Teaching and learning strategy (TLS): Planning

A key aspect of effective teaching is having a plan for what will happen in the classroom each day. Creating such a plan involves setting realistic goals, deciding how to incorporate course textbooks and other required materials, and developing activities that will promote learning.

A teacher’s job is not restricted to the activities they perform in the classroom, nor is it restricted to school hours.  Teachers are obliged to plan; that is, to prepare for what is expected to happen in the class during school hours. Planning in teaching is commonly thought to involve making lesson plans.  Plans are developed to provide students with meaningful learning experiences and connect to related learning opportunities. Having a skill to plan lessons really does help teachers to "own" the subjects they are teaching or will be teaching. Make no mistake though, the first thing teachers have to realize is that the fundamental skill is planning. Planning in teaching – learning process is essential. It allows teachers to manage the time, effort and resources in teaching efficiently. Variations in the activities are easily whipped out which will benefit the students. Bear in mind that teachers are dealing with a class that has multiple intelligences, and different activities will cater to all types of students.

A good planning of lesson will keep teacher and students on track and it gives the guide teachers need to pull through. If teachers can plan their lesson that will be given to the students well, they will have a good helpful guidance that will helps the teacher to make the teaching – learning process proceed effectively. In our presentation, we are going to explore the aspects of:

ü  Lesson planning

ü  A three-stage lesson

ü  Putting together a sequence of lessons

ü  Planning a course

I.       LESSON PLANNING

Before we teach a lesson, we need to decide:

1. Aims
2. Course books
3. Activities
4. Interaction
5. Sequence of activities
6. Timing and pacing
7. Classroom

Ø  Aims

The aims of a lesson will depend on a number of factors:

·         The learners’ level: are they elementary, lower intermediate, etc.?

·         The class profile: are the learners generally homogeneous or are they a mixed ability class?

·         The students’ needs: what new language do they need? What language do they need to practice? Needs can be described in terms of individual needs (what learners need in terms of their own personal development), and institutional needs (what they need to cover in terms of a school or national curriculum and to pass examinations, etc.)

·         What type of learners are they, for example: visual, kina esthetic, auditory, etc.

·         Their interests: what sort of topics interest them?

·         Their motivation: what sort of activities, topics, or materials motivate them?

·         The number of learners: is it a big or small class? How will this affect the types of activities and preparation of materials?

·         Attendance: do the learners attend regularly?

·         Assumed knowledge: what have the learners already studied? How well can they recall and use language they have studied?

·         Anticipated problems: for example, are the learners’ abilities mixed? Are there any discipline problems?

ü  Language aims

Language is usually broken down into three areas (vocabulary, functions, and grammar) and a lesson can focus on one area or cover a mixture of all three.

ü  Skills aims

As we know, there are four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). When we plan a lesson we need to decide which skills the learners need to practice. We also need to consider the sub-skills. For example, if we have decided to practice reading we need to choose whether to focus on skimming, scanning for detail and so forth.

ü  Subsidiary aims

These are the language or skills that your learners practice but which you are not specifically concentrating on in the lesson. The aims will determine the types of activity, sequence, and resources you use.

ü  Resources

Resources are anything that we use in the classroom to support the learning process. These include paper-based resources, for example, a course book, text, handouts, posters, exercise books, small cards, etc; recorded material on cassette, CD, DVD, video tape; realia, i.e. real objects from outside the classroom such as magazines, packaging, ticket, etc. The choice of resources will depend on availability, cost, and your time.

Ø  Course books

There are various ways in which you might need to change things in a course book. You might need to add an activity if you think a structure or other language item needs further practice. Sometimes an activity or material may not be appropriate for your learners’ particular situation. You may want to change the order in which the activities are done, or even in which the lessons are taught.

Ø  Activities

The activities can be divided into activities that require the learners to read, write, speak, listen, or a combination of some or all of these. Skills are often combined in an activity. For example, the learners read a text, answer questions about it, discuss it, and then write their own text. Some activities involve the learners in movement of some kind, for example, moving around the classroom. Other activities involve manipulating objects, for example, choosing items, coloring items, cutting things up, making something, matching items, or ordering items. 

