Are you looking for teacher organization ideas? There are plenty of things that instructors can do to get - and stay - organized!
Importance of Teacher Organization
No matter what grade you teach, from kindergarten through college, getting and staying organized is an important part of effective classroom management. When your classroom and lesson plans are well organized, you'll be able to focus your energy on providing quality instruction to your students without having to deal with the stress of facing clutter and disorganization while you are trying to work.
5 Teacher Organization Ideas
Getting organized doesn't have to be difficult and it doesn't mean that you have to completely change your approach to planning for your classes. It simply involves planning ahead so that you can make the most of the time that you have and working smarter with the resources available to you. Start out by implementing a few teacher organization ideas and it won't take long before you start to enjoy positive results and begin seeing other ways that you can improve your own organizational habits.
1. Create Teaching Notebooks
Put together a binder for each of the classes you are teaching so that you'll have the materials you need to teach each class at your fingertips. Place the syllabus at the front of the notebook and use tabbed dividers to organize lecture notes, tests, handouts, and other items in the order that you'll cover them in class. Add any new materials you develop as you go through the class and make sure to always keep one copy of each item in the book so that nothing is missing the next time you need to teach the class. While putting together a class notebook can be time consuming, it will save you a significant amount of time in the long run.
2. Use a Grading Spreadsheet
Create a spreadsheet program that calculates automatically for each of your classes that will allow you to keep up with how students are doing as tests are taken and assignments are completed. As soon as you grade student work, enter scores in the spreadsheet. This will keep grading calculations from backing up on you and allow you to provide students with feedback about how they are doing in class at any time.
3. Make Copies Ahead of Time
Pick a time each week to make all of the copies you will need for the following week. By planning ahead, this will allow you to make a single trip to the copier each week rather than wasting your valuable time running to the office every time you need copies of a test, handouts, or others materials for your classes.
4. Put Your Desk in Order
If your desk is a jumble of office supplies, papers, and books, there's a good chance that you have a difficult time finding the items that you need, particularly those that you use infrequently. Taking the time to put your desk in order can be a great way to start getting organized, and it can reduce the stress that you experience on a daily basis. Consider taking everything out of your desk so that you can see all of the items contributing to the mess at one time. Throw away items that you don't need to keep, and file those that aren't things you need at your fingertips on a regular basis. The items that you're left with can be placed back in the desk using a system that makes sense to you. Once you've decided on the best way to organize your desk, commit to keeping up with it. If you don't get in the habit of putting things back where they belong, you'll have a mess again before you know it.
5. Plan Ahead for Take Home Work
It's a fact that most teachers take work home with them on a regular basis. There's nothing more frustrating than sitting down to grade papers at home only to realize that you've left them on your desk. As soon as you decide to take a particular set of assignments home with you, place them in your briefcase. Doing so will keep you from having to figure out what to pack the end of the day when you are tired and ready to go home. It's a good idea to get in the habit of place your briefcase in the same spot in your office or classroom every day so that you can get in the habit of placing items in it throughout the day.
Ready to Get Organized?
If you're ready to reduce the clutter related stress that you experience at school, make a decision to put one or more of these teacher organization ideas into practice right away. Getting organized isn't something that is likely to happen overnight, and it isn't something that you can do once and be finished with it. Maintaining an organized approach to teaching is a process. Start working on putting your workspace and planning processes in order and focus on developing good habits and organizational skills that will allow you to create the kind of working environment that you want.
