More on organization

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As we close in on the end of the year, I'm doing a whole lot of thinking about next year. Over the summer I plan on revamping all of my classes. I want to be an expert on AP bio and chem and I want my chemistry course to be fun to teach like it used to. Also, I hate spending so much time planning what I'm doing. This seems to create a disconnect in the curriculum and I don't like that at all. I want to have it all planned out so that I can make connections and show the students how things flow.

Being an expert means knowing what I'm talking about. Knowing what I'm talking about means learning and relearning some things. Since I can't keep everything in my head, I now face the dilemma of how to store any notes I may need to be that expert. I need to have a comprehensive set of notes that I can review prior to teaching that topic so that I have all the information in my head. I frequently find myself talking about something and then remembering how it really works and having to backtrack on what I was saying. I don't want to do that. That will require a set of good notes and the discipline to review them before each class.

I'm thinking of a notebook, such as is pictured above, would work the best. Not only could I take all my notes in it, but I can add things from year to year as they come up. I can separate it into units/chapters/topics/Big Ideas/whatever and have everything in that section. Would one notebook work? I might need more than one, or a big fat one. I honestly don't like the idea of a big fat one. I think I would prefer to have the course in 2 notebooks, one for each semester. That would also help me visualize how fast or slow we are going.

Or should I keep my notes in a binder? I could do the initial notes as a word doc, then edit them as I go. Hmmm....That would make it easy to add and subtract things from the binder. Also, I plan on having a binder for my curriculum so I could just add the  notes in where they go. Then they are ready whenever I get to that chapter. Hmmmm..... this may be the way to go.

I also think I want to color coordinate everything. So everything related to AP Bio will be green. Green tray, green binder, green labels, green letters, etc. Everything related to AP Chem will be blue. Chem will be blue. And whatever that 6th class is will be purple. I like that. I can get make dividers that are the specific color and get scrapbook paper in their colors for the drawers.

The set up is slowly coming together in my head. I think I will play with what I have and then work from there. No buying anything until I'm sure I have what I want.

Okay, back to teaching.

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