OK So That Was... Well It Was Something

[toosuto]

I am willing to entertain edumacational hijinx from other ejumacators on my f-list now. So I I figured that going over the syllabus, my expectations, our limitations (in terms of material) and general stuff would take up today's teaching time. It took 15 minutes out of 50. I did remember that we needed to assign drawers in the dark room which took another 5-7. Then I had nothing, and they had no questions yet. Tomorrow I am giving a brief (but hopefully not too brief) overview of the history of photography and maybe an introduction to camera mechanics... I have no idea how to stop today from happening to me again!

Fireflies, originally uploaded by toosuto.

Comments

[k8cre8.livejournal.com]

{{{{Hugs}}}} It's okay. you'll make it. And, believe it or not, I've found that each class is different, whether the content is the same or not. Some classes might've even taken the full time on those topics.

Usually, one of the things I did on the first day, as sort of a roll call, was to go around the room and have the students introduce themselves, and tell what their interest in the course was. That way, I had an idea of what their expectations were, sometimes their background, etc. It also makes the students be more involved from the first day. Also it was my cheeky way of getting around taking attendance, and I'd try to know all their names by the second class. (granted, you probably have more students than I usually did per class.)

Also, and this will probably still work for HS students, I'm realizing a bit of a gap, I've taught small kids and adults, but, not so much the HS crowd) my first web design assignment was to give a list of web sites of varying quality, and have them give their opinions on them. To think critically about how a site is put together for the first time. So, to intro the assignment, I brought in a few sites for the class to look at, and talk about. On the homework, some were good, some were really bad, some were average, but, I put them in a mixed up list, so that they could put their own opinions on them.

I had a standing "assignment" (nothing I tracked) for them to pick sites they saw along the week and bring them in for the class to talk about, and each class, I'd start with asking about what the members had seen since last class. We'd get 1-2 per class, and it was a good way to look at various things, and to have them ask questions about "how'd they do that?" You can have them be on the look out for photos they've seen in print, online, etc. (Good, bad, in the middle, whatever.) It's a good way to use 10-15 minutes most every class. (well, maybe less for a class that meets daily.)

Basically, I keep a metal file of these sorts of things to pull out whenever time ran shorter than I'd expected.

[toosuto.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I probably have less students though, 13 out of 14 showed up for the first day. So it's nice and intimate although if they don't get involved it's going to be a drag. I hope I can build up a cache of time filling stuff because I am so making this up as I go along...

Filling in teaching time

[murfomurf.livejournal.com]

How about always having a few open questions in reserve probing what the students think and what THEIR expectations are? How do they think cameras work? DO any know how photography started? Do they know if there is more than B&W vs. colour? Did they do the course because they thought it would be easy- a doddle? Or because there is a family interest? What about career-minded people? Getting a visual aspect to their education so it is not all words or numbers? DO they know the names of local photographers? Famous ones? What different genres could be done in a class? What couldn't be? What about the relative expenses of different types of photography? How environmentally friendly is it? What other subjects might benefit from the use of photos? Go through the subjects available on campus- see if a use can be found in all of them...
I had years of lecturing 18- 21 year olds on child development and the number of times I didn't have enough ready couldn't be counted- just like the times I had too much!

[justk.livejournal.com]

Not being a teacher but just knowing you: even when you have plenty of material you may be utilizing a consise style that you can change. remember that you are teaching, not giving notes at the end of rehearsal or announcements at the beginning while some director-person fills in the sandwich with actual rehearsal. what YOU say is actaully the focus here, so take your time, elaborate, add anecdotes and encourge questions (which for high school kids need some prompting and perhaps even provocation & sometimes even making them sit in a circle will promote discussion if that is your goal)

and be patient with yourself! - it takes time to get a sense of how long things actually take in the classroom and how your individual students will respond

[toosuto.livejournal.com]

Oh man I totally gave show notes today. Ah well...