Elements of Lesson Planning

Adapted from: Education, Spring 1998 v118 n3 p376(5)

A lesson plan model for the supervision of student
teaching. by Jeffrey H. Golland.

1. Objective

All lessons must have an aim, purpose or objective. The instructor must be clear about the objective to get a successful learning outcome for any block of time. In order to choose an appropriate lesson aim, the
instructor must work "backwards" in each curriculum area. For example, what are the general purposes of science education by the end of high school? This should include enhancement of curiosity about the
natural universe, development of a modern scientific attitude including skepticism and familiarity with criteria of proof, and knowledge of basic findings and their applications in the several sciences. Instructors articulate this level of general purposes as a first step in lesson planning.

The next steps in backwards planning are a) defining the annual objectives in the curriculum area (usually provided by state education guidelines), b) specifying unit objectives, and c) choosing a series of
lesson objectives consistent with annual and unit objectives.While the choice of a lesson's primary aim is important, it must be kept in mind that lessons almost always have secondary aims. These include
the development of listening and speaking skills, and vocabulary; the development of writing skills; the development of social skills like politeness and teamwork, and the development of quantitative thinking.
Lessons will vary in the amount of attention paid to such secondary aims, but they are rarely to be ignored.

2. Pre-assessment

This component of the lesson plan determines the appropriateness of a specific primary objective. It involves evaluation of the level of skill and knowledge called for and determination of the difficulty of the lesson:
too easy, too hard, or just right. We may not be able to make that determination accurately until we are in the midst of the lesson. For this reason, unit planning necessarily precedes lesson planning. The instructor
must be able to move on quickly (or in greater depth) if the lesson is too easy (or slow down, of course, if it is too hard). Adults bring life experiences to their roles as students and often have background knowledge that can be tapped.

Pre-assessment is not just of the group we call a class, but of subgroups and of individuals. Instructorss must develop a sound way of knowing where each student is in each curricular area, as well as how to
construct small learning groups. Pre-assessment is best understood as individualization in the context of group learning. Pre-assessment includes the allotment of time. A class period is an administrative unit which may not provide an appropriate teaching unit.The nature of the subject and the the students provide the best gauges for timing. Pre-assessment may not be visible in the execution of every lesson, but it must always be an explicit part of the planning process.

3. Motivation

Motivation is a psychological state within each student of wanting to learn what the instructor wants to teach. As such, motivation should not be a mere gimmick at the lesson's start; it must be an attitude sustained throughout the lesson. When lapses occur the lesson cannot continue according to plan. Unmotivated students are not likely to be learning what we intend. Sound motivation comes from a hierarchy of motivators. First, the subject matter is to be intrinsically motivating. Relevance or pragmatic utility may be apart of intrinsic motivation.

The second motivator is instructor enthusiasm. It flows from an understanding of intrinsic motivation and adds to it. Authenticity is important; pupils can tell when teachers are feigning. Good acting ability, however, may help.

Thirdly, we come to focusing events. These may be of use in particular lessons. Usually the first two motivators will suffice. A focusing event must not only gain the attention of the students, but it must be a natural
lead-in to the lesson, and relevant. It may be the first activity of the lesson rather than a special event, since active learning is itself engaging. Dull lessons not only fail to achieve their objectives, they tend to dull
students to the class.

4. Techniques and Sequencing

Specific planning is needed to determine what teaching techniques will the instructor use for the lesson. Sequencing of lecture and activitiesis another important consideration that is best made before instruction begins. .
The instructor needs to think though the use of whole group or small group configurations and how to move the class in and out of these. Also part of the lesson planning is the gathering of materials for instructional use, before the lesson is taught. The instructor must think through how much time each facet of the lesson will take with the goal of fitting the lesson objectives within the allotted time. A good deal of time and thought goes into preparing smooth learning experiences.

5. Application, Evaluation, Follow-up

These concluding parts of the lesson plan speak to the matters of utility, effectiveness, and the place of the lesson in the learning sequence.Aristotle emphasized utility in his thinking on education; educators who
ignore utility risk irrelevance. Modem ideas about applications are not,however, limited to the concrete, economic or practical; we understand utility to include the development of thoughtfulness, aesthetic sensibility,
and democratic attitudes, among other aims. The instructor must, in planning, know the place of each lesson with regard to one or another application.

Evaluation of a lesson provides information as to its effectiveness, the degree to which it has achieved its primary and additional learning aims with each student. The instructor cannot successfully continue with the
lesson if students do not achieve the performance objectives. There are many assessment devices, formal and informal, individual and group.Each device has advantages and limitations. Some are more useful in
particular curriculum areas. Whatever the device, the lesson plan must always address the issue of evaluation.

The idea of follow-up emerges from the very fact of a lesson's embeddedness in a unit and in a curriculum. Lesson time blocks are arbitrary in regard to the curriculum: learning is not neatly packaged in fifty-five minute parcels. Each lesson should be meaningfully connected to the next in its subject (and, where possible,
to other subjects). The planning process must provide for those connections.