How do I plan my Dabble experience?

So you’ve signed up to teach a class with Dabble, and we’ve confirmed your class listing and date. Now what? It's time to get planning and promoting!

For your convenience, we've prepared a Teacher Folder which contains all of the helpful tips & tricks for lesson planning and walks you through planning your class step by step.

**DOWNLOAD: Teacher_Documents.pdf

If you prefer to stick to the basics, we've outlined the basic steps to prepare, practice and promote your class below.

PREPARE

1. Determine your objectives — Ask yourself: what is the key takeaway of your class? If people leave remembering only one thing about your class, what should it be?

2. Create a class outline — Now that you’ve outlined your objectives, develop an outline to help structure your thinking. Attempt to fit your content into a template: Introduction – Focus – Practice – Wrap-Up / Summary.

3. Develop content —Fill in the details of your outline. What research or materials do you need to support your talking points? Remember that you’re the expert, and people are looking for you to share your unique insights with the subject matter. There are likely gobs of information on the internet about your topic, but they’ve chosen to take an in-person class to hear about it first-hand.

4. Determine what will help to facilitate the experience —This may include pictures, props, presentations or hand-outs. The possibilities are endless. Be creative!

5. Make it fun! —After all, we are about Dabbling. People are signing up for your class because they want to test the waters. Give your Dabblers a chance to participate. Try to avoid spending more than half your class lecturing. Involve them in the learning, and aim to send them away smiling.

PRACTICE

Run it past a trusted friend or advisor. Make sure you choose someone who will give you honest feedback. Ask him/her questions like:

• Would you or someone you know be interested in this content?
• Does the flow of the class make sense?
• How could it be better?

Use a bathroom mirror —Get comfortable with the material. Ensure that you have enough content to fill up the allotted class time.

ARRANGE LOGISTICS

Make a list — What is the ideal seating arrangement? What equipment and technologies will you need? Wifi? A projector? What materials will you leave behind with students – class hand-outs, business cards?

Confirm the details — At least a week in advance, work with the host of your event (if applicable) to confirm the logistics. This may mean purchasing or renting necessary equipment or materials. The goal is to minimize any last minute “uh oh, I forgot about that” moments.

SPREAD THE WORD

Market Your Class — Ensure your class gets the attention it deserves by using Dabble’s Marketing and Promotion Tips. Check out our Promoting Your Class article for more information

Provide a link to the listing —When you do market your class, ensure that potential Dabblers can easily click through to sign up for your class.

Be creative! — Have a blog? A newsletter? Use social media? A favorite coffee shop where everyone knows your name? Friends who have always begged you to teach them your skill? You can spread the word as formally or informally as you like.

ON THE DAY OF CLASS ...

Be fully ready 20 minutes before class starts —Give yourself enough time to set up so that you’re ready at least 20 minutes before class start time. You know your class requirements, so this may mean coming as early as 90 minutes before class time.

Post a sign to welcome Dabblers — If the room at the venue in which you’re holding your event is not obvious to find, consider posting signs that direct Dabblers to the room. A few signage options are available in the above Teacher Resources PDF.

Be gracious to the host— If you’re using a venue that’s not yours, make sure you thank the host – directly as well as in front of your Dabblers (“We really appreciate [venue] making space for us”).

Own set-up and clean-up — Unless told otherwise, take responsibility for setting up your class and cleaning up. When you leave, ask yourself: did I leave it in the condition it was before I arrived? Will this venue agree to host a Dabble class again after this experience?

Collect participants’ information — If you’re interested in staying in touch with your Dabblers, be ready to gather their email address (if they so choose to leave it with you). A downloadable PDF for collecting this information is available here in the Teacher Resource PDF above.