Have ever asked yourself whether you should plan for delivering your lessons? Remember the wise words of Benjamin Franklin: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Dear tutors and teachers, if you ever ask yourself whether you should plan for delivering your lessons, remember the wise words of Benjamin Franklin: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” The importance of planning in teaching cannot be overstated. The better you prepare for your lessons, the more effective and engaging they become. This preparation helps in seamlessly delivering the curriculum and creating an environment where students can thrive and learn optimally. As we explore strategies for effective course preparation, your foresight in planning can turn every educational challenge into an opportunity for student growth. Through this blog, let's delve into the creative and impactful world of teaching and lesson plans, essential tools that guide our instructional approach. But what exactly are these plans, and how do they differ?
Teaching Plan VS Lesson Plan
These plans are two sides of the same coin. While the teaching plan sets the destination, the lesson plan charts the path. Both are crucial: the teaching plan ensures you're heading in the right direction, while the lesson plan provides you with the right daily steps. Let’s break down:
Lesson Plan:
Definition: A lesson plan is a detailed guide a teacher creates for a specific lesson or class session. It is a more focused, short-term plan that outlines what the teacher aims to teach during a single lesson or class period.
Components: A typical lesson plan includes objectives or learning goals, the materials and resources needed, instructional activities, methods for assessing student understanding, and a plan for opening and closing the lesson.
Purpose: The primary purpose of a lesson plan is to provide a structured framework for a particular lesson, ensuring that the teaching objectives are met within the timeframe of a single class.
Teaching Plan:
Definition: A teaching plan can sometimes refer to a broader strategy or approach to teaching over a more extended period. It may encompass multiple lessons and is a more holistic approach to guiding student learning.
Components: This might include an overview of a unit or course, objectives for a series of lessons, thematic or topical organisation, assessment strategies for an extended period, and strategies for differentiation and addressing diverse learning needs.
Purpose: The aim of a teaching plan is often to provide a comprehensive roadmap for instruction over a longer term, such as a unit, semester, or entire course.
Differences Between Teaching Plan & Lesson Plan:
Scope: The most significant difference is the scope. A lesson plan is typically narrower, focusing on specific objectives and activities for a single lesson. A teaching plan, however, can cover a broader scope, including an entire unit or course.
Detail: A lesson plan is usually more detailed regarding specific activities and timing within a lesson. A teaching plan might be less detailed regarding daily activities but more comprehensive about overall objectives and strategies.
Duration: A lesson plan is short-term, often designed for a single class period. A teaching plan is long-term, designed to guide teaching over weeks, months, or an entire academic term.
Note: These terms may be used differently in various educational settings. Some educators might use "teaching plan" to describe what others call a "lesson plan," and vice versa. The key is that both are essential tools in effective teaching, providing structure and direction to the educational process.
How to Create a Teaching Plan & Lesson Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to Develop Comprehensive Teaching Plans?
Define Course Goals: Consider the broader educational goals of the unit or course. What should students understand and be able to do by the end?
Create a Timeline: Map out when and how each unit or topic will be covered over the term.
Incorporate Various Teaching Methods: Plan for diverse instructional methods to engage students throughout the course.
Plan for Differentiation: Develop strategies to meet the needs of all learners, ensuring that each student can access the curriculum.
Continuous Assessment: Plan for ongoing assessments to monitor and support student progress throughout the course.
Incorporate Clear Marking Criteria: Clearly defined marking criteria aren't just administrative tools but signposts for success. As an educator, you're already familiar with the subject matter, but for students, these guidelines illuminate the path to mastering test questions and coursework. They clearly communicate expectations, helping students understand exactly what is required to excel and how they can achieve their best results.
Practical Tips:
Long-Term Vision: Develop a clear vision of what you want to achieve by the end of the term. This could include skill development, knowledge acquisition, or attitudinal changes.
Incorporate Technology: Utilise educational technology tools to help deliver the content more effectively over the long term. This might include using learning management systems (LMS) to track progress or digital portfolios for student work. If you're exploring this for the first time, Emploi can recommend several LMS platforms to enhance your teaching plan:
- Google Classroom: A user-friendly platform that integrates well with Google apps.
