Planning Class Activities

Both PWR 1 and PWR 2 meet for 110 minutes twice a week (or, occasionally, 75 minutes three times a week).  Even with these generous class times, careful sequencing of class activities is very important.

Quick Tips for Planning Class

Here are some tips for planning each day’s class:

• Create a lesson plan. You can do this either at the beginning of the week and make modifications as the week progresses or jot down ideas after class sessions so that the discussions drive subsequent sessions. Either way, do not go into a class period without a plan.
• Write down the learning goals  and desired outcomes for your class, both in relation to the upcoming assignment and the course as a whole. Make those goals and outcomes explicit to your class by posting the goals and outcomes for the day and/or week to your Canvas site, your course website, or simply your syllabus.
• Write down the major things you want to accomplish during each class, focusing on what you want students to do. Share this list with your students by writing this list on the whiteboard or publishing it to your Canvas site or course website.
• Decide what writing or speaking/presenting activities students will do during the class period. Include these activities as part of your course agenda.
• Make a list of announcements and reminders to give students. You can deliver these orally, but you will also want to be sure to post them to the "Announcements" tool on your Canvas site so that students have an archive of your reminders.
• Divide your class time into segments, estimating how many minutes to devote to announcements, activities, opening and closing.
• Try to vary the type of activity between different segments:  for example, individual writing, then small group discussion, then large-group synthesis of ideas.