Learning about the Course
A key part of preparing to teach is learning about the course and students who will potentially enroll in that course. You can obtain information from faculty who’ve previously taught the course or others in the department. For example, you will need to know about the overall course mandates; i.e. whether or not the course is required or an elective, prerequisites the students will have completed, and standards for a profession or accreditation to be addressed by the course. Look over the learning materials used in the past. Find out if they were effective and if the students elected not to purchase or read them.
You will also need to know about students who typically enroll in this course: their typical characteristics, their prior learning experiences, and challenges they usually experience in this course. Anticipated course size will also affect your planning as will the prior rates of drop, withdrawal and failure (DFW) of students taking the course. If you have a chance, observe the course in action prior to your teaching. Are the students engaging with one another? Look at the level of work they are submitting.
Take a look at the room assigned to the course. What is the seating arrangement? Will it accommodate group work? Do you know how to use the technology and where to get assistance if something doesn’t work? And last, think about the expectations of the department, future employers, and especially the students for the course.
Before the first class session, it is helpful to meet with the professor who supervises the course or who has taught the course before. If there is not a supervisory professor, a meeting with the graduate advisor or department chair can provide guidance. Ideally, an orientation meeting should be planned that includes all the instructors teaching a particular course. This preparation will ensure that all instructors are clear on their responsibilities and can prepare properly for the semester. In addition, veteran instructors (including TFs and adjunct instructors) who have taught the course can share what to expect with their less experienced colleagues. Reading the material required for the earliest part of the course will enable instructors to give their students an accurate idea of academic expectations.
Some departments have a list of learning outcomes for a particular course, or a text that all instructors are expected to use. Instructors should ask about such expectations as early as possible. Most faculty are happy to share their syllabi and will not mind letting new instructors copy useful passages (although the instructor should ask permission before doing so).