This refers to a plan that depicts how a lesson is to be organized, presented and specifies the conditions for its success. Before teachers plan their lessons, they’ll need to classify the learning objectives for the class. Next, they should design suitable learning activities and develop strategies to get feedback on student learning.
A lesson plan becomes successful when it integrates and addresses the following three key elements:
· Goals for student learning
· Learning/teaching activities
· Strategies to evaluate student understanding
By specifying concrete goals for student learning, teachers can decide the types of teaching and learning activities they’ll use in class. Additionally, such activities will define how they’ll evaluate whether the desired and planned learning objectives have been achieved.
Teachers preparing their first lesson plans can follow this 6-step method:
1. Outline learning objectives: This is the first step where teachers need to determine what they want their students to learn and do at the end of class. Once the learning goals are outlined, they should be ranked according to their importance. This will help teachers manage their class time and achieve the more important learning objectives if they’re pressed for time.
2. Design a creative introduction: This will stimulate students’ interest and encourage them to think. It’ll also help teachers determine students’ knowledge of the subject, or probably, their preconceived ideas about it. Teachers can use diverse approaches when planning their introduction, including a real-world example, personal anecdote, probing question, etc.
3. Plan the lesson’s main body: This involves planning specific activities and examples (visuals, analogies, etc.) to explain the material and engage students by appealing to diverse learning styles. Teachers should also estimate the time they’ll spend on each example and activity while having a buffer for extended explanation or discussion.
4. Evaluate understanding: This requires devising strategies and using tools and techniques to check what students are learning, if they’re following the lessons, and if the planned learning goals are achieved.
5. Using a conclusion and a preview: Teachers should conclude the lesson by summarizing the main points themselves or asking their students to do it orally or in writing. They should also preview the next lesson to encourage students’ interest and help them link the diverse ideas to a larger context.
6. Set up a realistic timeline to cover the key pointers: This is vital as it shows the teachers’ readiness and flexibility to adapt to the specific classroom environment.
