Useful Strategies to help teachers stay organized
Useful Strategies Teachers Can Use to Stay Organized is key to being successful. This holds for all levels of teaching, from pre-K to graduate-level programs. Teaching a class is just one of the many responsibilities teachers need to organize.
The others being creating curriculums, planning extracurricular activities, grading assignments, and meeting with students or parents beyond the classroom as and when needed. For teachers struggling to manage the burden of these responsibilities, this article by Happy Student explores some tried and tested methods to get organized and make each day at work stress-free.
Create a Schedule
Teaching classes at set times each day means that you are no stranger to following a schedule. Hence, utilize this technique beyond the classroom, as well, for activities such as grading, creating next year’s curriculum, and more. For instance, if mornings are when you’re most productive, use that time to finish grading assignments. Tasks such as meeting with faculty members can be scheduled later in the day.
You can simplify this process by using a project management tool, as it will help set time-bound daily goals and rank them based on urgency. When things get hectic during the year, this software will help to stay on top of grading a heap of assignments, submitting reviews to the chair, and planning classes for the month ahead.
Digitize Your Work
Working in a cluttered space is the perfect recipe for stress and delays. If your office is filled with heaps of paper, the first step is to get rid of it. Class or school-related documents that need to be stored can be transferred to the common store room. Unimportant heaps of paper should be shredded.
Start using digital tools to assign and grade assignments. This will significantly reduce paperwork and allow you to store documents safely on the cloud, to be accessed as and when needed. As reported by Abbyy, store all documents in PDF format as it provides encryption and password protection. Additionally, using a PDF merge tool, new documents can be added anytime to the file.
Set Goals for Yourself
Setting goals is a great way to motivate yourself and be the best version of yourself each day. The goals you set can be a mix of work and personal endeavors you are passionate about, this can include starting a literature club at school and developing a fitness routine at home.
At first glance, managing these goals on top of daily responsibilities will seem like an uphill task. Here are a few steps following which you’ll be able to successfully reach the goals you set:
- Create Mini-goals: Break each activity down into smaller goals that are easier to achieve. For example, set a goal to onboard at least five new members for the club. By following this for a month, you will achieve the main goal of having enough students to start the club.
- Reward Yourself: Each time you hit a milestone, such as completing the first year of the club, give yourself an appropriate award, such as going out to your favorite burger joint, buying new clothes, etc. According to Better up, being disciplined with rewards will help you develop self-control which is a great skill for teachers to have in a classroom.
- Be Active in Class
Take the lead in getting to know students in each class. This can be done by scheduling 1-on-1 sessions with them throughout the semester. Not all students are open to sharing their classroom difficulties with teachers. By extending support, you’ll be able to understand students’ needs better and help them improve.
Additionally, experiment with different teaching styles to ascertain what works best. For instance, along with PPTs and textbooks, include video-based learning and online quizzes. Track student engagement for each of these methods and start utilizing the one that works best. In the long run, this will increase student engagement and make it exciting for you to teach the class as well.
By following these strategies you’ll see a noticeable difference in your confidence and productivity. The best step to start with will be to digitize your documents, as once they’re on the cloud, all the other activities will become easier.
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