In the era of Netflix, TiVo, and Internet downloading that has given rise to binge-watching an entire TV series in a weekend, my childhood appreciation for summer rerun season is distinctly absent.
For those of a certain generation, summer was the time to catch-up: on sleep, on reading, on those episodes of your favourite TV show that you missed because of basketball practice or drama rehearsal (or because your brother got to pick his favourite show alternating Tuesday nights).
While reruns may be absent from your television set, the concept of reruns can be helpful in your course planning for the fall. As you review your teaching, consider these things:
- What were the highlights? (80s Rerun Parallel: A great episode you want to see again)
- What did you include but didn’t cover as closely as you wanted? (80s Rerun Parallel: That awesome episode you half-watched while playing Candy Land while babysitting)
- What got dropped by accident? (80s Rerun Parallel: The special episodes you missed because you just couldn’t get to the TV at the right time—see reasons, above).
These rerun-inspired reflection prompts can get you thinking of areas where you can improve or enhance your teaching plan. And, in the spirit of retro TV-rerun season, here are four of my previous blog posts you may have missed that give you some tools for planning or revising your teaching after your reflecting is complete:
- Key to planning any learning activity – from a single learning event, to a workshop to a semester-long course is to write learning objectives. Get some tips and learn some techniques here: When your objective is to write learning objectives
- We have specific learning event types we use in our UG program. Some for accreditation purposes, but mainly for a solid mix of content delivery and content application. Find our decoding tools here: Decoding Learning Event Types
- If you’re reworking an existing learning event, paring down may be the key. Revisit Applying decluttering principles to learning event planning for tips
- If you’d like to explore electronic alternatives to lectures, check out Online modules can enhance curriculum content delivery
Now, excuse me while I try to figure out the scheduling of binge-watching six seasons of Game of Thrones so I can get caught up. I seem to be one of the only people around who hasn’t watched a single episode.
But, seriously, I’m always available to talk through your UG teaching challenges. Email me: theresa.suart@queensu.ca