Teaching Today publishes innovative teaching tips on a weekly basis. Written with the busy teacher in mind, each tip is concise, practical and easy to implement in the classroom right away. Topics covered in Teaching Today are classroom management, career development, high stakes testing, instruction and planning, parental involvement, reading in the content areas, using technology in the classroom, and portfolio development. Teaching Today also offers free weekly downloads that correspond to the tips. Our free downloads make implementing the teaching tips even easier. Teaching Today provides educational resources for teachers looking for everyday solutions to the challenges of the classroom.
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Teaching Today - This Week's Tips Teaching Today - This Week's Tips

This Week's Topic

Getting Organized
Organization before entering the classroom is critical to the success of your course. Adult students need to feel their time in the classroom will be time well spent. This week we focus on planning and organizing the course material.

This Week's Tips

Writing the Pre-Syllabus (Monday)
A pre-syllabus gives students an idea of what will be covered in the course and how they can prepare for the first class. Before students sign up for the course, they will know how the course material fits with their goals. The pre-syllabus should include: instructor’s name; instructor’s office phone number, location, and hours; instructor’s e-mail address; course purpose, objectives, and summary; textbook required; first class assignment.

Planning for Your Course (Tuesday)
Before entering the classroom, you must plan what to teach, how to teach it, and how to provide students with ways to measure their learning. General strategies to help you plan your course include: review the textbook(s); talk to other faculty who have taught the course; review old syllabi, both yours and other instructors'; review handouts, exams, and class notes; review student evaluations for the course’s strengths and weaknesses.

Defining Course Content (Wednesday)
Being realistic about what you can accomplish during the course allows for effective instructional time. These suggestions help you decide what to include and what to eliminate. Ask yourself: How many and how much? How many students? How much time? How much do students know? Identify content and noncontent goals. Content goals focus on core material. Noncontent goals might include students becoming good team members. Think about your students’ goals and how this course will help them.

Designing the Course (Thursday)
Course design helps you plan for productive use of instructional time. It is the plan that provides direction for obtaining your course objectives. Your course design should include: ways to challenge students to a higher level of learning, different learning activities to support different learning styles, goals and objectives, content and instructional procedures (e.g., one lesson is a preparation for the next), flexibility, assessment, and grading methods.

Writing the Course Syllabus (Friday)
A syllabus adds order and organization to your course. Students want to know what to expect. The syllabus provides a reference guide for students to follow. See the Download Depot for a sample syllabus. The syllabus should include: instructor’s name; instructor’s office phone number, location, hours, and e-mail address; textbook requirements; course purpose and objectives; learning climate or teaching objectives; course requirements and assignments; evaluation methods.

Download your free Sample Syllabus today!




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