Survive and Thrive: Your First Semester Game Plan

Description

Feeling the first semester hit hard once the year is in full swing? Want systems for grading, planning, and communication that keep you moving forward without burning out? The first semester tests systems, not just effort, and efficient workflows make challenges more manageable. Clear priorities and boundaries protect your time while supporting instruction, communication, and responsiveness to student needs. In this course, Lauren Boucher helps you create efficient systems for grading, planning, and communication, practice prioritizing tasks and setting boundaries, and use artificial intelligence tools to streamline feedback, communication, and ongoing instructional planning. You will walk away with a realistic first-semester plan that keeps your workload under control and your teaching sustainable.

This is course four of four in the series titled "Hindsight is 20/20: If I Were Starting My Teaching Career Today."

Objectives

• Identify essential systems for grading, planning, and communication that support a sustainable workflow.
• Describe how boundaries and prioritization protect time and reduce overwhelm during the first semester.
• Apply a workflow strategy to streamline one system such as grading, family communication, or weekly planning.
• Analyze your current workload to identify bottlenecks and routines causing the most time drain.
• Evaluate current practices to select targeted changes that improve efficiency and maintain instructional quality.
• Create a sustainable systems plan that uses an AI tool to streamline feedback, communication, or ongoing planning.

Key Take Aways

1. Create efficient systems for grading, planning, and communication that support your workflow.
2. Prioritize tasks and set boundaries to manage workload and protect time.
3. Use artificial intelligence tools to streamline feedback, communication, and ongoing instructional planning.
4. Build a sustainable first-semester plan that supports consistency, responsiveness, and energy management.

Course Details

While we recommend that you complete all courses in the series to meet the learning objectives, each course can be taken as a standalone. Full members will also have access to view the recordings on demand and earn up to four continuing education credits.

Special Technology Instructions

Participants will need access to an internet-enabled device and a personal Google account that is not affiliated with their school. SimpleK12’s Google Classroom will be used for the interactive and hands-on components of this course.

Assessment

Participants will engage in collaboration and sharing opportunities throughout the course to demonstrate their understanding of the course objectives and reflect on their learning.

Course Content

• Survive and Thrive: Your First Semester Game Plan