters. - If you have a decent LMS, automate as much as possible. I use D2L and I use Intelligence Agents to send reminders and check ins, I set up regular announcements to automatically release through the semester, for low stakes quizzing use the online system to autograde or if you do it again in person, I use Zipgrade to scan quizzes with my phone. - Consider aspects of standards based grading, inquiry based learning, or team based learning to offload some tasks to students or simplify your tasks. Grading strong/satisfactory/unsatisfactory can be more efficient than waffling over point values. Having students lead discussion or question sessions means less prep for you (as long as you can think on your feet). - Anything you can do to answer questions once instead of dozens of times is great. For example, one thing that I do in my stats class is notecard check-ins where students fill out notecards with either a question about the class, or a response to a fun question (e.g., what superpower would you pick?) This way everyone is writing, and it helps them realize lots of students have similar questions. I often can stop notecards halfway through because they get more comfortable just asking questions out loud. I also encourage them to come together to office hours. Often students who work together will attend together which saves us all some time. -Not sure what program you're teaching, but this year I used R Shiny to create some tutorials for students that were helpful for testing their skills outside of class so they had more specific questions for class time. Also, part of it is just the fact that it's a stats class! My office hours are packed when I teach stats compared to other classes so some of the time pressure is just a reality of the topic you're covering.
> Grading strong/satisfactory/unsatisfactory can be more efficient than waffling over point values This is true, but a lot of the value of standards-based grading is giving a lot of feedback (to help the students reach "satisfactory" next time) and allowing second attempts (which requires having and grading extra problems).
Yes, but in stats the feedback is relatively straightforward. For my students, we don't do hand calculations so the only way they can go wrong is writing code incorrectly, misinterpreting results, or incorrect writing. After teaching the class a semester, I have those snippets of feedback saved in my key so feedback in this context is just copy-paste. If a lot of students get something wrong, I just post it as an announcement so everyone sees it. I suspect OP is in a similar field where stats is one class, rather than that they actually teach in a stats department given the way they framed the question
That is correct, it's a statistics methods course in a non stats department.
>"Consider aspects of standards based grading, inquiry based learning, or team based learning to offload some tasks to students or simplify your tasks. Grading strong/satisfactory/unsatisfactory can be more efficient than waffling over point values." \^\^This. I have 200 students a semester and switching to standards based grading where all homework exercises + exam responses are graded pass fail freed up a lot of time and mental space. I have a google doc where I keep the most common feedback so I can quickly copy/paste. I don't teach stats + my homework has a lot of writing -- but still with the standards based grading and a really thorough rubric, I've found this grading system more efficient.
I think we differ. I can read the (written, usually) answer and give a mark almost instantaneously (most of my short answers are out of 2 or 3 points); giving the right feedback takes longer, even if I am using Crowdmark and have a comment library to pick from.
Wow thanks for the comments, that's a really good tip about the note card checkins.
The number one thing I tell all my grad students and postdocs I mentor is that they need to negotiate around prep limitations. Why? Because IME it always takes 3-ish iterations of a aingle course (i.e. "prep") to build out naterials and work out kinks so that teaching is not a massive time-suck. I know this doesn't address OP's current need and request, but just want to reiterate here that this is a thing those on the market should be discussing in their negotiations. It's sometimes an easy "win" in negotiating the first time out the gate with a big potential impact on quality of the job.
This is good advice. Sadly, I thought I had negotiated more prep time, but some promises were reneged.
If you have a high charisma modifier you can get away with a low investment in actual teaching skills.
What took up so much time? Recording the lectures? Grading their work? If we know what your major time sinks were, we can speak to those particular issues.
Primarily it was preparing the notes/lectures. I wrote pretty extensive notes before every class, and then the students would read the notes before very class and send in questions about them. I would then go through the questions and prepare a mini lecture at the start of every class answering the questions.
Ok so the notes writing is done, you can spend a fraction of the original time updating them. You already have a good sense of the kinds of questions students will have, and you have mini lectures prepared for those common questions. Sounds like your second time around is going to be a lot more efficient!
Tragically I'm teaching different courses this year.
Oh shoot. I dont know how to do that work more efficiently. But maybe you could do other stuff more efficiently like grading (completion basis, self-graded, assigning things that are easier to grade, etc)??
Grading is easier with specific criteria sheets because you can circle the point value and it already shows the feedback (see the book: **Instructional Design for College Teaching: Moving Students toward Optimal Knowledge, Skills, and Efficacy**). Create effective step by step job aids, especially in using your stats software, so the proficient students can move on without you and you can spend your focus on those students that need more assistance. Create multiple-choice exams and let Blackboard grade. Also, use a structured lesson format to help create efficient lessons (again, see above book for examples.)
well, first advice re flipped: don't do that. it's way more work, and in my experience (from reading reviews) it's often not well received. second: the first time you teach a course spend a lot time with prep and make yourself excellent notes. teaching the same course is far easier after that. i still use some notes i wrote as a postdoc. but yes, the first time can be painful.
If you're teaching a different class next year, I would use a semi-flipped approach. Prepare some material in advance, e.g. record a short video and spend time in class doing an assignment based on that video. Mix it up with: a short lecture that students can put in practice right away and a conclusion in which you give the students pointers about the next class. I used the videos I prepared during the pandemic for a flipped classroom approach. I found that this worked well at first and in the first few weeks of the course. I noticed that other courses moved back to the more traditional lecture/seminar format and students began to expect this across the board. Even though the preparation is structured and is supposed to save them time, some students perceive it as time-consuming (a mix of students who are used to doing no preparatory work and coast in class and students who are stressed by the workload and other responsibilities). I found that some of them missed basic things because the lecture was based on the assumption that the students had done some preparation. A common criticism of the flipped classroom is that it relies on a high level of engagement and the reality is that it's always going to be a mix. I now make some resources available in advance based on the assumption that students are more likely to do the work in the first 6 weeks (or so) and other resources are extra. It also saves me time because I spent a lot of time preparing interactive classes, which needed regular updating, and now reuse lectures. In your case, you wouldn't share all of your notes with students and use the rest for a lecture.
["Teaching What you Don't Know"](https://www.amazon.ca/Teaching-What-You-Dont-Know/dp/0674066170) is a good book about doing prep for a class the first time you teach it.