You're assigned to teach a class …
(Finding out what you have to do)

In a campus situation, you might find that most of this stage of preparation is already either in your job description or decided for you. You just get told what to do, when, and where. But it's not always like that. For example, if you are traveling to other locations or working with other organizations, you will need to clarify many things yourself and finalize the arrangements.

What kind of program is it?

Is it a theoretical unit or a practical skills unit? Is it a basic course that prepares students for advanced units, or is it an advanced unit?

What kinds of students will be in it?

The first stage is identifying the students, often called the target group. Some groups have a lot in common; other groups have little. Nevertheless, you need to have an idea of who you will teach. Some characteristics may be barriers that you will need to overcome in your planning and teaching.

To do your best work, you will need to focus on your student's needs and expectations form the basis for effective work practices. We'll touch on this later when we talk more specifically about the kind of learning environment you need to create.

Next, ask what characteristics of the target group (and its individuals) could affect how you teach them?

• How much work or study experience do they have?
• What kind of previous education do they have?
• Why do they want to take the assessment?
• Could cultural factors affect them as learners?
• What has their experience of education so far been like?
• What other learning experiences have they had in the past, including formal and non-formal education?
• What kinds of organizations will they study or work in?
• Are they older learners with maturity and life experience or straight from high school?
• If they have relevant experience in this field, how wide is it? How deep is it? How easy will they find it to adapt to what they need to learn?

What about these?

• general knowledge
• on-job learning
• Demographics: socio-economic background, gender, age
• level of confidence, nervousness or anxiety
• motivation for learning
• learning style preferences
• skill/competency profile
• cultural background and needs

You might need to ask what their best language is, and how well they read. Do they need mathematics skills? Note any language, literacy and numeracy factors. For example:

• Some jobs are language-dependent; that is, good English is part of the job requirement. You may need to require adequate English for admission to the course, or provide language teaching.
• Students from non-English-speaking backgrounds may be required to present written work or make oral presentations. You may usually ignore language limitations and mistakes, unless language proficiency is part of the skill being assessed (e.g. writing and presenting formal reports.)
• If you need to assign reading tasks to students, how fast should you expect them to read with understanding?

You may need to hold an initial assessment of English language, literacy and numeracy skills.

Double-check: do your goals meet the needs? Now that you know what it is that students must learn, be sure that you have your own written copy.

When you have an idea of the students you will teach, ask whether students are grouped appropriately. For example, it can be difficult to teach a group with both mature, experienced students and young, inexperienced students.

What do your students need to learn?

Find out what students need to learn and the scope of the program.

1. How many competencies need to be achieved?
2. What kind of skills?
3. What subject, theory or technical knowledge do students need?
4. What work activities need to be encompassed?
5. Does the organization have particular view of learning needs?

For example, they may need:

• a competency or group of competencies
• aspects of competency such as skills, knowledge or technical applications
• skills in operating specific equipment
• personal development and growth
• language, literacy and numeracy requirements

You need to find answers for the following:

• What positions are you training people to fulfill? (Job roles)
• What should your goals be? (Program goals)
• What specifically do people need to be able to do? (Outcomes)
• What range of skills is necessary?
• How well do they have to be able to do it? (Assessment criteria)
• What background knowledge is necessary to perform those outcomes and job roles? (Underpinning knowledge)
• What attitudes are appropriate to those skills?

Getting students from here to there

Next, you need to find out the gaps between:

• what students can already do
• what they need to be able to do as a range of skills
• workplace application, and
• competency standards.

Let's break this up:

1. Look at what students can already do. You don't want to waste time and money teaching them what they already know. But neither can you presume they have a basic working knowledge of the subject. You can identify what they need to learn by:
• viewing assessment reports, employer records of students
• asking students, previous teachers, or work supervisors
• viewing self, peer or supervisor reports
2. Do you need to write down a list of what they need to be able to do, expressed as a range of skills (competencies)?
3. If you already have a list of endorsed packages or competency standards, ask how do students measure up.

What is expected of you?

• Do you need to reflect any particular aspects of the culture of the industry, workplace, or organization?
• What does management expect of you?
• Are there any deadlines?
• What are the reporting arrangements? Who do you need to report to and what reports do you need to give?
• Are you subject to budgetary constraints?
• Are there other particular constraints or risks? Limitations or conditions?
• What documents specify the organizational requirements to implement the program?

What resources and other staffing will you have?

At the planning stage, you might want to think about staffing, guest speakers, technical and support staff, materials and resources, and equipment.

What other staff might be involved? (E.g. technical and administrative support staff.) Are there other teaching staff with whom you need to relate? Is there a risk relating to other instructors teaching part of the program? Are you working with other people who might not be able to show up or who might not be able to do their job adequately? (e.g. they are still learning the job). What arrangements are there for assessment in technical areas?

Find out the time and place and finalize them

• Where will you teach? It could be a classroom on a campus, a laboratory, or online.
• What equipment will you need?
• How many sessions are scheduled? What dates? How long for each one? How flexible is the schedule? Who do you speak to about scheduling difficulties?
• What about access? Do you need keys or ID cards? Are there particular constraints? What about parking?
• Are there risks relating to the location, training responsibilities, adequacy of resources, equipment or technology? How will you address these risks?