What questions do you consider before planning during planning and after delivering a lesson?

EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING ENHANCES TEACHING.

The best teaching comes about from having not only a good lesson plan for each individual section but also a view of the big picture, a sense of how individual sections fit into the grand scheme of things. After all, if you don’t know what each section is for, then you can’t communicate that to your students, and if they don’t know why they’re in section, then why should they go?

 Good lesson planning is essential to the process of teaching and learning. A teacher who is prepared is well on his/her way to a successful instructional experience. The development of interesting lessons takes a great deal of time and effort. As a new teacher you must be committed to spending the necessary time in this endeavor.

 It is also important to realize that the best planned lesson is worthless if interesting delivery procedures, along with good classroom management techniques, are not in evidence. There is a large body of research available pertaining to lesson development and delivery and the significance of classroom management. They are skills that must be researched, structured to your individual style, implemented in a teacher/learning situation, and constantly evaluated and revamped when necessary. Consistency is of the utmost importance in the implementation of a classroom management plan.

 All teachers should understand that they are not an island unto themselves. The educational philosophy of the district and the uniqueness of their schools should be the guiding force behind what takes place in the classroom. The school’s code of discipline, which should be fair, responsible and meaningful, must be reflected in every teacher’s classroom management efforts.

 Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components:

• Objectives for student learning
• Teaching/learning activities
• Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how you will check whether the learning objectives have been accomplished.

Twelve Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan

Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing your teaching and learning activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following questions:

What is the topic of the lesson?

What do I want students to learn?

What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?

What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the following questions:

What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?

Why are they important?

If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?

And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned. Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and personal experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with a question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived notions about it. For example, you can take a simple poll: “How many of you have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have.” You can also gather background information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on index cards. This additional information can help shape your introduction, learning activities, etc. When you have an idea of the students’ familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.

Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your introduction:

How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived notions about it?

What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with or might espouse?

What will I do to introduce the topic?

 (3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)

Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:

What will I do to explain the topic?

What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?

How can I engage students in the topic?

What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students understand the topic?

What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you need to check for student understanding – how will you know that students are learning? Think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in different ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want students to respond orally or in writing.

What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?

What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?

Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to check whether each of those has been accomplished?

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate students’ questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that students understand.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

• Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson. You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’ interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

Know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points you have planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each

When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take

Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points

Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left

Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

(7)Presenting the Lesson Plan

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep them more engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. You can outline on the board or on a handout the learning objectives for the class. Providing a meaningful organization of the class time can help students not only remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale behind in-class activities. Having a clearly visible agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and students stay on track.

(8)How to teach

While being clear about what topics to teach is important, knowing how to teach them is the key to success in the classroom. The same topic can be (and should be) taught differently, depending on the students’ skills, temperament and attitude. These considerations should influence a teacher’s planning of the tasks to be presented, resources needed and pacing of the lessons. With the students in mind, the teacher should ask questions like “Should we spend more time on concrete manipulatives?”, “Use more worksheets for practice?” Or even “would printing worksheets in color versus black and white make a difference?

(9)Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan

A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of extraneous circumstances. You should not get discouraged – it happens to even the most experienced teachers! Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well and why, and what you could have done differently. Identifying successful and less successful organization of class time and activities would make it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. For additional feedback on planning and managing class time, obtain student feedback, adopt peer observation, view a videotape of your teaching, and have a consultation with a mentor.

(10)Lesson planning now saves time in future

Lesson plans serve as a useful basis for future planning. They can be used again, in part or in whole, for future classes. Lesson planning for subsequent years can be drawn from and modified from current planning. The extra effort put in by first year teachers to plan and organize the entire year’s lesson plans and resources will go a long way for subsequent years teaching the same level.

(11)A good lesson plan makes a confident teacher

Many teachers teach the way they were taught as students. However, that might not be the best way. We need to constantly update ourselves with best practices that work, and how to teach more effectively. For example, a teacher who has only learned “how to” and not “why” when growing up will need to evaluate their own gap in knowledge when drawing out the lesson plans for the semester. This gives the teacher confidence when delivering the lesson in the classroom. A confident teacher inspires respect from students, which in turn reduces discipline problems.

