By using time management tips, teachers can manage to teach a lot in every single lesson – or at least every week.These teachers don’t teach quiet cooperative classrooms without distractions and interruptions.
Many of these teachers have small children and pets to take care of. Some of these teachers even have other part time or full time jobs. Yet they still manage to succeed as teachers. The big question is: How can they maximize the short periods of time they do have to help their students succeed?
Teaching Under Tight Curriculum and Time Constraints
Teachers need to get organized so they can get some teaching done. They don’t just hope they will have the time once they’ve completed all their other tasks or taken care of their other responsibilities.
It’s just as important to continually organize lessons as it is to use time efficiently. The way teachers create their lessons isn’t the only important thing. The most important thing is to set aside time for deciding what to teach and a new teacher system in place. New teachers who expect teaching to be easy don’t usually set aside enough time during their busy week for planning. When they sit down and decide what to teach, and feel stuck, they tend to give up and move on to something else.
Establish a Working Schedule
Busy teachers establish a working schedule on a regular basis either on their own or in teams. At first, it can be distracting especially by the events of the day. But after a few days, weeks and months, they become conditioned whenever they sit to work.
Maximize Lesson Planning
Bring lessons to life by keeping a lesson notebook. This can of course, be either a looseleaf notebook or a spiral notebook where teachers keep notes in about a particular class. They can make notes about student performance during an activity, whether it was hard and what was hard about it. They can can also write down how students behaved and exactly what they were doing. When teachers open their textbooks and planning materials, they’ll have a better idea of what their students are capable of doing at the given moment and can bring their lessons to life!
Think Successfully
Teachers should make their time count by having an intention for success. They can start by picking just three simple tasks for a particular class. By the end of the week, they can follow through to make it happen. At the same time, they can evaluate what worked, what didn't and what's next in terms of various areas of their instruction.
Avoid Distractions
Teachers face distractions constantly. When the teaching isn’t going well, these distractions can be particularly enticing and lure teachers into putting the lessons away for a while. However, teachers can avoid even the most attractive distractions if they can find a way to totally commit to their work. Teachers can use time management tricks such as setting aside a time when they only speak with parents or hire a helper or send their kids out to do errands, if they find they can’t work because their children are constantly interrupting.
Have a System for Success
A system is just a plan made up of simple steps to follow in order to reach their instructional goals. Without a system, teachers can find themselves doing a lot of work without really getting anywhere.
Set the Intention to Succeed
Even if teachers had a lousy day teaching, they can still set their intentions for what they would like to have happen. For example, if they are trying to find successful tasks to stimulate their English language learners, and it just isn’t going well, they can find a quiet place to take a few deep breaths and let their minds clear. This works! Slowly, they set the intention either in their heads or out loud. By relaxing and staying focused on the task itself, they can immediately let go of thoughts of anything else that may center their minds. When they enter the classroom, they can keep that intention in their minds. They remind themselves of how much they are doing to succeed and how much they care about their students' success.
Teachers can use time management tips effectively by taking the time to find time to plan without distractions funneling through their brains. They'll be amazed at the amount of productivity they will gain when they are able to set and stick with a schedule despite tight curriculum and time constraints.
Dorit Sasson - Hello! I'm an ESL instructor, teacher diversity coach and writer for the educational markets who writes on English language learners ...
