LMS: Sub Prep

This afternoon, a family member of mine received his first call to sub (Congrats Tom!). This led me back to thoughts of my subbing days and how I wished their were ways for me to be more prepared. I remember having the same questions the night before I was scheduled to sub:

1. What classes will I teach (if they just asked - "Can you come in for 7th grade tomorrow?)
   
2. What topics will we cover?
3. Would I have anything that I could share with the students?
4. Do I know the slightest bit about the topics?
5. How many students are in each class period?
6. Would I need to give an exams?
7. What homework did the students have last night?
8. When was lunch :-)
9. Can I get a seating chart and class roster (really useful for teachers that are new AND for those that are returning or are familiar with many students)
   

With these questions in mind, I think it is time to pull out my list and see where we stand in regards to our discussion on LMS integration. The following topics make up our list. Those in red are those we have covered including the one for today.

• Substitute Teacher Prep (thanks Dr. Karl Kapp)
• Homework Assignments
• Recording Live Sessions for review
• Community Building
• Direct Parent Communications
• Progress Reporting
• Delivering Media
• Course Content Delivery
• Group Projects
• Gradebook use and distribution
• Enhancing Teacher Preparation Skills (and Instructional Design)
• Assessments
• Reaching Non-Participants (from your class)
• Assisting with Absenteeism

An LMS is a perfect tool for helping substitutes. I tend to think this use is something schools have not experimented with, but they should. Of course, having all of the class information in the LMS is a prerequisite. As a technology leader, I would use this need as another way to incentivize all teachers to make use of the school LMS. That is if the chocolate didn't work!

Additional prereqs for this to work would be an account for all school board approved subs. Since this list is often a finite list, this would be easy to mange. Next, account roles would have to be set so that the sub has read only access to the information. Also, subs would need access to a brief tutorial on using the system. This could easily be handled in a "pre-teaching" session with all subs (often not part of school systems now - but should be).

Although I may have missed a few minute details, the items above should serve as the miniumum needed to get subs into a useful system to aid in their prep. The goal of the system should be to shift substitute teachers away from hallway monitors and toward being productive educators. From my experience, subs do want to be productive. However, they are often not given the support or tools to be truly beneficial to the students.

So how does an LMS answer the questions from above? Here a some examples.

• What classes will I teach (if they just asked - "Can you come in for 7th grade tomorrow?)

Since the account should give the sub access to all of the teacher's load, including a "common" area, the LMS is a great place to publish a copy of the teacher's schedule. Schools should have these readily available in "marketable" form anyway to share with parents.

• What topics will we cover?

Two options here. Option 1 -- a complete curriculum. Most schools have complete curriculum guides for all classes. However, if that does not exist, Option 2 -- the teach who is ACTIVELY keeping up with their class should already have posted notes about what is coming up for the week. At minimum, messages from the teacher can help a sub see what is coming up.

• Would I have anything that I could share with the students?
  

A great place to check out are the projects the class may be working on. Often, if I had to sub for a class that was a bit outside my expertise, we would focus on longer term projects. I could offer a new insight into a subject, or make suggestions on how to conduct research, or offer a true to life story that could help those struggling become more motivated to dive in.

• Do I know the slightest bit about the topics?

As a sub, spending 30 minutes the night before researching topics, or dusting off the college books can be extremely powerful. Imaging walking into the classroom already knowing the vocabulary!

• How many students are in each class period?

For no better reason that to give some idea of the scope of your day -- will I teach 10 students at a time or 2, or 30. Subs who know what they are walking into are more confident and can be more prepared!

• Would I need to give an exams?

Students should not be the ones telling you as a sub "We don't have an exam today" -- hummm! Really! Coming prepared with the plan already in place gives you the edge on classroom controll from the very beginning. Kids like to get out of exams and they can be very persuasive.

• What homework did the students have last night?

Similar to the exams comment above, kids will want to say "We didn't have any homework!" By reviewing the LMS homework assignments list, you can see if that is the case at a glance. Of course, they may still try -- but as a sub, you are wiser.

• When was lunch :-)
  

Seriously -- subbing is hard work. I have subbed in schools that wanted to get every ounce of time from me. So, they would often ask me to cover classes during prep time and other "off periods." For many schools this is perfectly fine and noted in the sub agreement or teacher contract. Knowing when you have some time to breath is great. For example, I once taught at a school where lunch for me was at 1:00pm. I am hungry by 10:30am. So, I knew I would need to take something with me -- or the kids would find me passed out in front of them -- not good.

• Can I get a seating chart and class roster (really useful for teachers that are new AND for those that are returning or are familiar with many students)

Now, we should never assume kids aren't who they say the are. But, believe me -- they will sometimes try that little trick. Don't make a big deal out of this as a sub -- ie -- don't flaunt that you have a seating chart. If available, school pictures of the class could be made available to the sub in the LMS -- not too hard to do actually. Many schools have picture based seating charts for this reason. This tool could be made available to the teacher all day for reference. Especially if the teacher is giving exams as noted above.

As you can see, there are lots of solutions and options. I just scratched the surface. I am sure all of you reading this can add your own experiences and solutions.