Ø  Interaction

The teacher and learners can interact with each other in a wide variety of ways. Here are some examples of interaction patterns:

·         teacher to whole class

·         teacher to individual learner in open class

·         teacher to individual learner

·         learner to learner in open class

·         pair work, i.e. two learners working together

·         group work, for example, the class divided into two halves or small groups of three or four

·         melee : learners move around the class and interact at random

                              

You may also choose to give the learners time to work on their own (to make or review notes, plan, think about what they have studied, and think of any questions they want to ask).

ü  Teacher’s position

Think about where you are going to stand and move around. Here are some choices:

·         Stay at front of the classroom in front of the board.

·         Walk around the class at random

·         If the class is in a semi-circle, walk round from left to right or right to left

·         Stand at the back of the class.

ü  Types of questions

You need to plan the kind of questions you are going to ask and who you’re going to ask. Open questions allow the learner to put together an extended answer, for example, ‘What did he do at the weekend?’ – ‘He met his friends in town.’ Open questions start with What – Where – Who – Why – When – and How. Closed questions limit the possible type of answer. Yes/No questions limit the answer to ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. For example, ‘Did you go swimming at the weekend?’ – Yes, I did. These types of questions start with the auxiliary verbs ‘be’, ‘have’, or ‘do’ and modal verbs such as ‘can’, should’, ‘may’, and ‘will’. There are also questions limit the choice of answer to two, true/false questions etc.

Teachers should think about the type of questions and the way they ask them as they affect the learning process in important ways.

Ø  Sequence of Activities

Lessons with a particular aim are made up of a sequence of activities which relate to each other. We can divide the sequence up into three stages: opening, middle, and end.

Ø  Timing and Pacing

This is determined by how long each lesson is and how much time you have over a term or course. Decide how long each activity will take. A lesson needs to have lots of variety and the pace should be relatively quick for young learners – each activity should be relatively short. Activities can be longer for young adults and adults.

Ø  Classroom

The size and shape of the classroom will also affect your lesson plan. Can the learners move around? Is there space for the learners to do physical activities, get into groups, walk around, etc.? How is the furniture arranged? Can it be moved?  

II.   A THREE – STAGE LESSON

Ø A Lesson in Three Stages

It is useful to break down a lesson plan into three stages: the opening, the middle, and the end.

1.      Opening

In the first part of the lesson, the teacher should explain to the learners:

-          What the aims of the lesson are

-          How the lesson links to previous one(s)

-          What activities they are going to do.

It will be a good thing when we review work that was given in the previous lesson before we move on to a new area. We can ask question that relates to the lesson last time, do homework checking activity, or a mini-lesson to check whether the learner can use the language correctly.

You should get the learners’ attention and interest by doing something that can be related or unrelated to the main part of the lesson, like singing, doing game ‘Simon says’ and others.

2.      Middle

In this activity, you only focus on the main aim of the lesson. Here are the stages of learning process:

 

           

 

           

            In the classroom this might involve the learners reading and listening to a text that contains new language. This can be followed by an activity in which the learners focus their attention on this new language and it followed by giving them a chance to use the language.

3.      End

            The final part of a lesson aims to bring it to a close or conclusion. There are number things that can be done in this stage:

-          Recap the main points of the lesson

-          Relate the lesson to the goals or aims you stated at the beginning

-          Show how the lesson links to work done before

-          Go over any homework instructions or preparation learners must do for the next lesson.

-          Praise learners for what they have achieved in the lesson

-          Get learners to evaluate the lesson.

Ø Definition of Lesson Plan

            A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of children. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. It helps the teacher to know what to do in a class with quite specific activities.

Ø A Sample Lesson Plan

Here is a sample lesson plan for a class of 11 to 12 years olds.

Class profile

20 x Russian 11 to 12 year olds; most learners at lower intermediate level, although Goran and Vladimir need a little more help that the others; their spoken English in better than their written English; all learners have some difficulties with the English alphabet; no problems getting them to talk.

Time

60 minutes (twice a week)

Classroom

Tables are arranged in groups of four; chair can be moved around. Learner will work with the teacher in pairs and in groups.

