What are the challenges of using a curriculum and teaching materials that you didnât create? What can you do to help yourself use those materials effectively and comfortably?
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City Tech 101 4-Session Professional Development June 2024
Preparing Faculty Members to Facilitate CT101: New Student Success Seminar
Like note-taking, the process of putting your thoughts down into a lecture format, and then translating them onto slides helps clarify your own thinking and makes organic transitions from one subject to another (at least ideally). When someone else has already done that thinking, there’s a very different process that goes on where you’re instead trying to translate what you think someone else means, and make sure that you hit all of their points, all of which can come off as stilted and/or disjointed. Spending plenty of time on the materials ahead of time always helps, but also designing activities that take some of the pressure off you, since it offloads some of the expository pressure. Being open to those gaps in knowledge, having a conversation with students about what they think something means, can also go some ways.
Since I exclusively teach 1121 and 1101 using the model curricula, I have become adept at making someone else’s work work for me. On one hand, it is efficient to have a concrete plan to follow. I sometimes have trouble seeing the big picture when I plan out a course, so I’m glad to have the broad strokes laid out for me. That being said, once I become comfortable with the materials, I use what works and swap out what doesn’t. I always try to think of the actual students I have in front of me rather than the imaginary ones that the material was created for. Sometimes, I will make substitutions based on that. I have to actually teach the material a few times before I feel really comfortable using it, but prepping and reviewing close to the delivery date is usually my method. I feel like since we did some of the activities in class, that will be helpful for me too.
I think there can be some challenges to using slides and teaching materials that I didn’t create, in that the creation of those materials is often what helps me solidify the information in my own head. When I create my own teaching materials, I know exactly what it was that I was thinking and exactly the main points I wanted to convey. However, with CT101, I feel grateful for having the materials created for me, in that I wouldn’t know where to begin! CT101 was created to deliver specific information, but also, as we learned in our discussions, to start fostering a sense of connection and to maybe assuage some fears and insecurities.
I appreciate that we can alter and personalize the slides as we see fit, which will certainly help me with familiarization, and I can zero in on the material I feel most uncomfortable with. I also think that making the material fun and relatable for students will also benefit us as instructors, and help us to retain the info – and we will get stronger with each session we teach. I feel motivated to learn as much of this information as possible, because it will make me a stronger advisor overall.
I really like the idea of having slides created that help the entire team deliver a similar cohesive college foundation. I think it would be necessary to adapt the slides and flow of the lesson depending on class responsiveness, size, questions and our own ease. Rachel reminded us yesterday that is OK to tap into peer mentors’ expertise and also to be open to learning with our students.
I do like that we are being encouraged to make it our own and edit a few of the slides. This will help me link my thoughts and ideas with the material. I also feel fortunate that I connect with many of the offices that were listed as resources, and I might have additional useful information to share with our students. Thank you again for a great training experience. đ
Before these training sessions, I was worried that I was going to have to figure out everything that an incoming student needs and how to order and present it. Or maybe I would get an outline and have to work from there. Egads! Having all of this information, and the detailed slides, thoughtfully put-together is a huge relief.
The challenges I see are twofold: (a) material I donât really have a handle on and have to cover anyway and (b) material Iâd like to cover in a different way. The second isnât such a big deal; itâs what I do every time I re-work a syllabus. The first is the harder challenge: I donât like presenting content that I donât know through-and-through. This is where I will need to do some âstudyingâ and rely on the peer mentor.
Since I wanted to get the homework re-working slides) done before this weekend, I have just re-reviewed the four days of slides. They cover a huge breadth of knowledge. I could probably follow the slides as they are, and the sessions would be solid. But there are some slides I donât love. I am happy to have some time before the CT101 sessions start, because I will be able to âplayâ with the slides, and figure ways of putting my own âvoiceâ in the workshops.
When I create a curriculum, I am prepping as I create it and I’m constantly thinking about the goals of each lesson and activity, how those goals connect to the overall goals, and so the intention of the curriculum is kind of baked into my memory along with the day-to-day agendas and slides. In the past I have sometimes approached prepping for a class with a pre-set curriculum by thinking that I’m supposed to review the slides and committ them to memory, but no, I have learned that I need to constantly remind myself WHY each activity/lesson is important to the overall goals of the workshop, almost as if I am creating it. Approaching the lessons and slides as something that I can make my own helps a lot with that. Honestly it also helps that I believe wholeheartedly in this curriculum. I once taught college prep classes to 7th graders built around similar lessons (growth mindset, notetaking and time management strategies) and it was tough to adapt the curriculum to the reality of the students. I have a lot of confidence in these lessons, and I am also riding a wave of enthusiasm about City Tech after spending five days in a room filled with so much commitement to our students, so I honestly can’t wait.
