6 Outschool Class Tips and Tricks For More Bookings

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Outschool is a platform where motivated teachers can make money by teaching group classes to students on a topic they are passionate about. The list of potential topics a student can enroll in at Outschool is endless, and there are many creative, engaging classes hosted by teachers.

How can you stand out from the crowd and encourage students to sign up for your course? 

Creating Outschool Classes

Can you create effective classes that encourage more student sign-ups? Here are some ideas that will take your classes to the next level. Consider the following when creating your course for Outschool:

1. Follow Your Passion

Find something that excites you. If you could teach anything, what would it be?

Make a list of things you are passionate about and how you could present these ideas interestingly and engagingly to a young child or teenager.

Of course, there are some subjects off-limits, such as medicine, religion, and other sensitive issues.

You will also have to think about the class age range and student level of expertise required to take your classes.

When you teach something you are passionate about, you will naturally exude this energy in your lessons and it encourages students to be more excited too.

2. Keep a List

Keep a list of all your ideas for teaching your classes. No idea is too silly. Take a note of it, and you may use it again. This is about trial and error, so you can try the new idea in class to see if it resonates with your students or not. If not, you can always change as you go along.

Always look for new ideas and ways that you can improve on your lesson.

How can you do things better and create experiences that are enjoyable for all your students? 

3. Make it Fun

When you choose something you are passionate about, you want to create classes that are interesting and fun. When something is fun, the children learn much faster and are more motivated to learn.

You could make it enjoyable by incorporating Disney characters, cartoons or entertaining contests to break up the class. You could bring physical props and have an engaging opening to encourage the students to listen, speak, and learn.

When the students have fun, they want to have a class with you again, and you are more likely to see the students sign up for other classes in the future.

Even if it is a serious topic, you can make it fun and relatable so that the children can use that information and learn from it. For example, you might have studied criminology at university. You could make this relevant to students by applying it to the history of famous cartoon villains.

You may also be interested in: The Best English Teaching Companies in 2022.

4. Do Your Research

Know your student base and learn from them. What does the group of students enjoy? What do children watch?

Observe the kids’ behavior and take inspiration from kids that you’ve taught in the past or your own kids.

You can also take inspiration from TV advertisements that’ve done their research on the audience already and know what the kids like.

Look for ways to find out what kids like and be open to modifying your material to make it more engaging and exciting for the kids who take your classes. 

Find your hook. The topic may not be attractive to the children unless you can tie it to their interests in some way.

There are always new trends cropping up that you need to keep an eye on because they may help your lesson. Plan for an amazing life lesson!

5. Use Multimedia

Use a wide variety of media in your lessons so you always have the students’ interest and attention.

When we use different forms of multimedia, such as video audio, text, doodling, and writing, we encourage the student to listen closely and follow along.

The key is to keep the students interested by creating exciting and engaging lessons.

For example, you can use Movavi’s free video editor with no watermark to create educational videos for the students. This is a great way to get students’ attention when explaining new topics. Movavi also has stickers, frames, and transitions to spice up your educational content

6. Your Personal Approach

If you can show that you are excited about the class, you can build relationships and connect with students on a deeper level. They will also be excited about your class.

Ever hear the phrase that a person just ‘lights up a room?’

That is because the person is energetic and enthusiastic to the point where others can feel it too.

Show your personality style and be your bright, bold self. Students love it.

7. Manage the Classroom Effectively 

You may get some students who have special problems or temperaments that require extra attention. It is your responsibility as the teacher to coordinate the class efficiently.

Make your students feel comfortable but don’t go too off-topic. Always revert to the objectives of the class and make sure that each student is listening and participating.

If one student talks a lot, for example, you can ask a different person to answer a question or you can encourage them to say the answer if nobody else knows the answer.

Be diplomatic and assert a certain level of control of your class, just like in a physical classroom setting.

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Usually, parents will tell you if there are problems with the child before the classroom begins so you can prepare for that in advance.

Let the students switch off during the class and don’t push the student to do anything out of their comfort zone.

Make sure they feel happy and relaxed in what they’re doing and keep a calm atmosphere.

Encourage all students to participate and make mistakes. Outschool is a center of learning and a means of encouraging students to try something new.

8. Finding a Suitable Time

Is there a sweet spot when deciding the best time to host your classes?

There is no one best time according to other teachers. See which time sticks best and be practical.

Generally speaking, midday eastern time may be a good time for young students. Ideally, you should have students from all around the world tune in to your classes, particularly American kids.

So think about what time they are at school versus when they are at home. Weekends are also an excellent option for students.

9. Vary Class Types

You may find that some parents prefer one-time classes so they can find out your teaching style and how you relate to their children.

If the student works well with the teacher, parents may like to invest in a long-term class schedule, so for that reason, the one time classes may be more popular.

However, different teachers have found different things when it comes to bookings; for example, some teachers offer discounts for booking a group of classes.

This encourages parents to sign up for the longer-term courses rather than the shorter term.

It’s really up to you and how you structure your course and price.

Consider having both long and short class types because sometimes the short classes encourage new signups and encourage the students to come back, again and again, to learn with you.

You can use short lessons to act as a funnel to find longer-term prospects. 

Conclusion

These are just a few tips to help you plan your classes at Outschool.

We hope you found this helpful, and if you want to sign up for Outschool, you can click the button below.

If you would like to learn more about Outschool, click here and see our detailed Outschool review. We’ve also included a few class ideas.

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Caitriona Maria

Education writer at TPR Teaching | https://www.tprteaching.com

Caitriona Maria is an education writer and founder of TPR Teaching, crafting inspiring pieces that promote the importance of developing new skills. For 7 years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.