5 Tricks to reduce prep time

You don't have time. For anything. Seriously. You have spent so much time preparing for all the duties of a teacher that it sucks away your hours, minutes, and seconds. I totally understand the struggle. We have an honorable job. We believe that despite their hesitance, we are shaping the next generation of thinkers. But it takes time. And a lot of it.

I am not here to show you five tricks that will magically make you hyper-efficient and change your life forever. But maybe I can buy you enough time to watch an Office rerun. That would be worth it.

If you haven't read my other blog about reducing grading, do it now. And then implement strategies that make sense for you. But the biggest point is that you can successfully measure the students' progress in a number of ways that do not equal grading every follow-up question from that lab report you didn't really like. Spend your effort building classroom culture and grading things that give you a distinct insight into the progress of the kids. If it doesn't help you understand where a student stands in your class, then don't grade it.

We teach science because we love it. And I love being in the lab. I love watching the students' creativity and wonder increase because of opportunities I give them in the lab. But lab set up and tear down takes hours. We are at the beginning of a new semester (for most of us) so maybe there is an opportunity to teach your students to do some of the things you have been doing. Obviously, we have to be smart and not put kids in harm's way, but there are plenty of opportunities to use their many hands to make light work.

For example, kids in my room know that they have direct access to a number of basic lab items. They don't have to ask to use them. They go get them directly. This includes stirring rods, scoopulas, tongs, ring stands, weighing dishes, hot mitts, test tubes and test tube racks. I don't set them out for the kids. I teach them early on how to appropriately get them, use them, and return them. I also have the lab coats, gloves, goggles, hot plates and digital scales in places where the students access them directly. That means that I have to teach them to fold lab coats. I have to teach them to disinfect goggles. But if I spend some time teaching them, I can spend less time doing it for them!

I also use a cart system for glassware that needs to be cleaned. When they are done with the glassware, it must be rinsed and placed on a cart. I am not spending time wandering all over finding the loose items that they left behind. If it's dirty, it goes on the cart. I have the good fortune of using TAs to do the actual dish washing. But if the students know that everything must be cleaned and put away (for items they have constant access to) or on the cart; they become more efficient in cleaning their own spaces.

One final note on lab setup. I use the same places in the classroom to keep and hand out various materials. If they are dispensing chemicals they all know it will be on the chemical cart. If they have kits, they will be in the green tubs. If they are sharing communal supplies, they will be on the counter. It saves me from having to decide each time where to put things. And the less I have to think, the more efficient I am.

I am 21 years into my teaching career, and this tip took me a while. I learned that I am the world's worst multi-tasker. And as such, when I brought work home with me, I was wasting time. My attentions are divided at home. I need to be present for my family. I need to accomplish things at work. And so I had to make this hard decision.

"I refuse to do school work at home."

It was wasting my time. I wasn't doing a good job on work, all the while my family was suffering. So I don't bring work home. When I am at school, I am at school. That might mean I have to show up early, work late, or return on the weekend. But I have found that by using the space for work, I actually become significantly more efficient. I waste less time in transitions. I waste less time carrying and sorting papers. I waste less time, looking for items that I left at school. I know this might seem impossible, especially to you young teachers. But I have done it. Be fully present at school and work efficiently. Be fully present at home. In the gray area between is where time gets wasted.

My experiences with TAs reads a little like Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." I love my great TAs. And deep down somewhere, I am sure I still love my less-than-perfect TAs. Each school will vary widely on the availability and the use of paras and TAs. My school allows students to be a TA for one semester. I try to get three students that want to help me. I recruit before the next semester starts. I ask kids who have taken my classes and know my systems. I currently have two senior TAs. One has taken AP chemistry and the other is currently taking AP biology. They know me and my expectations. I know that you may not have that luxury, but I will share a couple of tips for dealing with TAs.

First, be a spot that TAs would like to come. Be friendly, warm, gracious and grateful. Be flexible. I tell my TAs at the beginning of the semester that we will make a deal. If they need to finish something for school, and it is important, all they have to do is ask. I let them. The reverse is also true. If I need something done today, it must get done today. Kids like knowing that we have each other's back.

Second, have a series of jobs that are always on tap. These are the jobs that can be done every single day, without instruction, and without supervision. In my lab, if the dishes are on the right side of the sink, wash them. If the dishes are on the left side, put them away. The papers in the front corner of my desk must be filed. The deionized water needs to be full. Every day, all of these things need to be done. And I don't spend time telling them that. They need to know.

Finally, ask yourself this very important question, "Am I doing something that a TA is fully capable of doing?" If the answer is yes. Delegate. You are in your position because of your amazing abilities to connect with kids, build culture and create environments for learning. Your TAs can't do that. But they can pick up broken labware. They can't use your computer, but they can reorganize shelves. Save time by being honest with the answer to that very important question.

This final tip needs to come with a disclaimer. The writer of this blog is very flexible. Probably to a fault. But I will share with you how inflexibility is robbing you of your time. Most everyone loves a beautifully planned out calendar. All the learning objectives neatly spaced. Lab days, test days, days off of school all color-coded. And that is great. Except that we teach kids. Real kids. With real strengths and weaknesses. What I found is that when my primary driving force was acquiescing to the calendar, I often had to spend long hours prepping for something that was "supposed" to happen the next day. And then amidst the reality of the students I was teaching, it became apparent that I was never going to be able to use that carefully crafted item today. In fact, it had to get moved to Monday.

Please hear me clearly, I am not saying that you should just wing it. Or move at a snail's pace just so you don't have as many prep hours. What I am saying is read the room. If they are going to need an extra day practicing writing formulas of ionic compounds, then spend the extra day (this is my reality today). That means the "naming acids" worksheet you are writing can be spread out over two days of prep.

My pacing mantra is this, "We will go as fast as we can, for as long as we need, and then we are done." This helps me focus on the real goal which is building student understanding. Not making sure my test is on the day I thought it would be a month ago when I wrote it on my calendar. Flexibility with purpose creates efficiency.

I hope that these ideas will help you create a little bit of margin. Now stop reading science-teaching blogs. Seriously. You need to go rest.