Lesson Plan: Key to Effective Classroom Teaching

by

TEACHING: The Science and The Art

Planning lessons is one of the crucial parts of a teaching job. Most teachers must have studied in their courses that teaching is both an art and a science. Teachers are demonstrators, similarly, the learners are the followers. Teaching is paving the way for a future society. Teaching may be an underrated profession but it is a highly responsible job that seeks integrity.

Teachers are role models as they guide their students on how to go and lead them where they want to go. Teaching involves a dual process of teaching as well as learning while teaching. Teachers evolve as they teach. They learn and unlearn throughout the process. In the words of Robert Frost, a teacher is not an instructor but an “awakener”.

‘Teaching is the highest form of understanding.’ – Aristotle

What is a LESSON PLAN?

A lesson plan is a written guide to achieve the intended learning outcomes. It is a detailed description of the course of instruction for an individual lesson. The content of a lesson plan should be psychologically and logically arranged. A lesson plan helps teachers be more effective in the classroom by providing a detailed outline to follow each class period. 
 
It covers three sections:
  1. What students need to learn (CONTENT),
  2. How to teach it? (MATERIAL), and
  3. How to measure the learning? (EVALUATION).
Learning to make an extensive lesson plan is the bottom line of the teacher’s training program or any teaching course. Most importantly, it includes preparatory details of every step before starting a topic. Hence, composing a typical lesson plan is quintessential in the teaching profession.

FOCUS ON STUDENTS

Education has the power to change the world and the educational system is its means. Young students are future professionals and leaders. Shaping their mind is the job of the teacher. The role of planning, most importantly planning lessons, plays an active part in the teaching profession.

Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions

The quote above lays a great liability on the teachers’ shoulders. Teachers, by and large, are the architects of society. They are the sole nurturers of the creative minds in the outside world. They need good strategy and planning to conduct their teaching process.
Lesson planning targets students and their learning experiences. Therefore, while planning one must bear in mind their abilities, interests, backgrounds, attention, ability to work in a group, etc. in detail. Referring to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence, the special needs as per their individual difference and learning preferences should be considered.
 
While planning on the contents, a teacher must consider the subject matter and the standards to which it will cater. For instance, a lesson plan for the same topic will be different for the school curriculum, university, or national curriculum as per Bloom’s Taxonomy. Also, one must be mindful while selecting materials like AV aids, library resources, types of equipment, etc.

Basic Components of a LESSON PLAN

There can be as many as nine components of a lesson plan. But they are generally extensions of three key components: Goals and Objectives, Teaching Methods, and Assessment. Modification of these components of a lesson plan caters to different requirements. Let’s sum up three into five different for better comprehension.
 

The five key components of a lesson plan are:

  •  Objectives & Goals: It is the desired learning outcome of the teacher. It is what the teacher expects their students to do by the end of the lesson. The goal is determined at this stage. It focuses on the concepts and skills that are to be taught.
  • Brush up or warm-up: In this step, the teacher needs to activate the student’s prior knowledge. A quick brush-up of the previous knowledge about the topic. Oral quizzing, experience sharing, etc. can be helpful. It prepares students to receive new content and makes them curious to know more about it.
  • Preparation and Procedure: The teacher introduces new content using suitable techniques and procedures. At this stage, the steps of the teaching-learning process are put in place. Instructional strategies and lesson plans come in handy for the dissemination of knowledge.
  • Application: Subsequently, students are then asked to apply what they have understood. Allotment of certain exercises or work to test their understanding. Students answer some exercises based on the newly acquired information. Teachers can guide or control if needed. These exercises are often there on the set book. This section may be called “test the progress”. It checks for the requirement of reinforcement. If needed, the teacher ought to make the concept clear through re-explanation.
  • Assessment: It is the most important section of a lesson plan. It checks the extent of achievement of pre-set objectives. It has a direct correlation with predetermined objectives or goals. This technically rounds up a plan. If it fails to achieve the goal, the lesson is retaught using different techniques and resources. It reflects the result and gives room to revise the lesson plan.

COMMON PROBLEMS IN FORMULATING LESSON PLAN

  • Provision for individual difference
  • Providing emotional control
  • Provision of integration of learning experiences
  • Provision of the evaluation outcomes
 The teacher should choose teaching-learning activities wisely to control the aforesaid problems.
 

Tips for a GOOD LESSON PLAN

“Good teaching is one-fourth preparation,” that is to say that preparing beforehand is a prerequisite of teaching. Likewise, making a good lesson plan is very important.  Although the format of lesson plans varies from school to school, the content is almost the same. A good lesson plan must have all the five components mentioned above. It should focus on the way to arrive at the goals. The daily lesson plans should have details of the specific activities and must have enough content for a particular week.
 
It should be simple and lucid. Basically, it will make it easier for other teachers (substitutes) to access it when needed. Although keeping notes and writing is a lengthy job, it certainly makes one organized and confident in front of the class. Moreover, it is helpful for the teachers,  especially the young teachers.
 

Pre-conceptualising the lesson plan

Teachers must plan their lessons in advance, say begin working for the coming week’s plan from Wednesday or Thursday. It will give them a better idea of what will be carried forward from one week to the next. Also, it will provide ample time to think about topics to be introduced, reinforced, and integrated. It will help in achieving the goal more smoothly.
 
Working in advance will give us enough time to plan the assessment. Teachers can use this time to prepare standard tests using different platforms like the test generator.
 
The post-COVID phase has spruced up the teaching methods. Consequently, teaching-learning has become almost digital. Teachers must be conversant with the new methods and techniques of teaching. For this, teachers can guide their students to use various educational apps like myCBSEguide for better understanding.