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Every educator knows the power of planning when preparing for the next semester or school year. Teachers focus on optimizing their approach, structure, and course material required for each grade. Planning in teaching is paramount, as more educators opt for new technologies and strategies to optimize the preparation stage completely.
As kids also transition to the new hybrid teaching model, teachers need the right planning approach to optimize the new environment. Teachers are further improving planning efficiencies by predicting challenges ahead of the school year, providing adequate tools to students, and using digital native solutions to boost engagement.
What are the benefits of improving planning in teaching?
The right lesson plan and teaching approach can radically transform learning experiences for students. Kids can feel like they’re part of a well-structured and highly impactful curriculum regardless of their age and grade. Teachers are also more confident in their role when they have optimized preparation significantly.
Planning in teaching impacts several aspects of education, so there are multiple benefits of optimizing processes.
- Formalizing and structuring teaching programs
A key benefit area for optimizing planning is the formalization of teaching programs. Educators can draft Curricula in a well-structured way, with weekly goals, long-term milestones, and updated objectives. They can also take the time to add fun activities, online learning platforms, and group projects early, giving them enough time to plan strategically.
- Forecasting any challenge areas early
Educators face several challenges when teaching classes –unruly behaviour, online learning issues, lack of group participation, and low-test performance. These challenges can be forecasted earlier during the planning stage when it is optimized. Teachers can predict emerging challenges and design strategies to overcome them during the planning stage itself.
- Digitizing teaching through new tools
Teaching can be more productive with the right tools and digital solutions. Educators can embed new video chat, group participation, online quiz, and gamified learning solutions during the planning stage. This allows educators to focus on engaging with students one-on-one while letting digital tools handle the execution of teaching methodologies.
- Embedding periodic assessments of plans
Another essential benefit of improving planning in teaching is the strategic adding of periodic assessments. Teachers can plan for class performance and teaching effectiveness assessments, providing greater insight into learning output. Preparing for assessments also helps teachers structure their lesson plans to meet outlined assessment goals better.
- Experimenting and adopting new techniques
It may become complex to introduce new teaching styles or methodologies in the middle of a school year, so experimenting can be helpful earlier. The planning stage can help scout for new tools, technologies, and learning platforms teachers can adopt to boost student performance and participation. Educators can also transform any activities during the planning stage to make them more interactive for students during class.
Top 10 tools teachers need to transform planning
Now that we know the importance of improving planning in teaching, let us explore the top 10 tools that can help us achieve our goals. These solutions can help transform planning in teaching, making educators more productive and efficient long-term.
Google Classroom offers a single dashboard-driven class management experience that combines collaborative tools to simplify teaching. Different aspects of the teaching program can be automated and made workflow-driven for better efficiency, from tasks to guides.
Fun Fact: You can integrate your records on google classroom with SplashLearn and personalize learning for kids!
SplashLearn helps teachers optimize their lesson plans by introducing interactive games, puzzles, quizzes, and worksheets. Teachers can access a rich library of engaging games for Math and ELA. Students also discover solutions to challenges in their own way, as teachers open their horizons to new learning possibilities.
Teachers can create fun, interactive, and engaging lessons through Nearpod without investing significant resources in design or development. It helps teachers improve planning through lesson structuring, live activity, and group monitoring capabilities.
Canva empowers teachers to improve planning through visual communication and collaboration. Teachers can create projects, manage lessons, and prepare charts within the tool. Features such as mind-mapping are also available to allow teachers to piece together different ideas in real-time.
The tool offers digital communication and project management features to help students with their assignments. Teachers can access an archive of study material as articles and form tests around these subjects. They can also sort by grade, Lexile level, and assignment type to set tasks.
Edmodo helps connect teachers, parents, and students within a single portal. Teachers can design their courses and update plans within the digital tool. They can also create interactive quizzes and polls to capture student insights directly.
Whiteboard Chat leverages the capabilities of simultaneous collaboration to improve participation and activity. Teachers can plan their daily lessons seamlessly using the whiteboard tool and add different media, formats, and grids to customize their plans.
The solution helps teachers create interactive activities, lesson plans, and engagement modules to bolster participation and streamline teaching. Through profile-level tracking, teachers also gain insights into key areas where students need more assistance.
Peardeck helps teachers map out their lessons for the day through interactive slides and engaging presentations. Teachers can create custom questions and formative assessments, and invite other teachers to participate in the planning process.
Planboard offers a lesson planner and grade book for teachers that want to digitize some of their processes. Lessons can be added within the tool, along with track tools for measuring progression, challenges, and updating. Topic-wise grades can also be monitored through the tool.
SplashLearn is a game-based, digital learning program and covers Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 for math and reading. Trusted by over 750K teachers worldwide, SplashLearn makes lesson plans more interactive!
Teachers and schools can access SplashLearn for free here.