Resources

Animal pictures, board, paper and pens for each learner, large sheet of plain paper for each group, reading text, exercise book.

Aims

ü  To give learners more exposure to and an opportunity to use animal vocabulary, prepositions of place, and comparative adjective.

ü  To practice giving reason

Subsidiary aims

ü  To develop negotiation strategies in English

ü  To revise alphabet

Activity Sequence

Opening

            Settle the children down and remind them to use English to speak to the teacher and each other as much as possible in the lesson. Tell them what we are going to do in the lesson. (2 minutes)

Middle

1.      Using flashcards of animals, elicit animal vocabulary

Whole class: the learners try to the animal names; the teacher writes them on the board. Brainstorm any other animal in English. (5 minutes)

2.      In pairs: the learners write the animal names down in alphabetical order. Then they select the animals you would fine in a zoo and write another alphabetical list of zoo animal. (8 minutes)

3.      Plan a zoo on the board with ten sections of different sizes for different animals. Whole class: the learners suggest which animals should go in which section and the teacher write in the names (2 minutes)

4.      Class discussion about animals, and ways to group them – for example, by country, by type of animal, mammals, and reptiles (1 minute)

5.      In pairs, the learners copy the plan of the zoo on to a sheet of paper.

They must decide which animals they are going to have in their zoo and where they are going to live. Point out that they need to think about:

ü  The types of animals people will want to see

ü  The size of the section where the animals will live

ü  Whether they want to group any particular animals together (5 minutes)

6.      Each pair joins with two other pairs to form groups of six and one group of eight. They are given a large sheet of paper with the zoo outline on it. They must now negotiate a plan for the zoo between the three pairs. (8 minutes)

7.      Each group prepares an oral report to give to the class. The report explains which animals they have chosen and why they have put them in particular sections of the zoo. (7 minutes)

8.      Each group reports to the class on its zoo. Members of the class are encouraged to question the group if they are not clear about its reason. After all the groups have presented their zoos, a vote is taken to decide on the best one (15 minutes)

End

            Point out some of the language that the learners have been using and tell them that we will using it again in the next lesson to do a reading comprehension. If there is time, we play a vocabulary game using the names of animals and some of the new vocabulary that they have just seen and heard. (5 minutes)

Homework

Write a paragraph describing where they have put their animals in the zoo and why.

Ø Evaluating a Lesson

It is a good idea to evaluate the lesson after we taught it. Here are some questions we can use:

Lesson aim

Did you achieve some or all of the aims of your lesson? Why or why not?

Activity sequence

For each activity, make brief notes including the reasons, based on the following:

-                      It took more time than I planned; it took less time than planned; it went as planned.

-                      Learners enjoyed / didn’t enjoy it

-                      I enjoy / didn’t enjoy it

-                      Learners found it easy / OK / difficult

-                      I would change.... if I did the activity again

-                      Other comments

Overall comments:

-          How did you feel about the lesson in general?

-          What was the best part of the lesson? Why?

-          What was the least successful part? Why?

-          Did learners have any particular difficulties?

-          Can you think of ways in which you could address the difficulties you have mentioned? Or

-          Give some brief ideas of follow-up work you would do for this lesson.

-          Any other comments you would like to add.

Ø A Tip On Working With Lesson Plans – Be Prepared For Change

            No matter how well planned a lesson is, it can always go differently in the classroom. Here are some the reason a lesson may not go according to plan:

ü  Sometimes learners will take more time or less time for an activity than you thought, because it’s more interesting, generative, difficult, etc.

ü  You or the learners may come up with a new idea for an activity.

ü  The learners might know more about the language than you anticipated so you have to move on to the middle stage more quickly.

ü  The learner might know less language than you anticipated so you need to spend more time on the opening stage.

ü  The learners ask lots of question which are related to the lesson and are enjoying interacting with you.

ü  The learners struggle with the skills activity, for example, the listening text is more difficult than you thought and you have to replay the tape / CD several times.

