Organizing Shared Lesson Times
Found in: Free Introductory Session, Scheduling, Shared Lessons
Georgia H., Western Australia
I have been gradually changing my studio over from Private to Shared Lessons. I need some suggestions from those of you who teach in small groups of up to 5. I have a lot of trouble timetabling. I have 10 new students at the moment all waiting to start. Problem is fitting them in to the times I have available even though there is some flexibility.
I have met them all and have an idea of who will work best together, but the times and days they can come vary too much. I realize this will be ongoing but wondered how some of you handle it. I have thought of advertising a beginner’s class to start at eg. 4pm Tuesdays and 5.30 Wednesdays. That way they know when the lesson is and if interested can fit around.
Sometimes those in a group have to change because of other activities after school etc. Similar problems arise in Private Lessons, but I can see at a glance what other times I have available.
If any of you have tried this or something else please share your experiences.
Nicola C., Western Australia
I have photocopied Neil’s Weekly Schedule form onto clear, overhead sheets – one per student. Using whiteboard markers, each parent/student crosses out when they are NOT available. I keep these in a file which is accessible to all students.
When starting several students at once it is easy to put all the relevant overhead sheets together up to light and see what times suit most or small groups.
Also, parents/students can easily erase and update their Weekly Schedule Sheet as their commitments change. I always ask everyone to update their sheet at the end of each term or whenever I am re-sorting groups.
All students know that I am only available at certain times of the week. If I make a group at a time that suits me and most of the participants, those that it doesn’t suit may have to wait or not enroll. More often than not, I find that they can reorganize their schedule. (I also point out, that children who have several after-school activities may not have the energy left over to commit to the practice regime etc.)
Mind you, it does get very hard when dealing with scheduling problems with the faithful, long-term students!