Hi all,
Could maybe somebody shed some light on how much the average workload is for teachers at IS (in terms of class periods per week), possibly also what's the range? Specifically I'm interested in numbers for the senior level, i.e. 11th and 12th grades.
Also do classes at IS usually take place only from Mo-Fri or do some schools also have classes on Saturdays?
Many thanks in advance.
Workload at IS
The workload can vary considerably from school to school. At my previous school, I taught five periods a day, with one and sometimes two planning periods a day. Grade level and department meetings were scheduled into the work week, not held after school. At the last school I taught at, we were on a two-week cycle of 60 periods, and I only actually taught about 39 periods (as dept. head, I had fewer classes). Some days, I only had one or two classes. I felt like a real slacker there.
In the Middle East, the weekends are Friday-Saturday (until very recently, Oman's weekend was Thursday-Friday).
In the Middle East, the weekends are Friday-Saturday (until very recently, Oman's weekend was Thursday-Friday).
Re: Workload at IS
[quote="panta_rhei"]Hi all,
Could maybe somebody shed some light on how much the average workload is for teachers at IS (in terms of class periods per week), possibly also what's the range? Specifically I'm interested in numbers for the senior level, i.e. 11th and 12th grades.
Also do classes at IS usually take place only from Mo-Fri or do some schools also have classes on Saturdays?
Many thanks in advance.[/quote]
It is hard to generalise - in my experience, the work load in international schools in terms of face to face teaching time has been less than I experienced in Australia.
Most IS I have worked at have required gr 11/12 teachers to teach 5 different classes (out of 8 blocks). In the larger schools, the teachers tend to have repeat classes - for example, I once has 2 HL Economics, 2 SL Economics and 1 10th grade Economics class. So there were 3 preps.
I also found the average class sizes to be lower. In Australia, 25 is the norm and class sizes can get up to 30-32 in some schools. In my international schools, 25 would be seen as an exceptionally large class size. Most my classes have been 19-21 in number. In that example I gave, all the classes were in the high teens.
The kicker is that the expectations have been higher in IS than at home. However, I have not found that I have had to work harder.
Could maybe somebody shed some light on how much the average workload is for teachers at IS (in terms of class periods per week), possibly also what's the range? Specifically I'm interested in numbers for the senior level, i.e. 11th and 12th grades.
Also do classes at IS usually take place only from Mo-Fri or do some schools also have classes on Saturdays?
Many thanks in advance.[/quote]
It is hard to generalise - in my experience, the work load in international schools in terms of face to face teaching time has been less than I experienced in Australia.
Most IS I have worked at have required gr 11/12 teachers to teach 5 different classes (out of 8 blocks). In the larger schools, the teachers tend to have repeat classes - for example, I once has 2 HL Economics, 2 SL Economics and 1 10th grade Economics class. So there were 3 preps.
I also found the average class sizes to be lower. In Australia, 25 is the norm and class sizes can get up to 30-32 in some schools. In my international schools, 25 would be seen as an exceptionally large class size. Most my classes have been 19-21 in number. In that example I gave, all the classes were in the high teens.
The kicker is that the expectations have been higher in IS than at home. However, I have not found that I have had to work harder.
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
Reply
That is really hard to generalize, since several factors effect the experience.You generally see 2 types of hours used in a school 1) Contract hours and 2) Contact or Teaching hours.
Contract hours are how many hours of tasking you have and includes not just teaching hours but meetings, planing, special events, PD, assessment, conference periods, duty periods, office hours, etc.
Contact/Teaching hours is time spent in the classroom with students. Teachers with admin duties have their load reduced from their teaching/contract hours.
Several factors can greatly effect the experience of those hours, including:
1) Maximums: These hours usually describe the most a teacher will, have and its not uncommon to teach fewer hours depending on the time of year (exam time), special events, holiday schedule, etc.
2) Preps: In a large school you may have a single subject and you just repeat 1-2 preps. In smaller schools a teacher may have 5-6 preps a day, for an equal number of classes. Some teachers are also assigned across departments, further complicating their schedule.
3) Student Ability: Advance students tend to do more self directed/independent work. Less capable students rely more on teacher directed instruction.
In broad generalizations, Contract loads run 20-26 hrs/wk and contact/teaching loads are 16-20 hrs/wk. M-F is the general practice, though sometimes schools will have a special event on the weekend, and bottom tier bilingual and local schools operate closer to the government schools schedule which can be 6 days a week. This is more common in ESOL schools pretending their ISs. Teachers generally have a schedule that gives them 1 day a week or month thats their "bank day" which is a half day for them. In \Asia I got mine once a month and in Europe it was once a week.
Contract hours are how many hours of tasking you have and includes not just teaching hours but meetings, planing, special events, PD, assessment, conference periods, duty periods, office hours, etc.
