Term 2 Week 4 - 10 Time Saving Tips for Teachers

This fantastic book for teachers by J Pope and K Gillon has a number of ideas and strategies to help us do less and do it better. We have a copy in the school library but if you would like to buy your own (it is well worth it!!) then click on the book cover and you will be taken to the order online site.

Here are their 10 Time Saving Tips:

These are the signs of a teacher who is stressed for time:

• messy desk
  
  


• can't find things
  


• misses meetings



• misses lessons



• late for meetings



• late for lessons



• unprepared for lessons



• unprepared for meetings



• tired/ unable to concentrate
  

If you are feeling time-stressed, consider the tips below.

Tip 1
Notice you ARE wasting time by recognising your favourite time wasting tactic - is it trying out new fonts in Word? Making endless cups of tea? Googling your name? Facebook? Youtube?

Tip 2
Break the inertia - Do small things to get yourself started e.g. put your marking into class order

Tip 3
One step at a time - e.g. starting the first part of planning a lesson might inspire you to do more later

Tip 4
Divide the task into manageable segments. e.g. aim to mark 7 assignments each day rather than trying to sit down with a pile of 31 assignments

Tip 5
Don't sabotage yourself - work when you are at peak energy and away from distractions.

Tip 6
Reward yourself when you complete what you have set out to do.

Tip 7
Leave gaps in the process - don't schedule your day too tightly. Give yourself slow time and time to ponder and reflect.

Tip 8
Control emails

Tip 9
Remember the power of "NO" and the danger of "MAYBE"

Tip 10
Don't overcrowd your weekend with school tasks

For a totally different take on work tips - this Ricky Gervais guide to work should provide a laugh (sorry if you have seen it already).

Term 2 Week 3 - How to maintain attention and imprint ideas in student memory

Attention and Memory

Did you know: For adults real attention span for one type of activity is about 15 minutes? For people younger than 15, real attention span for one type of activity is their age in minutes.
Students will attend to and therefore remember better, activities which:

• Involve them in topic-relevant talking
  
• Have plenty of variety and choice
  
• Are fun, colourful, exciting, startling, dramatic
  
• Provide pleasurable experiences or thoughts
  
• Are relevant to their present needs or future goals
  
• Provide real or sensory experiences
  
• Provide answers to their own questions
  
• Have time-spans which are short and have impact
  
• Fit into context from their own past experiences
  

What do brain-friendly teachers do to guarantee attention?

• They plan lessons so that there is a number of starts and finishes e.g. for a 1 hour lesson, 4 activities which take less than 15 minutes each.
• Remember, each segment needs a clear beginning and ending to help students install and retain strong memories of content and process
• Signal these segments in lesson overviews to imprint on the brain and to assist students in remaining task-focused!

Tips taken from Teaching to Learn by Christine Ward