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Organization Tips and Tricks for Teachers

Last Updated 28 September 2023/ By Zineb DJOUB

What organization tips and tricks are necessary for teachers? Organization is the key to teachers’ well-being, clear determinations, and effective practices for students’ learning. We all long to get more organized to facilitate our lives and bring about the necessary balance to thrive.

But, there are moments when we are tangled up in a real mess and cannot manage to do all the stuff while devoting time to self-care. So, we spend time looking for missing papers and things we need to use. We get confused because we have objectives, but no clear vision of achieving them.

We may even forget what needs to be done to accomplish teaching tasks and struggle with managing classroom time and meeting deadlines.

All these are signs of a teacher’s lack of organization. So, there is a need to find a way to get more organized in our jobs and maintain that over the course of time, thereby developing organizational habits.

But, finding such a way requires understanding the basis of organization.

Organization is based on two elements: time and space. This means being organized involves managing effectively both our time and space. To manage time effectively, consistent planning of our teaching is necessary. For space, having a system that works can help keep things in their place, thus avoiding any mess, time waste, and confusion.

Here are some organization tips and tricks for your work time and space as teachers (the focus is on your professional life).

 

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I. Planning

It is true that we need to be more flexible and creative in teaching. Yet, this does not negate the importance of planning for our decisions and actions.

Planning has to constitute our major practice because it is at the heart of being an effective teacher. Whatever kind of planning we engage in (planning for lessons, conferences, exams, etc.), it has to be more structured and consistent. How?

1. Get some important information before planning

Before planning for any task, you need to have some information to start off such a process. The kind of information you collect is supposed to direct your planning, indicating thus what decisions to make and why.

Here are some examples of prior information to collect before planning for lessons, project-based learning, technology integration, conferences, student-led conferences, Genius Hour, school library visits, and exam revision. (Click on the image to download it)

2. Schedule your planning

Deciding when to plan (date and time) is essential as it renders the process more intentional and systematic. But, to make your planning part of your planner you need to consider :

• Task Priority: Classify your tasks in order of priority and decide which one to schedule first, second, etc. Task priority is defined by :

a) Your objectives or what you intend to achieve from the task you are planning. For instance, if you target students’ productive creativity, planning for Genius Hour may become your priority.

b) Your students’ needs in the course. These can dictate which tasks and how you need to integrate them into your lessons. You can decide to plan for revision sessions because your students expressed or showed their needs for much more practice.

c) Your circumstances or unexpected incidents occurring in the classroom. These can call for urgent planning and changes in your schedule.

• Time: If your planning takes time because you have to collect resources and be more selective or you have to do much planning ahead, you need to select the day and make time for it.

To make your planning more effective, you need a good planner. Interested in achieving this, get this: Wall Calendar

3. Follow a given template

Regardless of the kind of planning you intend to make, you need to have a given model or template for your plan. Whether it is your own creation or someone else’s, a template can save you a lot of time and energy because it indicates the plan’s content and the way you should proceed along with it. Check out My Lesson Plan to get your template.

4. Evaluate consistently your planning

When we evaluate how effective is our planning we are likely to get more organized. Because the data we collect from such a process can support us in getting the necessary clues to achieve our intended objectives more efficiently.

So, get your students’ and colleagues’ feedback, keep on observing and tracking students’ progress, and reflecting on your practices to evaluate and refine your planning.

II. Setting a system in place

To organize your workspace, there is a need to set a system in place. This can help you clear out the mess, and so grab easily what you need when you need it. How?

Use these four file folders to organize all your documents in any subject matter. Print out labels to separate between sections in the same file folder.

 

1. My lessons file folder

This contains all your lesson plans and resources. There are plans and resources of previous years which you may need. So, put them separately from the new ones in the same file using labels.

Categorize your resources so that you can access them more easily. You can do so according to your lesson’s stages (warm-up, presentation, etc.) or your units’ objectives. Also, mention their numbers and the lesson’s name.

If your resources are on your computer print them in advance. To remember to do this, you can use a basket and stick your note of what you need to print as shown in this photo.

 

 

2. My assignments file folder

This file folder includes 3 sections:

1) All types of assignments such as projects, group discussions, oral reports, field notes, etc.; and the correct answers for each. You can separate between each type or put them together in order of use.

2) Record of assignment. Keeping records of your assignments can help you a lot to get more organized. Here is a spreadsheet you can put in the second section of this file folder. Click here to download it.

3) Student performance. You can have here two types of students’ lists. The first one includes your students’ names, their assignments’ grades, and/or comments regarding their performance. You need to make such a list for each type of assignment. The second list tracks each student’s progress against the following criteria :

1) Respecting deadlines, i.e., submitting the assignment on time ;
2) answering or completing all the assignment’s tasks;
3) understanding instructions;
4) making efforts to improve more(asking questions, collaborating with their peers, learning from their mistakes, etc).

This means you need to observe your students and keep your daily record, i.e., taking notes on how they are getting along with those assignments. You can do so by filling in this form.

3. My Reflections and decisions file folder

This third file folder includes :

1) Your students’ profile: Here you describe the kind of students you have and what can be expected of them. For instance, you talk about what they like, how they learn, their responses to particular tasks, their attention, etc. Using My Profile, and your observation over the course of time, you can add a much more detailed description.

2) Your personal aim: It can be new material or ideas you want to try or something you want to improve in your lesson. You can set such an aim before making your lesson plan.

3) Your planning decisions: All your planning decisions (lessons, resources, student-led conferences, exams, etc.) can be added here including how you intend to put them into practice.

4) Your collected feedback: This is a collection of students’ feedback regarding your lessons which you have gathered using reflective worksheets and/ your observation. Your colleagues’ feedback can be included as well.

If you are using a teacher portfolio, this is the right place for it. Another important note to make is that you should complete this file on a daily basis to make your reflections more effective. You will refer to those reflections and decisions whenever you plan and decide on content, so keep your file close to you.

4. Exam file folder

Here you can put your exam questions and correct answers (in case it is you who designs them). Your lists of students’ grades and resources related to exams can be included in this file folder.

Other organization tips and tricks for your home office:

• Organize your desk by storing paperwork, office supplies, and materials in their place.

• Organize your drawers’ containers using labels.
• Use sticky notes to remind you of what you need to do daily, weekly, and monthly. Post them so that you stay more focused on your goals.
• Review what tasks you have accomplished and what remains to be done using checklists.
• Use boxes and baskets tagged with easy-to-read labels to stow your school supplies.
• Declutter regularly (once a month) to keep your home office clean.

Organization is vital to your success, improvement, and progress as a teacher. If you find yourself getting disorganized, not getting things done, and achieving what you want, then it is time to take a look around at your space and daily schedule.

I hope you find these organization tips and tricks useful. What other organization tips and tricks would you suggest? Feel free to let me know in the comments.