Normal Teaching Load at Secondary Level?

[MamfeMan]

We are having our work loads increased next year. Each day there are four 80-minute periods. We teach in a 10-day cycle, for a total of 40 periods in two weeks. Currently the average is about 25/40, but next year will be 30/40 (not everybody, but more than enough). This means I'll be teaching, for instance, every period one day and then the next day two out of four. EVERY PERIOD. And at the middle school level, we're looking at a conservative estimate of 120-130 students. Is this normal?

[Cheery Littlebottom]

Well, usually 5 classes, 4 preps is considered pretty standard. in my current job, that would mean approximately 105-110 students.
Whenever I feel I have too much of a teaching burden I think back to my last year in the UK. I was HOD, teaching 21 out of 25, with 7 classes, 6 preps and a registration group, and an assembly to give every two weeks! Everything is relative........

[indogal]

I think it seems a bit high. The norm tends to be 5 teaching blocks out of an 8 block schedule. At some of the nicer Asian schools, you only teach 4 of 8. What you are proposing sounds like 6 out of 8, which seems excessive considering you would teach one full day with no breaks given for planning.

[wntriscoming]

So let me get this straight:

Right now you are teaching 3.3 hours a day on average. (25 x 80 min / 10 day cycle)

Next year you'll have to teach 4 hours a day on average (30 x 80 min / 10 day cycle)

If a normal school day is between 8-3, that's 7 hours that you're at school, giving you a whopping 3.7 hours of breaks per day this year, and 3 hours of breaks per day next year.

Unless I've totally missed something, I think you'll make it.

[MamfeMan]

@wntriscoming.

No, no, no. That's too funny. I want to work at your school.

There are four classes per day- 80 minutes each. This is a total of 20 periods per week. In a ten-day cycle, that adds up to 40 classes over two full weeks. I'll teach 30 of those. In other words, I'll teach every period one day (a 30 minute lunch and a 20 minute short break, with a 10 minute passing period thrown in for good measure) and two out of the four periods the other days.

Sorry. Schedule lingo/vocab can always be confusing.

[MIS]

So four different preps is pretty standard in international schools? Seems like a lot to me. In the US, I teach two content areas, meaning I have just two different preps, though I differentiate from class to class according to ability level. I've never known a teacher with more than two preps, but judging from the interviews I've had, it seems most international schools require you to take on 3-4. Is that the case?

[shadowjack]

3/4 is standard, but not in a 4 one day 2 the next day format. One full class a day of prep at MS/Sec is what I am used to. Back in Canada I used to teach 4 classes a day EVERY DAY (90 minute classes - that's 6 hours a day of teaching) for one semester and then 3 classes a day with one prep.

Alternately, at other schools, it was a 4 one day, 3 the next day.

It is all in the mindset.

MIS - depending on the size of the school and the admin, you will do between 1 to 4 preps. But for instance, if you are teaching history SL/HL, you can say there are 4 preps right there, even though technically you are only teaching history to grade 11 and 12 students.

[MIS]

Is four deemed an incredibly taxing load or is it relatively common? I ask because I've applied for a position with four preps and the thought of that many regular preps seems daunting to me.

[gengrant]

Off topic a bit, but talk to an Elementary teacher about teaching vs prep load. 10 preps out of 40 would be heaven. :)

[nalfc]

Forgive me I am new to thsi - but what is / are preps?
Is this homework or preparation lessons?

[pgrass]

Four or five preps is standard in many international schools. It is usually the North Americans who complain / are concerned about the amount of preps they have.

[nalfc]

Ah I see - it is how many different subjects you teach. I teach four here in the UK and I have taught a lot more in another school.

[Bij Bam]

"Off topic a bit, but talk to an Elementary teacher about teaching vs prep load. 10 preps out of 40 would be heaven. :)"

Maybe I should switch to teaching secondary... :-D

[shadowjack]

Gengrant - in my part of the world, preps are courses, so if I have 4 classes I have 4 preps (classes to prepare for).

Right now I teach grades 6 to 10, so I have 5 preps.

In a generalist, I might have more subjects to prep, but I control the flow of the day and my students are with me all day except for specialist classes. I have taught both systems (HS and MS generalist) and like both for different reasons. Less prep as a generalist, but you don't see 120 students every 2 days.

[Ocalmy]

pgrass wrote:
> Four or five preps is standard in many international schools. It is usually
> the North Americans who complain / are concerned about the amount of preps
> they have.

Be careful not to characterize North Americans as complainers, pgrass. There are reasons why many of us are concerned with the ratio of contact and planning hours.

Teachers in the U.S. spend approximately 80% of their time teaching compared to around 60% in other OECD nations. In the highest performing countries, teachers spend as little as 35% of their time delivering instruction. It's important to me to have enough time to plan carefully, reflect, collaborate, and improve my lessons.

(See Figure 1 on p. 3)

https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/def ... achers.pdf