TO PLAN OR NOT TO PLAN

Here goes my summary and reflections on Chapter 6 of the text:

The teacher must take on three roles to help our students develop the 21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration and creativity:
1. Presenter
2. Facilitator
3. Designer
The teacher will switch roles depending on the design and needs of the lesson. Lesson planning is essential to ensure that these roles are linked coherently for the sole purpose of ensuring that meaningful learning takes place. A systematic and organised approach is recommended to help teachers plan effective lessons.

The eight-step process, as recommended by Reiser and Dick (1996), is:

1. Identification of Instructional Goals

According to the text, goals are the “starting points from which teaching and learning activities are derived.” As mentioned by Dr Quek and the text, these goals must be written with the students in mind. The goals will then be broken down into specific behaviours and will determine the content and manner in which the teacher will deliver it.

2. Analyse Learners

Teachers need to know their students and the manner in which they learn. This includes the general ability level, learning styles, prerequisite knowledge among others. One must also be mindful of the students’ background and general characteristics. As I have been advised by my mentor and experienced colleagues at Bedok Green Secondary School (BGSS) that such information can be derived by observing the students and by speaking to the Form Teacher and other subject teachers.

3. Identify Objectives

Objectives are the means in which students, parents and administrators understand what the teacher wants to achieve at the end of the lesson. They are also the determinants of the how and what the teacher will employ in the dissemination of content knowledge to the students. These objectives must be specific and explicit. Action verbs must be used to describe the observable and assessable behaviours that students are to exhibit at the end of the lesson. The text encourages all teachers to follow the ABCD components in crystallising the objectives of the lesson. The objectives are not merely concerned with students knowing facts but also pertain to attitudinal and physical areas”. In this, Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy is used to categorise the level and complexity of learning objectives. The lowest level is knowledge and the top of the hierarchy is evaluation. This taxonomy covers not only the cognitive domain but also the affective and psychomotor domains. Teachers are to develop lessons that challenges students at all levels of the cognitive domain and to cover the two other domains as well.

4. Plan Instructional Activities

Teachers are to plan the instructional activities for effective and meaningful learning, taking into account the time, place and types of learners. The text suggests the following way in which instructional activities may be organised within a lesson:

5. Choose Instructional Media

Instructional media are defined as the physical means of delivering instructions which can be classified as projected or non-projected media. Teachers must take into consideration appropriateness, suitability, visual design and practicality when selecting instructional media. At the bottom line, the chosen media must not detract from the overall purpose of meaningful learning. Further, whichever media is chosen, teachers must preview and test-run such media before using it in class.

6. Develop Assessment Tools

This is to ensure that students have learnt and synthesised what has been taught. It is for teachers to assess that the goals and learning objectives have been achieved.

7. Implement Instruction

Teachers can decide whether to adopt the traditional or mastery learning approaches in implementing instruction. The former refers to teaching and assessing the whole class. This approach does not take into account the different pace at which students learn. The latter, mastery learning, approach is suggested to ensure that all students master the instructional objectives by giving them sufficient time to do so. This differentiated teaching approach suggests that more able students are given enrichment exercises/activities while the teacher provides remediation to those students who require it.

8. Revise Instruction

Teachers are to reflect on and evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson. The purpose of which is to improve on the process of instruction and its results in moving forward.