Can a colege class be listed as a project?

[Pedro Kroger]

Hi,

I'm a colege professor and I'm wandering if it's ok to list a class (like "harmony") as a (big) project. Of course a class will, in fact, have many small mini-projects like "build class website", "grade notes", "prepair class notes", and so on.

D.A. says that it doesn't matter if one has big projects in the project list or sub-project as long as they are reviewed. But since I like to think the project list as the list of outcomes, it feels weired to have something like "harmony class" as an outcome.

[kewms]

Teaching a class sounds like a project to me.

As for outcomes, think about what would make a class successful from your point of view. "It was a good semester because..."

That's your outcome.

Katherine

[hamlett]

I use GTD techniques to organize all of my college classes. Using Life Balance on my T3, I can schedule each subtask ("write quiz #1," "copy quiz #1," "grade quiz #1," "post quiz #1 grades) so that each appears in sequence. GTD is very effective at keeping multiple class tasks in order and avoiding the chaos of managing so many individual students.

[Brent]

"Harmony Class" is not a project, using a strict GTD definition. "Complete Harmony Class" is.

[Pedro Kroger]

"Harmony Class" is not a project, using a strict GTD definition. "Complete Harmony Class" is.

What you mean by "Complete Harmony Class"?

[Brent]

I meant "complete" in the sense of a verb, "to complete."

Simply naming something does not make it a project, in "strict" GTD terms. Defining an outcome -- such as completing the teaching of a class -- makes it a project.

Or at least, that's how I understand it.

[mcogilvie]

Hi,

I'm a colege professor and I'm wandering if it's ok to list a class (like "harmony") as a (big) project. Of course a class will, in fact, have many small mini-projects like "build class website", "grade notes", "prepair class notes", and so on.

D.A. says that it doesn't matter if one has big projects in the project list or sub-project as long as they are reviewed. But since I like to think the project list as the list of outcomes, it feels weired to have something like "harmony class" as an outcome.

I have similar ambiguous feelings about classes. A class seems to sit somewhere between 10K and 20K, having both a project and a focus area (teaching) aspect. I think the key issue is how often I want to review it, and the answer is at least weekly, so it goes on the project list. Many people like to formulate their projects as sentences, but I don't find things like "Teach Physics 171 really well this time, better than last time" helpful. Courses do have desired outcomes, though, and I do occasionally put that information in the note attached to the course.

[Brent]

When I want to improve a process, I find it helpful to create a Next Action for brainstorming about improvements. For teaching a class, I might create an NA that says, "Brainstorm things that students seem to have difficulty learning, and ways to communicate those things more clearly."