For those who have taught for Kaplan

[Pevi]

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Hey, any tips/advice/experiences about the 5 minute presentation? they want you to be creative and use the board.....so what did ya'll do? please help! thanks

 

[Tzips]

I did mine on "how to effectively ride the NYC subways". since i was talking to a group of NYers, none of it was new info, and i didn't use the board at all, but they seemed to like it just fine. i think the whole purpose is just to see that you can give a reasonably coherent presentation without 1. excessive "umm"ing and 2. audible knee-knocking 🙂 . Don't worry, it's really not that major.

 

[Pevi]

Thanks man. Did you end up getting the position? I'm assuming you did. You mind PMing me? I want to ask you a questions....Thanks 😉

I did mine on "how to effectively ride the NYC subways". since i was talking to a group of NYers, none of it was new info, and i didn't use the board at all, but they seemed to like it just fine. i think the whole purpose is just to see that you can give a reasonably coherent presentation without 1. excessive "umm"ing and 2. audible knee-knocking 🙂 . Don't worry, it's really not that major.

 

[eddiescott]

I did mine on "how to effectively ride the NYC subways". since i was talking to a group of NYers, none of it was new info, and i didn't use the board at all, but they seemed to like it just fine. i think the whole purpose is just to see that you can give a reasonably coherent presentation without 1. excessive "umm"ing and 2. audible knee-knocking 🙂 . Don't worry, it's really not that major.

recommend the online class ???

thinking about taking it.

 

[DMD_hopeful]

I gave them a motorcycle riding lesson.

 

[Pevi]

recommend the online class ???

thinking about taking it.

mos def. the most valuable thing in my opinion is all the material they give you, i.e. subject tests, practice tests, quizzes, etc

it's worth it!

 

[Tzips]

recommend the online class ???

thinking about taking it.

they have an online DAT class? i thought it was only for MCATs. or am i missing something here?

and DMD_hopeful - sounds like an awesome class 👍 😀

 

[DMD_hopeful]

they have an online DAT class? i thought it was only for MCATs. or am i missing something here?

and DMD_hopeful - sounds like an awesome class 👍 😀

It was fun...


They do have an online DAT class. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken it over the classroom class. The material is what is worth it.

 

[Typo]

Dress as nice as you can, and don't prepare too much material. 5 minutes goes by a lot faster than you think!

Mine was on memorization tricks for learning people's names. It was nice because I knew the center manager's name, and was able to work her into the presentation. Try to involve your audience briefly if you can, through questions or some other way.

 

[Profchaos]

Hey, any tips/advice/experiences about the 5 minute presentation? they want you to be creative and use the board.....so what did ya'll do? please help! thanks

Did mine on how to save money on buying text books. 4got about using the board, but it was just fine. As long as you kept eye contact and make sure body language talks, you will be ok.

 

[DrTacoElf]

1) Write an outline of your talk and your name on the board before starting
2) Be exciting
3) Do boardwork (diagrams, etc) LARGE and neatly
4) Ask the audience questions

 

[asr28]

For those of you who have taught DAT classes, how long did you guys spend preparing for each of the classes? If you're only teaching one of the once a week classes (for 3-4 hours), what kind of a time committment is teaching for Kaplan? How many hours on average would you say you spent training, preparing, teaching, etc each week? Thanks.

 

[Typo]

For those of you who have taught DAT classes, how long did you guys spend preparing for each of the classes? If you're only teaching one of the once a week classes (for 3-4 hours), what kind of a time committment is teaching for Kaplan? How many hours on average would you say you spent training, preparing, teaching, etc each week? Thanks.

The first time around I spent around 3-5 hours prepping for each lecture, and even then it was a little bumpy (each lesson has its little quirks - but that's just a part of teaching a lesson created by someone else). The second time through, about 1-3 hours per class.

For the third time through, it's still taking at least 3-4 hours before class preparing, mainly because there are 30 bright students in the class and they'll rip me to shreds if I'm not ultra prepared. I could probably get by on an hour, but the classes would be a little bumpier and not as helpful for the students.

Kaplan suggests 3 hours a class the first time through, then 1 hour each time after that. I think you need a little more time than that, though I can't blame them for wanting to limit the amount of prep time outside of class since they're paying you for it. 🙂

 

[delicious]

Hey, any tips/advice/experiences about the 5 minute presentation? they want you to be creative and use the board.....so what did ya'll do? please help! thanks

Do you have to have good scores to be a kaplan instructor?

I remember I took the exam, and bumped into my instructor later. I told him that I got 23's and 24's and he was all impressed. He said his highest score was 21, and he only got 19 in bio. And he was the bio instructor!! What the hell..

 

[Tzips]

Do you have to have good scores to be a kaplan instructor?

I remember I took the exam, and bumped into my instructor later. I told him that I got 23's and 24's and he was all impressed. He said his highest score was 21, and he only got 19 in bio. And he was the bio instructor!! What the hell..

I think Kaplan said that they require over 90th percentile, but prefer 95th and over... So I s'pose the exact score varies.

 

[Pevi]

You only have to have around a 90% or above to be able to teach. That's if they want you after your 5 minute presentation. I even had a 89.5% on Bio but they want me to teach it!

 

[kato999]

i gave mine on how hot-air balloons work. I had just gone on a hot-air balloon ride so I it was an interest to me at the time. I got hired for the DAT and for a couple sections on the MCAT. I never actually taught the class because of my scheduling conflicts, but it would have been fun to teach all those hard-core premeds.

 

[asr28]

Does the 5 minute presentation have to be memorized? Is it ok to use index cards? Also how many people are in the audience usually?

 

[DMD_hopeful]

Does the 5 minute presentation have to be memorized? Is it ok to use index cards? Also how many people are in the audience usually?

I had two people in the audience, the cute branch manager and another instructor.

I am not sure about the use of index cards, but the 5 min presentation isn't anything too serious.. They just want to see if you can communicate your thoughts well. The only prep work I did was a dry run in my head.

Don't sweat it.

BTW, I have a 16 in PAT and was hired, but over 95% in AA. I guess it depends on how much they need you.

 

[bouncy_ball]

Pevi, when is your interview? I have one coming up on Thurs.