Contact/Teaching hours is time spent in the classroom with students. Teachers with admin duties have their load reduced from their teaching/contract hours.
Several factors can greatly effect the experience of those hours, including:
1) Maximums: These hours usually describe the most a teacher will, have and its not uncommon to teach fewer hours depending on the time of year (exam time), special events, holiday schedule, etc.
2) Preps: In a large school you may have a single subject and you just repeat 1-2 preps. In smaller schools a teacher may have 5-6 preps a day, for an equal number of classes. Some teachers are also assigned across departments, further complicating their schedule.
3) Student Ability: Advance students tend to do more self directed/independent work. Less capable students rely more on teacher directed instruction.
In broad generalizations, Contract loads run 20-26 hrs/wk and contact/teaching loads are 16-20 hrs/wk. M-F is the general practice, though sometimes schools will have a special event on the weekend, and bottom tier bilingual and local schools operate closer to the government schools schedule which can be 6 days a week. This is more common in ESOL schools pretending their ISs. Teachers generally have a schedule that gives them 1 day a week or month thats their "bank day" which is a half day for them. In \Asia I got mine once a month and in Europe it was once a week.
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
Hi PsyGuy,
Thanks a lot for the info!
By 16-20 hrs/wk do you mean hours in the sense of class periods or hours of 60 minutes? That raises another question: How long are the class periods usually? At my current school it's 45min, the same as in public schools in Germany, so I assume that might be the normal case?
Also, could you maybe clarify what a 'Prep' is?
And what is a "bank day" - is that an extra day off once per week or month?
Thanks a lot for the info!
By 16-20 hrs/wk do you mean hours in the sense of class periods or hours of 60 minutes? That raises another question: How long are the class periods usually? At my current school it's 45min, the same as in public schools in Germany, so I assume that might be the normal case?
Also, could you maybe clarify what a 'Prep' is?
And what is a "bank day" - is that an extra day off once per week or month?
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
Hi PsyGuy,
Thanks a lot for the info!
By 16-20 hrs/wk do you mean hours in the sense of class periods or hours of 60 minutes? That raises another question: How long are the class periods usually? At my current school it's 45min, the same as in public schools in Germany, so I assume that might be the normal case?
Also, could you maybe clarify what a 'Prep' is?
And what is a "bank day" - is that an extra day off once per week or month?
Thanks a lot for the info!
By 16-20 hrs/wk do you mean hours in the sense of class periods or hours of 60 minutes? That raises another question: How long are the class periods usually? At my current school it's 45min, the same as in public schools in Germany, so I assume that might be the normal case?
Also, could you maybe clarify what a 'Prep' is?
And what is a "bank day" - is that an extra day off once per week or month?
Reply
Different schools will define the teaching/contact hrs differently. For some it means teaching periods for others it means clock hours. A school will usually use on term in the contract but define it in the staff/policy manual. What a school dosnt want to have happen is have their staff maxed out on hours and have to create another section and hire someone else. Contracts are much harder to modify then policies, so they might define your teaching hours at first by periods but then because enrollment increases or some other issue they can redefine your teaching hours as clock hours. This is more common at lower tier schools then upper tier schools.
Different schools have different master schedules. You generall have three types of periods scheduled:
1) Lecture Periods: These are 45min - 60min. Their your typical instructional class period.
2) Studio Periods: These are 60min - 90min. These are your science lab, fine art studio periods and P.E. periods.
3) Break Periods: 15min - 30min. These are your lunch, recess, and home room periods.
The most common instructional period averages 50 minutes.
"Prep" is short for Preparation. A prep is a prepared lesson. How many different classes you have to prepare for is each a preparation. If Im a biology teacher and I teach 5 classes of BIO I in a day, I have 5 teaching periods but I only have to prepare one lesson for all 5 classes and just repeat that lesson 5 times.
A biology teacher who teaches both Bio I and Bio II and has 4 teaching periods evenly split between Bio I and II has 4 teaching periods but two preps, since they have to prepare two lessons for that day. In ISs its common for teachers to teach several subjectsand sometimes they arent even related.
Teachers will generally prefer more teaching periods and fewer preps. Its better to prepare one lesson, and teach it 6 times then prepare and teach 4 lessons in a day.
Teachers are usually given "Prep" periods in a day to plan lessons, mark papers, meet with parents and students. They may be called "office hours" or "conference periods". Not all periods and time that your not in the classroom are prep periods. Non teaching periods during the daily duty time are referred to as "open" periods. Good schools will respect a teachers prep periods and not task them with miscellaneous duties. Bad schools think any time your their and not teaching your available to do whatever an admin wants you to do.