For me, the challenge in teaching material that I did not create is potentially two-fold:
1) Obviously, if I donât know the material, I wonât be able to teach it. This has never happened to me in a professional setting, thankfully. In my teens, I told my brother I could teach him to drive stick and proceeded to crash into our house. Clearly, I did not know the material. This will not be a problem with CT 101. The workshops have been very informative. Our discussionsâmy favorite part, actuallyâhave also helped considerably.
2) If I do not feel connected to the material, I wonât be able to teach it well. This usually happens because I donât entirely believe in what I am teaching. This hasnât really ever been the case in a professional setting either, though it did sort of happen two semesters ago when teaching ENG 1101 CO. As it was my first semester teaching CO, I followed Prof. Noonanâs course to a T (his recommendation), and while I thought a lot of the material was great, there was this middle section about AI and social media which used a Netflix documentary as its central evidence. While it had a good message and interesting data to support its message, it was, I felt, poorly executed. Bad acting from the guy who played Peter in Mad Men and a corny, Lifetime-movie esque script for the fictional sequences. Because I didnât believe in the material, my students didnât either. At the end of the semester, most said the same thing: donât ever teach that corny movie again. (Looking back, if I had connected with it more, they would have too. 100%.) This wonât be a problem with the CT 101 material. I believe in the curriculum wholeheartedly, and I am excited to teach it. I mean, the reason I am here, is because I happened to say to Rebecca Olerich one afternoon in the hallway, âThereâs gotta be something to help these students,â and she goes, âActually, there isâŚâ
So, how will I teach the CT 101 materials effectively? Iâll make them my own. âTranslateâ as someone put it so well above. What do I, in my not-so-limited-expertise in teaching first-year students, think needs to be highlighted? Where have I seen them struggle? What do I think they need to be reminded of? How can I make the material more interesting with unique activities, additional info, anecdotes, and examples? Etc.
Looking forward to it!
It can be challenging to make a pre-packaged curriculum seem organic and not present the material in a dry and uninspired way. When you donât create the material you are teaching and havenât created a deep connection to it, you can tend to prattle it off like a grocery shopping list. It helps to take a deep dive into the prepared curriculum and create or individualize the activities in a way that connects you to the curriculum. If you are engaged and connected, the students will be too. I teach a department intro class with many pre-prepared lectures, and it took time to make it my own. What helped me the most was creating activities connected to the lecture notes. The more material I created ( or adapted), the more excited I felt about the course, and I think that translates into engagement with students.
Teaching with materials you didn’t create can present several challenges. When I started at City Tech, I encountered this situation in a few courses. One of the main difficulties is delivering material in your own voice. Every instructor has their own style, and adapting the material to fit that style is crucial.
To address this, I like to review the materials well in advance and gradually edit them to align better with my teaching approach. This process allows me to become thoroughly familiar with the content, ensuring that I can present it confidently and effectively. By making these adjustments, I can create a more cohesive and engaging learning experience for my students.
Sometimes, I also incorporate additional elements to enhance the content. This might include integrating videos, or designing interactive activities that encourage student participation.
What are the challenges of using a curriculum and teaching materials that you didnât create?
If I didn’t create a curriculum (or rather didn’t contribute to the curriculum), then I don’t have the freedom to freestyle or even be natural with my communication of the material. Part of the delivery of a lesson is to be able to assess student understanding, and I’d rather be focused on observing students’ reactions and being ready for their questions than having to be overly focused on what points I want to get across. That being said, having a slide show made for me is a great help; but oftentimes, I might get hung up on something for whatever reason (e.g. I might not like how I delivered a statement, the slide’s position doesn’t make sense to me pedagogically, etc. anything weird)
What can you do to help yourself use those materials effectively and comfortably?
Even though I’ve been given materials, I should somehow adapt them to my taste in order to reduce the possibility that I might beat myself up over something. I’d rather confidently deliver a product that I was invested in. But also, if there are holes in my delivery, I believe the Peer Mentor assigned to my class should be able to clear up any misconceptions I create.
What are the challenges of using a curriculum and teaching materials that you didnât create?
We often use curriculum that we have not created, but we have to find our own voice within that curriculum. The curriculum gives a good through line for all those teaching the class to meet on the common important points. When teaching materials are shared it is helpful in the beginning when you may not be as comfortable with the curriculum, however having the freedom to personalize enhances the reach of the material. I often begin using the materials with small adjustments to begin with and then as I teach the class and see what works better for me I make adjustments.
What can you do to help yourself use those materials effectively and comfortably?
Running through the materials and personalizing them prior to teaching the class is important. Inserting some of your own materials in areas you are comfortable to enhance the personalization of the class. In areas where you are not as comfortable, doing a bit of research is helpful to gain background understanding. Each time you teach the class it becomes a bit more of your own