Ø Keep a File, or Book of All Your Lesson Plans

            You can look on previous work when you are planning future lessons and when you are drawing up test or activities to assess your learners’ progress. Planning a lesson like this is useful, mainly when we are starting to teach English for the first time because it makes us think about what we are doing and why we are doing that.

III.            PUTTING TOGETHER A SEQUENCE OF LESSONS

In teaching – learning process, teachers not only need to plan each lesson but also think about a sequence of lesson. Teachers need to make sure that the lessons fit together effectively over a week, a term, or a year. In order to create a series of lessons that hang together and meet the broader objectives, the teacher needs to prepare several lessons at once; these individual lessons must be presented in an order that optimizes the students’ ability to internalize the learning. The order in which lessons are presented is called lesson sequencing. The purpose of lesson sequencing is to create smooth transitions between lessons in order to meet the objectives of the unit plans and to achieve optimal learning outcomes. Let’s see the chart bellow!

 

           

Language learning is a cyclical process than a linear one. This means that the same structure, vocabulary, or function needs to be recycled and revised frequently. For instance, in the sample lesson plan we look before, the animal vocabulary is repeated and reinforced at each stage.

This cyclical process also needs to occur within a sequence of lessons. For instance, teacher needs to revise the words in other lesson after the teaching – learning process about animal vocabulary in the sample lesson plan. It is essential to not make the lesson boring, so teacher must be able to develop and expand on what has been learnt. Based on the sample lesson plan before, teacher can go on to review the preposition of place on the next lesson. Another example is on the current lesson teacher taught about kinds of clause and on the next lesson teacher is teaching clause connectors.

Ø The Advantages of Lesson Sequencing

Well-sequenced lesson plans give advantage to both the teacher and the students. Well-organized and properly sequenced lesson plans allow for a smother functioning classroom, classroom disruptions are minimized, and the learning environment is optimized for the students.  Some advantages of effective lesson sequencing include the following:

ü  Smoother transitions

Unit planning allows the teacher to be aware of the end goals of a learning segment. As a result lesson sequencing can be planned as well.  When the teacher can plan what is intended to happen during each lesson, they will be able to make the transitions between lessons as smooth as possible.

ü  Better organization

A teacher who sequences lessons will know in advance what will be covered in a particular lesson.  This allows the teacher to prepare photocopies, worksheets, hand-outs, etc. in advance.

ü  Future planning

Sequencing lessons in advance allows teachers to predict how long it will take to cover certain material, and see how long it actually take time when the lessons are delivered to the students.  Since teachers often recycle unit plans and lesson plans over several years, they will be able to modify their planning for future years based on their experience.

ü  Assessment checks

The teacher will be able to identify the optimal points in the program for checking the students’ understanding of the material and also how best to structure these assessments.

IV.       PLANNING A COURSE

            Course is a series of lessons that is going to be given to the students by the teacher, usually for one term. In planning a whole course, teacher needs to detail all the things that the students should learn in a period of time. This list is often decide by the institution, depends upon which course book is being used or is determined by the examination the students are preparing for.

            It is a good idea to carry out a needs analysis before writing a course outline if possible. Moreover, it is important to discover what the students need to study before the course starts. For instance, learners who study English for Specific Purpose (ESP), in this case, medicine, will need an English vocabulary and language that related to health to be able to read scientific articles in English. At the time the teacher found out what the learners’ needs are, teacher can consider what language to include in the syllabus and in what order it should come.

Ø Grammar

            Grammar items can be graded by:

ü  Complexity of the form

For instance, the present simple tense: “I live in Thailand” has a simple structure that consists of subject + verb₁ + adverb of place. On the other hand, the present perfect continuous tense: “I have been living in Thailand for ten years.” has a more complex structure that consists of subject + present perfect of to be + present participle + adverb of place + time phrase.

ü  Complexity of the meaning

For instance, the meaning of the sentence “I live in Thailand” is simple that is the speaker has his/ her home at Thailand at present time.  On the contrary, the meaning of the sentence “I have been living in Thailand for ten years.” is more complicated that the speaker started living in Thailand ten years before and is still there now.