So a teacher that is scheduled a prep period wouldnt be asked at that time to cover a classroom or the lunch room or something. Realistically though its not a good idea to pull the prep period card when an admin asks you to do something, and in most schools your just expected to be flexible regardless of the schedule.
"Bank day" could be a whole day off, but it usually is half a day. The way the practice started was that most banks only had a small time period when the "Foreign Transaction" window would be open, which was someone who understood passable English and knew how to send wire transfers, cash travelers checks, and other less common services. Usually it was only 1 or 2 times a week and for a couple hours in the middle of the day. Bank day was developed to give teachers an opportunity during those time periods to do their banking business.
The practice has evolved of course to include all those things from dentist, doctor appointments to visiting a government office. In Europe they usually schedule you for a lite day one day a week where you have morning or afternoon off. In Asia its usually half a day one a month.
Different schools have different master schedules. You generall have three types of periods scheduled:
1) Lecture Periods: These are 45min - 60min. Their your typical instructional class period.
2) Studio Periods: These are 60min - 90min. These are your science lab, fine art studio periods and P.E. periods.
3) Break Periods: 15min - 30min. These are your lunch, recess, and home room periods.
The most common instructional period averages 50 minutes.
"Prep" is short for Preparation. A prep is a prepared lesson. How many different classes you have to prepare for is each a preparation. If Im a biology teacher and I teach 5 classes of BIO I in a day, I have 5 teaching periods but I only have to prepare one lesson for all 5 classes and just repeat that lesson 5 times.
A biology teacher who teaches both Bio I and Bio II and has 4 teaching periods evenly split between Bio I and II has 4 teaching periods but two preps, since they have to prepare two lessons for that day. In ISs its common for teachers to teach several subjectsand sometimes they arent even related.
Teachers will generally prefer more teaching periods and fewer preps. Its better to prepare one lesson, and teach it 6 times then prepare and teach 4 lessons in a day.
Teachers are usually given "Prep" periods in a day to plan lessons, mark papers, meet with parents and students. They may be called "office hours" or "conference periods". Not all periods and time that your not in the classroom are prep periods. Non teaching periods during the daily duty time are referred to as "open" periods. Good schools will respect a teachers prep periods and not task them with miscellaneous duties. Bad schools think any time your their and not teaching your available to do whatever an admin wants you to do.
So a teacher that is scheduled a prep period wouldnt be asked at that time to cover a classroom or the lunch room or something. Realistically though its not a good idea to pull the prep period card when an admin asks you to do something, and in most schools your just expected to be flexible regardless of the schedule.
"Bank day" could be a whole day off, but it usually is half a day. The way the practice started was that most banks only had a small time period when the "Foreign Transaction" window would be open, which was someone who understood passable English and knew how to send wire transfers, cash travelers checks, and other less common services. Usually it was only 1 or 2 times a week and for a couple hours in the middle of the day. Bank day was developed to give teachers an opportunity during those time periods to do their banking business.
The practice has evolved of course to include all those things from dentist, doctor appointments to visiting a government office. In Europe they usually schedule you for a lite day one day a week where you have morning or afternoon off. In Asia its usually half a day one a month.
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
Thanks so much for the elaboration!
With regards to the contract: In case you are offered a contract in which the teaching period is not clearly defined, would you say it is ok/common to insist to specify it?
With regards to prepared and non-prepared teaching periods: Am I correct to assume that there are very few schools that have multiple sections in the Diploma program for Econ and Business/Management and therefor all periods will most likely be prepared periods for those subjects?
You said teaching loads usually range from 16-20 hrs/wk. So in my case would I be right to expect three classes of Econ/Business of 6-7 periods/wk. each?
With regards to the contract: In case you are offered a contract in which the teaching period is not clearly defined, would you say it is ok/common to insist to specify it?
With regards to prepared and non-prepared teaching periods: Am I correct to assume that there are very few schools that have multiple sections in the Diploma program for Econ and Business/Management and therefor all periods will most likely be prepared periods for those subjects?
You said teaching loads usually range from 16-20 hrs/wk. So in my case would I be right to expect three classes of Econ/Business of 6-7 periods/wk. each?
Reply
@panta_rhei
If a school contract (MOU, MOA, Summary) didnt detail the working hours Id be concerned and ask about it. If a recruiter was vague about the answer I'd strongly consider running in the other direction.
Their are two exceptions to this: the first is there are some very small, small schools, mostly 3rd tier schools, that just expect the teacher is going to do what ever is required. This likely to be found in small primary or EC schools. The second exception is when a school doesnt know its class schedule, they dont know how many hours you will actually teach but they should still be able to tell you your contract hours/periods. You may end up teaching every single one of those hours but there has to be some clear expectations of service.
