When designing your class, you need to consider how you plan to move through the content and what you hope the participants to achieve. Try using the following structure to outline your class curriculum.

  • What is the subject matter and an explanation of why you would want to learn about it.
  • Cover any basic “assumed” knowledge to find the average foundation understanding of the participants, so you can teach at the most relevant level.
  • What is the aim of running this class and what the participants should have achieved by the end.

When teaching the content, you have to decide the format you will use in order to provide the most interesting and educational experience for the participants. Some different formats could include:

  • Lecture style talk, where you are presenting information that does not require hands on participation. You should still have participation as part of your lecture in the form of questions, visual aids, group discussions, activities, etc.
  • Following along with the instructor to achieve a common outcome (such as all programming a robotics kit to perform the same task)
  • Assisted tutoring to help the participants achieve a goal or product chosen by them (such as a carpentry tutorial where participants bring their projects to get advice and guidance on how to complete them.) Please note that this sort of class will require more tutors per student than the previous examples.
  • Something entirely new. If you have some new and exciting way to present a class, that’s great!

Nearly every class is going to require resources to effectively deliver the content and produce positive results, even if that is just a projector for your PowerPoint. Consider the things you will need in order for the class to run smoothly. Remember, if you are caught out missing a major requirement (such as Arduinos for an Arduino programming class) or something seemingly small (like scissors for a sewing class) you will have a lot of people waiting or wasting their time, which would reflect badly on HSBNE. Please consider every detail of your class and list everything you will need to run it. Some examples of possible resources are:

  • Computer and projector
  • Internet (be ready to provide login and password)
  • Pre assembled kits- itemised (lengths of wire, components, breadboards, etc.)
  • Solder stations
  • Tools (please list)
  • Computers
  • 3D printers
  • Arduinos

What are you going to do to prepare for your class? Having notes for the major points you want to cover is a good starting point. The reason this is important is that, even if you know your subject very well, it is easy to get off topic or forget things that should have been covered. If you have well documented notes, you have a safety net should you get sick and need someone to cover for you.

It is also a good idea to run through your class beforehand. If it’s a lecture, make sure you know how the PowerPoint will work with you, the participants and the activities. If you are going to be making something, make one first so you know how if there are any problems or quirks you hadn’t anticipated.

You need to prepare a blurb about your class. A brief explanation is required to give sufficient details to someone who is thinking of signing up, with an introductory paragraph that can be quoted in advertising and posts. This will be placed on the events page of our website and Facebook event. Think of it as writing a news article. The first paragraph draws people in and gives a good summary, and each paragraph after that adds details that interested parties can continue on to read.

All HSBNE expects for classes is for 10% of the profits go back to the space, to help with maintaining the areas/tools used.

Once you've got all the above sorted, email executive@hsbne.org and provide them with: * Class name * Class date(s) and time(s). * Class blurb. * (Optional but preferred) a picture relating to your class for the advertising.

  • howto/run-a-class
  • Last modified: 4 years ago
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