Teachers, get ready! The new school year is almost upon us and everyone can already feel the jitters. The two last weeks of August are also the time when teachers prepare. Mentally and materially. As many teachers will tell you:
Preparation is key to survival.
School year can be compared to a sorting tray in a robotics kit. At the very beginning, you diligently put every element in the right compartment, have patience to maintain order and remember how important it is.
One day you skip sorting, and the chaos descends. Suddenly, you have to deal with unexpected delays, missing parts, uncharged batteries and disappointed children. Although we hope you won’t have to experience it firsthand, it's important to plan ahead and avoid being overwhelmed. Especially for teachers.
What to include on your back to school prep list?¶
First of all, set your objectives. Think what your students should know by the end of the month, semester, year – reserve time for learning and practice. At the same time, remember to make your goals attainable. For example, don’t try to fit a project bound to last 4h into 60 minutes, because it’s simply not doable.
Create several backup lessons that you could use in a pinch. After years of teaching you might already know your style, but if you’re looking for a fresh lesson scenario idea, check out these for some inspiration. You may also want to invent something red-letter for the first day of school. After all, it’s a special day for teachers and students alike, and first impressions always matter. Now, let’s proceed to...
Advice mainly for robotics teachers¶
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Restock on classroom supplies. Although you won’t need as much as the arts department, some of your projects may require paper sheets, markers, felt-tip pens, etc. Now is the right time to buy them, especially since companies tend to offer teacher discounts this time of the year.
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Order missing parts for your sets. If possible, try to place your order in advance. Shipping might take from one week to one month (depending on availability and producer), and you wouldn’t want to start off a new year with faulty robots.
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Rethink classroom arrangement. Take 20 minutes to think about the sitting arrangement and workspace your students had in the previous year. Did they have enough space? Were they easily distracted? What could be improved? You may not be able to move walls, but the workspace available inside matters. Small adjustments in this area can translate into significant changes for students.
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Prepare your curriculum. This is probably the most difficult and time-consuming task of all. Fortunately, we got you covered. Our ready-to-use materials include everything you might need and give you total control in the classroom. And you can count on us to provide year-long support, in case you need any help. For a limited time, all teachers get 15% off our All-in-One package. Save yourself time and money – it’s the best deal for educational robotics there is!
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Stock up on hand sanitizer. How is it relevant in robotics? Oh, very. Until you get to know children in primary school, you may not realize how sticky a hand can get. Building a robot requires touching construction parts and electronic modules… You can imagine the rest.
Teacher’s life can be full of surprises, which makes it so amazing in the first place. However, unexpected events may also cause unwanted strain at times, which is why it’s important to prepare before going back to school.
If you take some time to consider your next 302 days, you will definitely save yourself loads of stress and deliver lessons that are simply more enjoyable for your students.
To save you time and money, we prepared a special deal for teachers worldwide. For a limited time, you can get all lessons created by RoboCamp with 15% discount! You can ask us about the content, browse it for yourself, try out free lessons, and be sure that we will help you with any problems. And don’t worry about any restrictions – you can adapt our materials to your lesson flow.
As fellow teachers, we wish you only the best lessons this school year!