Resources for Educators

Teaching Tip

From the Teacher’s Aide Newsletter

2017 July

The End of Class is Just as Important as the Beginning

Usually, we are focused on what to do at the beginning of each class: outline what we will be doing today, review what we learned last time, administer a quiz, share the specific learning objectives for the day. And then we proceed with our lesson plan, winding down to the end of class… sometimes running out of time. If we don’t plan accurately, students often start packing up to leave a few minutes early, even when we are still talking or finishing up an activity. If you want your students to actually think about the relevance of your course content, organization is just as important as that content (maybe more).

Make your day more effective by planning to end the learning and activity phases of your class 10-15 minutes early. Give yourself and your students some breathing space to integrate the material you covered that day. Have your students summarize, in their own words, the topics and ideas you covered. Give them a sample problem to solve, or an ethical dilemma to consider. Have them write down their reactions to the day’s lesson and be prepared to share the next time. Give them questions, not answers, to keep them thinking about your subject-matter until you meet again.