Not necessarily, the very large IB schools have multiple sections of the same course and class. It depends on how big the department staff is and how big the student body is. If your humanities department had 2 business/econ teachers and 200 students, all enrolled in business/econ you could teach econ, the other teacher teaches business. 20 students per class 5 periods a day, alternating days with econ. You could have 1 prep a day with that kind of scheduled.
If its all you, small school, then your looking at most 4 preps a day, BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, and ECON II.
It depends on the makeup of your school and the distribution of student preferences. BUS and ECON are both Group 3 courses, BUT students have to take an elective which could be a second course in Group 3, and for students looking to pursue business studies in college its a common enough combination.
There are a lot of different combinations a school could do. Your DIP 1 could be standard lecture periods and your DIP2 could be half lecture and half studio (because some students may be doing a business/economics paper for their essay). If I had to make a best guess I'd plan on 4 teaching periods a day, with 4 preps per day. One class each for BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, ECON II.
Discussion: You can very likely prepare some portion of your lessons that crossover between BUS and ECON, essentially prepping 2 hybrid lessons, one for each grade level. Basically combining the separate courses into one overall thematic approach (very IB by the way). You couldnt do this for every lesson but depending on your background and creativity at least some portion of the course outline.
If a school contract (MOU, MOA, Summary) didnt detail the working hours Id be concerned and ask about it. If a recruiter was vague about the answer I'd strongly consider running in the other direction.
Their are two exceptions to this: the first is there are some very small, small schools, mostly 3rd tier schools, that just expect the teacher is going to do what ever is required. This likely to be found in small primary or EC schools. The second exception is when a school doesnt know its class schedule, they dont know how many hours you will actually teach but they should still be able to tell you your contract hours/periods. You may end up teaching every single one of those hours but there has to be some clear expectations of service.
Not necessarily, the very large IB schools have multiple sections of the same course and class. It depends on how big the department staff is and how big the student body is. If your humanities department had 2 business/econ teachers and 200 students, all enrolled in business/econ you could teach econ, the other teacher teaches business. 20 students per class 5 periods a day, alternating days with econ. You could have 1 prep a day with that kind of scheduled.
If its all you, small school, then your looking at most 4 preps a day, BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, and ECON II.
It depends on the makeup of your school and the distribution of student preferences. BUS and ECON are both Group 3 courses, BUT students have to take an elective which could be a second course in Group 3, and for students looking to pursue business studies in college its a common enough combination.
There are a lot of different combinations a school could do. Your DIP 1 could be standard lecture periods and your DIP2 could be half lecture and half studio (because some students may be doing a business/economics paper for their essay). If I had to make a best guess I'd plan on 4 teaching periods a day, with 4 preps per day. One class each for BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, ECON II.
Discussion: You can very likely prepare some portion of your lessons that crossover between BUS and ECON, essentially prepping 2 hybrid lessons, one for each grade level. Basically combining the separate courses into one overall thematic approach (very IB by the way). You couldnt do this for every lesson but depending on your background and creativity at least some portion of the course outline.
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
"If I had to make a best guess I'd plan on 4 teaching periods a day, with 4 preps per day. One class each for BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, ECON II."
That means each class comprises 5 periods per week? Is that the same for all subjects/groups? Hence the total number of periods for the students would average around 30?
So would it actually be likely to be one period for each class (BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, ECON II) per day? How common are double periods at IS? At my current school we have mostly double periods in 11th and 12th grade.
That means each class comprises 5 periods per week? Is that the same for all subjects/groups? Hence the total number of periods for the students would average around 30?
So would it actually be likely to be one period for each class (BUS I, BUS II, ECON I, ECON II) per day? How common are double periods at IS? At my current school we have mostly double periods in 11th and 12th grade.
Comment
@panta_rhei
I think your math is a little off, but yes each course would meet one period a day 5 days a week, and with 4 courses, that would be about 20 hours/periods (5x4=20).
Double periods are uncommon for the traditional lecture class. Studio/Lab periods may be double periods.
I think your math is a little off, but yes each course would meet one period a day 5 days a week, and with 4 courses, that would be about 20 hours/periods (5x4=20).
Double periods are uncommon for the traditional lecture class. Studio/Lab periods may be double periods.
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panta_rhei
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am
Ok alright.
With the 30 I meant the number of periods for the students --> 6 subjects a 5h.
One last question if you don't mind: What are the common holiday periods at IS? Does it vary a lot? And are teachers expected to spend some of the holiday time at the school (e.g. for training or prep purposes)?
With the 30 I meant the number of periods for the students --> 6 subjects a 5h.
One last question if you don't mind: What are the common holiday periods at IS? Does it vary a lot? And are teachers expected to spend some of the holiday time at the school (e.g. for training or prep purposes)?