Planning and Conducting Classes

Decisions to Make

1. What would I include in each class and what should I leave out?

2. What methods should I use in the classroom?

3. How do I know how long it will take to teach this amount of material?

4. How can I keep learners interested and make sure they learn?

Planning Sequence (Staying a few steps ahead)

-must be completed before the course begins.

1. Developing a Course Outline or Syllabus Course Outline or Syllabus is considered a

contract between teacher and learners. -To protect yourself legally , you may

also include a statement at the end of the outline that states changes in course material or evaluation may be

necessary at times, but that the learners will be notified in writing of any changes.

(Holmes, 1990) Write objectives that have meaning, not just for you but also for the learners. They should reflect what the learner is supposed to do with what is taught.

2.1 The Value of Objectivesa. to guide your

selection and handling of course materials

b. to help you determine whether the people in the class have learned what you have tried to teach

2. Formulating Objectives

c. Objectives are essential from the learner’s perspective.

They must receive objectives that communicate clearly what they will be expected to know and do with the course material.

Sample Objectives:› Explain the rationale for people’s use of defense mechanisms.› Analyze in a given situation which defense mechanisms are being

used by an individual.

Course objectives should be designed to be achievable by most or all learners. If the objectives are unrealistic, either because the teacher’s expectations are too high or because the needed learning experiences are inaccessible, they are worthless.

2.2 Taxonomy of Objectives (Bloom, 1984) 3 Learning Domains

1. Cognitive (knowing)› Knowledge, comprehension, application,

analysis, synthesis, evaluating

2. Psychomotor (doing)› You can observe what learners are actually

doing when they perform a skill Ex. “will correctly mix two types of insulin in

one syringe”

3. Affective (feeling, valuing)› Related to beliefs, attitudes, values

It contains the intended learner, the behavior to be performed, the conditions under which it is to be performed, and the expected degree of attainment of specific standards (Cummings, 1994; Ferguson, 1998)

2.3 Wording of Objectives

Course objectives may be fairly broad in order to keep the list a manageable length

Ex. “The nurse will list and explain, with 95 percent accuracy, the parameters by which effective hemodialysis is measured.”

Ex. “Recognize the parameters of effective hemodialysis”

Behavioral Verbs Useful for Writing Objectives

Cognitive DomainKnowledge: Define, delineate, describe, identify, list, name, stateComprehension: Classify, discuss, estimate,

explain, rephrase, summarizeApplication: Adjust, apply, compute,

demonstrate, generate, Analysis: Analyze, compare, contrast,

critique, defend, differentiate

Synthesis: Create, develop, propose, suggest, write

Evaluation: assess, choose, conclude, defend, evaluate, judge

• Psychomotor DomainArrange, assemble, calibrate, combine, copy, correct, create, demonstrate, execute, handle, manipulate, operate, organize, position, produce, remove, revise, show, solve

•Affective domainAccept, agree, choose,

comply, commit, defend, explain, influence, integrate, recommend, resolve, volunteer

3. Selecting a Content

Content is prescribed by the curriculum of the school, health agency, or proprietary agency for which the educator works. More often, someone’s files contain previous course outlines or course objectives to guide the instructor in deciding what to teach. It is generally left to the instructor’s discretion to determine exactly what to include on a particular topic and what can safely be skipped over.

4. Organizing Content (Discussions, Role Playing, Computer Applications, Problem-based learning)

General to SpecificSpecific to General

The way in which class content is organized can make all the difference between sessions that are enjoyable and smooth running and those in which students are irritated and grumbling.

Nothing is more distressing than trying to take notes from a lecturer who skips all over a topic with no apparent rhyme or reason.

B. Selecting Teaching Methods

1. Factors Affecting Choice of Method Objectives and type of learning you are

trying to achieve Course content Choice of teaching strategy Compatibility between teachers and

teaching methods and compatibility between learners and teaching methods

The number of people in class Resources of institution

2. Effectiveness of Teaching Methods

A great deal of research has been conducted in which comparisons are made about the effectiveness of two teaching methods. The findings depend on the outcome criterion (dependent variable) used in the various studies. When the outcome is the acquisition of knowledge, performance is about the same for all methods.

(Gage, 1976; Weston & Cranton)

C. Choosing A Textbook (Besser, Stone, & Nan,

1999) Courses are often built around the content and approach of a textbook. Texts provide a stable and uniform source of information for students to use in their individual study, and teachers expect students to use the book extensively.

Process of Textbook Selection:

1. Talk to publishers’ representatives or call publishers for review copies.

2. Try to put yourself in the student’s place and decide whether students would see the book as interesting, appealing, ell-organized, and well written.

Considerations:

1. Content scope and quality2. Credibility and authorship3. Format4. Issues like cost, permanency, quality of print5. The way in which the book will be used

Actual textbook choosing1. Begin with preface to the book2. Examine some of the chapters3. Examine the books appearance

Using a Textbook1. Assign pages for homework2. Use information from assigned reading

as a basis for a classroom discussion3. Do the assigned reading yourself,

explain in advance how to read material(Guided Reading)

4. Help students get the most out of their reading by assigning short passages to read before class (Discovery Questions)

Planning Assignments

1. Term paper 10 – 15 pages long Scholarly form a.k.a topic paper, research paper,

position paper2. Assign short essay to analyze

particular problem 3. Nursing care plan

Conducting a Class

1. The first class › Introduce self› Establish pleasant atmosphere › Communicate your expectations

for the course› Review syllabus or outline› Cover general classroom rules› Talk about why they should learn

this information

2. Subsequent Classes › gain and control attention of the learners

before teaching› assess the learners backgrounds and

progress on the course› Do not assume that learners already know

about the subject

“The Process is Hard Work, but the Outcome is Worth the Effort

”