ü  Complexity of concept

Concept of countable noun and uncountable noun does not occur in many languages and it involves understanding of what can be counted, what cannot, and why it cannot. For instance, rice can be counted in small amounts but it cannot be counted or it is uncountable when it is in a pile or bag. Another example is fish that can be countable noun and uncountable noun. Fish becomes countable noun if it is still life, while it becomes uncountable noun if it is flesh of a fish that eaten as food.

ü  Frequency

Teacher should consider about how often the grammar item is used. For instance, the simple present tense can be used to express general truth, daily activity, facts, and hobby.

ü  Range

Teacher should consider about how many situations the grammar item can be used.

ü  Similarity to students’ L₁ (first language)

Teacher need to aware to the similarity between the English grammar and the students’ L₁ or mother tongue. For instance, in English there are parts of speech: verb, noun, adjective, preposition, and adverb; in Bahasa (Indonesian language) also knows the parts of speech but with different name, those are: kata kerja, kata benda, kata sifat, kata depan, kata keterangan.

ü  Similarity to structure the students already know

Structure of the sentence in English and Bahasa (Indonesian language) is same that consists of subject + predicate + object.

Ø Functions

            Many course books organize their syllabus around a list of functions that tells the teacher what being done with the language, for instance introducing, inviting, offering, and apologizing. A functional syllabus will be comprised of the functions and exponents which will be graded according to their complexity, how commonly they are used, and their usefulness. These are some example of functions:

ü  Introducing: I’d like to introduce……………

This is ………………….

ü  Inviting: I’d like to invite you to ………….

I was wondering if you’d like to ……….

ü  Offering: Would you like………………….?

Would you care for …………?

ü  Apologizing: Sorry.

I must apologize for ………………

Ø Vocabulary

            Teachers need to consider how useful the vocabulary is and how difficult it is. Difficulty can be described in term of what the words refer to. For instance, intelligence refers to an idea or concept. Words also occur together in a noun or verb phrase. Single words with one syllable are easier to say and remember that noun phrases with multi-syllable words. Moreover, some phrases have simple meanings that based on the combination of the words’ meaning in the phrases, for instance “pick up a piece of paper”. The phrase “pick up” means take hold a piece of paper and lift it up.  On the contrary the other phrases have meanings that are not direct, for instance “get on with someone”. The phrase “get on” means have a friendly relationship with someone. As teachers, we need to consider these factors when we are choosing which vocabulary to include in a course and when to introduce it.

Ø Pronunciation

            We need to know about individual sounds, word, sentence stress, and connected speech, and some course outlines list the particular pronunciation aspects that need to be focused on throughout the course. Commonly pronunciation is something that we need to be always aware of throughout a series of lessons.

Ø Skills

            There are four skills that the students must study, those are: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In a syllabus we need to be sure that we are practicing all of the skills or those which are most relevant to the students.

Ø Steps in Planning a Course

1.      Begin the process early, at least six months to plan a new course.

Successful courses require careful planning and continual revision.

2.      Define course goals.

Determining the goals for the course will clarify what teachers want the students to learn and accomplish.

3.      Determine course content.

Select the major topics and determine the order in which teachers will teach them.

4.      Develop teaching methods and tools.

After determining the course goals and content, teachers should think about how will present the content, select and develop teaching methods and tools that are appropriate for the size of the class and consistent with the course goals.

5.      Determine how you will evaluate student learning: Plan assignments and exams.

Evaluation must go hand-in-hand with course goals. For instance: if one course goal is to improve problem-solving skills, the homework and should contain questions that ask students to solve specific and well-chosen problems.

6.      Define course policies.

Determine how teachers will grade all required work of the students, including all assignments, papers, exams, and, if applicable, class participation. Decide ahead of time how you will deal with such issues as lateness, attendance problems, work turned in late, and requests for extensions or the rescheduling of exams.

7.      Develop the course schedule.

Allow time for active learning to occur during class and for students to complete major assignments and prepare for exams. When preparing the schedule, consult the relevant academic calendars, and keep in mind major religious holidays and significant school events, such as school anniversary.

8.      Refine the Course Design.

Course planning is a continual process. Each of the steps is necessarily undertaken with the others in mind, and each will necessarily undergo revision each time the teachers teach a particular course.