Advice needed for a new lecturer!

[sunchime]

Hi, I recently accepted a job as a centre co-ordinator which basically means running the college 'centre' (it has a computer area and about 6 classrooms with smartboards and some computers in it. My job is to make sure these rooms are all working and that classes are where they should be etc. I will also be taking on up to 8 hours of teaching (ages 16-19). My question is 'can anyone offer me any advcie to teaching this age group'? I have no teaching experience (the college are making me take a PTLLS course) and my degree is in Media & Journalism but they said i will be teaching business studies or public sector students! Is it normal to ask a lecturer to teach a class where they don't know anything about the subject matter?! Does anyone have any advice or pointers for me please?

Many Thanks

[Lil O'lady]

Find out asap what the reading list is for the courses you are delivering. You need to get hold of 1-2 key textbooks that will be the mainstay of your teaching. Look for webites - some may be subscription type sites - that have course teaching materials ready to go.
There must be some teaching materials already around if these courses have been taght by the college.
Get a free download program such as Hot potatoes (from Half Baked Software - honestly) and use it to make interactive units that you can stack up and let students work through at their own pace.
In the circumstances you are presented with, you can only effectively be the facilitator of the learning, so try to arrange your teaching provision so that students are looking into key resources and key websites to find answers to broad questions / problems.
And yes, many of these access-type courses are frankly half-a*sed

[msemma]

The PTTLS course is really worthwhile. I did it when it first launched at the end of 2007. I now teach in HE, FE, in schools and in community education and adult education. It provides you with a good grounding in teaching.