By Yasmin Sharbaf
Editor’s note: For Spark 2021, teachers had the option of teaching a class that met once (a standalone class) or a class that met thrice (a sequence class).
During all the time I taught for ESP, I always chose to teach sequence classes (except for Splash where I taught one class as a substitute teacher). I believed that I would have time to get to know the students better while also having enough time to develop the curriculum and teach as much as I can during the three or six weeks I have.
However, this time was different; I taught a standalone class instead. To be completely honest, it was all by an accident. When I signed up to teach my class “Introduction to the Stock Market and Cryptocurrency,” I meant to teach it as a sequence class but got mixed up and unintentionally signed to teach sequence, which means I would be teaching the same class for multiple sessions I choose for different students.
At first, I was opposed to the idea and thought that my class would not be as good as I wanted or that students would not learn in one session. But after teaching my class, I found many advantages of teaching a topic stand-alone than sequence.
- You have more time to focus on one presentation. I put all my energy and effort into developing one presentation and making sure it was as good as it can be. I also made sure there was no jargon and students could get basic information about the topic from one lecture.
- You can revamp your course as you go. On top of that, I was able to improve my presentation and slides as I go. This is mainly because as I taught a session, I felt that my next class was always better. After all, I knew what my weaknesses were and how the class could be improved based on students’ feedback and reactions.
- Students gain more curiosity about a topic. This is a big bonus! I would also debate that students focus more. When you are teaching a topic for one time only, students will be more attentive since this is the only chance they have to ask questions and learn about the topic you are teaching. I think one session develops students’ curiosity and pushes them to learn about the topic later on their own.
The Ripple 