(12)Handing over and professional performance

A clear lesson plan can be used by substitute teachers, ensuring that time is used productively, when the main teacher is not around. It can also serve as a central document for handing over to new teachers who are teaching the level for the first time. In addition, lesson plans, along with other materials, can also be used to support annual performance evaluation. Teachers applying for new job can also submit samples of their lesson plans to show their content understanding and organizational skills.

The Most Important Things to be Done while Preparing for Class.

• Do the reading and problem sets
• Take notes on the material
• Review lecture notes for the week
• Prepare an outline of issues to cover in class
• Make a list of questions to use in class or write on the board
• Make a handout of topics to discuss in class
• Make a study guide to hand out
• Design a homework assignment or question for students to prepare for a future class
• Compile bibliographies or other outside information related to the material
• Assemble visual material
• Prepare slides, videos, dioramas of the first Thanksgiving (okay, just kidding)
• Prepare supplemental reading (be stingy!)
• Prepare handouts on writing tips, research methods, problem solving, lab techniques, etc.
• Meet with the professor and/or other TFs to discuss the material and how to present it in section
• Review students’ questions to anticipate their concerns, problems, interests
• Make up quizzes
• Devise debates, small group discussion, or other interactive projects.
• Copy articles relevant to the discussion at hand from newspapers and other periodicals

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

 Establish a positive classroom environment

Make the classroom a pleasant, friendly place

Accept individual differences

Learning activities should be cooperative and supportive

Create a non-threatening learning environment

Organize physical space; eliminate situations that my be dangerous or disruptive

Establish classroom rules and procedures and consistently reinforce them

Begin lessons by giving clear instructions

• State desired quality of work
• Have students paraphrase directions
• Ensure that everyone is paying attention
• Ensure that all distractions have been removed
• Describe expectations, activities and evaluation procedures
• Start with a highly motivating activity
• Build lesson upon prior student knowledge

Maintain student attention

Use random selection in calling upon students

Vary who you call on and how you call on them

Ask questions before calling on a student; wait at least five seconds for a response

Be animated; show enthusiasm and interest

Reinforce student efforts with praise

Vary instructional methods

Provide work of appropriate difficulty

Demonstrate and model the types of responses or tasks you want students to perform

Provide guided practice for students; monitor responses and deliver immediate corrective feedback

Use appropriate pacing

Be aware of your teaching tempo

Watch for cues that children are becoming confused, bored or restless; sometimes lesson have to be shortened

Provide suitable seat work

Seatwork should be diagnostic and prescriptive

Develop procedures for seeking assistance; have a “help” signal

Develop procedures for what to do when finished

Move around to monitor seatwork

Vary methods of practice

Evaluate what has taken place in your lesson

Summarize the lesson and focus on positive gains made by students; use surprise reinforcers as a direct result of their good behavior

Determine if the lesson was successful; were goals accomplished?

Make a smooth transition into next subject

Have materials ready for next lesson

Maintain attention of students until you have given clear instructions for the next activity

Do not do tasks that can be done by students (i.e. passing out paper or collecting assignments); use monitors

Move around and attend to individual needs

Provide simple, step-by-step instructions

Utilize a freeze and listen signal, when necessary

 Develop positive teacher/student relationships

Set a good example; be a positive role model

Create an exciting learning environment for all students

Reward good behavior; create special activities that children will enjoy doing

Correct mis behaviours; have consequences of disruptive behavior; communicate them to children

Handling disruptions

Keep is short and simple (KISS)

Use a warning system

Defer disruptive behavior proactively (eye contact, close space between you and student, use head/hand gestures)

Help students be successful

Use planned ignoring (and teach other student to also ignore)

Conclusion

To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that describes each and every possible classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate each and every student’s response or question. Instead, it should provide you with a general .There are many important benefits of having a clear and organized set of lesson plans. Good planning allows for more effective teaching and learning. However, many things can happen in class, and it is important for teachers to adapt their plans to respond to the students’ needs. As Jim Scrivener says, “Prepare thoroughly. But, in class, teach the learners, not the plan.” outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them. It is a reminder of what you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructor learn from each other.

WISHING EVERY EDUCATOR A HAPPY TEACHING LEARNING EXPERIENCE!!!