- Canvas: Offers robust features suitable for a range of educational needs.
- Moodle: An open-source LMS that allows for extensive customisation.
- Blackboard: Well-regarded in higher education for its comprehensive course management tools.
- Schoology: Merges LMS features with social networking for collaborative education.
Feedback Mechanisms: Establish channels for consistent student feedback to help you adjust the teaching plan as needed. Surveys or quick polls at the end of a unit can provide valuable insights.
How to Create Effective Lesson Plans?
Set Clear Objectives: Begin by determining what you want your students to learn by the end of the lesson. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Gather Materials: Keep track of all the resources you use in teaching and additional reading materials, including any digital tools or multimedia to enhance learning. Although this may be a boring topic, it is nevertheless very important. This will speed up the process of updating or adding to your materials.
Plan Activities: Outline various instructional activities that cater to different learning styles. This can include lectures, discussions, hands-on activities, group work, etc. When mapping out your curriculum, planning each lesson with intention and clarity is essential. Create a table (see the example below) to guide you and your students throughout the course. Start with a basic layout like the one provided below, then tailor it to encapsulate all elements of your teaching strategy. Although it is a simple version, you can customise it as you see fit. This could include the percentage each lesson contributes to the overall module/subject, the significance of assessments, varied teaching methods, incorporation of technology like computer classes, and more. Customising this table allows you to align with your educational goals, ensuring that each lesson is a step towards success.
|
Lesson/Lecture Title |
Description |
Time Allocation |
|
Market research Fundamentals |
Go over the key pillars of marketing research. Explore various research methods, tools, and their application in real-world scenarios. Engage in interactive discussions and case studies to solidify understanding. |
2 hours/lessons |
Assessment Strategies: Decide on how you will measure student learning. This could be through quizzes, class participation, or formative assessments.
Reflection: Reflect on what worked and didn’t after the lesson. Use this insight to improve future lesson plans.
Practical Tips:
Use Templates: If you're unsure where to start, the internet is full of inspiring examples and templates to structure your lesson plan. Many educational websites offer free templates to help you organise your thoughts and cover all necessary components. Remember, they should serve as a starting point, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Adapt the template to suit the top tutoring practices you aim to deliver with your unique teaching approach and the specific needs of your students, ensuring that each lesson plan you craft is as individual as your classroom. Sir Ken Robinson, author and education expert: "Good teaching is about engaging with the learning process of the individual. It's about personalising the learning to suit them."
Content Engagement: Engaging students effectively requires understanding that their attention spans can be as diverse as their personalities, influenced by age and interests. To maintain focus, a dynamic approach is vital—switch up your delivery every 7 minutes with various materials like texts, images, videos, and even memes to keep things fresh. However, caution is key—always check any content you're unfamiliar with, especially modern slang (some slang can mean very different things) or cultural references, to ensure appropriateness and relevance for your classroom.
Interactive Elements: Integrate interactive tools like educational YouTube videos or gamified learning platforms. For instance, you could use a fun math video to explain a new concept or a grammar game for language lessons. Do not forget about quick quizzes through platforms like Kahoot! Or Quizizz to check for understanding and gather immediate feedback. These tools add excitement to learning and cater to various learning styles, making your lesson a memorable experience.
Humour and Engagement: Don’t shy away from humour. A funny anecdote related to the lesson topic can break the ice and make the content more memorable. For example, a humorous story or presentation of a historical figure can make a history lesson more engaging.
Final Thoughts and Opportunities at Emploi
Ready to put your lesson planning skills to the test? You’ve got all the knowledge and tools to craft lesson plans that are as engaging as they are educational—perfect for delivering offline and especially online tutoring. And there’s no better place to implement these plans than on Emploi.
Join the Emploi community and discover many opportunities to connect with learners eager to benefit from your newfound strategies. It’s your time to shine as an educator and make learning an experience your students will never forget.
Start your journey with Emploi today and take your teaching to the next level!