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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
Lesson Planning
Since Unit 9 when I was first introduced to Lesson Planning, it made perfect sense to me. A teacher should have a plan of action in place before beginning to teach a given lesson. Personally, I enjoy receiving and providing detailed information. Therefore, I welcomed this idea of planning and felt a level of comfort in knowing, there is a way to teach/execute a lesson that can help to create an environment of learning that is interactive, takes students thoughts and ideas into consideration, encourages students to openly communicate, share and work together and ultimately, helps to create a forum in the classroom where proactive learning is occurring. The 3 main reasons for Lesson Planning are, it serves as an aid in the teachers planning process, it is a working document and it is a record. The first function, an aid to planning means that this plan helps the teacher to set the expectation for themselves as to what they want or need to teach and to set an expectation for what the students need to learn within that day’s lesson (Unit 9 pg 1). Next, as a working document, the Lesson Plan serves as a guide or point of reference for the teacher during the lesson. This way, the teacher can review what is next. It is important that the teacher doesn’t forget, the Lesson Plan is “a working document”. There should always be room for flexibility or adaptability during a lesson. This plan should not prohibit the teacher from remaining flexible. If the students are enjoying a lesson, the teacher should allow additional time for the learning process to continue (Unit 9 pg 1). As a record, the Lesson Plan can help the teacher to see what lessons the students have already completed successfully. This can help the teacher to plan future lessons, quizzes, exams, progress tests etc… In addition, this record can also serve as a helpful aid to a teacher who is substituting for a day’s class. A quality Lesson Plan can help the substitute teacher to know what direction he/she needs take while assisting for the day/week (Unit 9 pg 2). In addition to the 3 above mentioned reasons a teacher(s) plan their lesson, additional reasons for lesson planning is that it helps teachers to indicate the objective of the lesson and what the students should have learned and understood by the end of the lesson. It indicates the specific areas that the teacher would like to improve in their teaching based on previous lesson(s). Lesson planning gives teachers a good understanding of what teaching methods/activities work well for students and which ones don’t work as well. It ensures students are learning and being taught within the right context. Helps teachers to ensure they have the aids they need before starting the days lesson. It helps teachers to anticipate any potential problems that the students may encounter during the lesson. It helps teachers to ensure they are teaching the right phase/stage of a given lesson (engage, study or activate). Planning enables teachers to keep track of the time allotted for the various phases/stages in the lesson(s). It helps to clarify when the students and teachers should interact throughout the lesson. This is beneficial because it is important that the teacher does not do all of the talking. It helps to remind the current teacher (or the substitute teacher) of the class’s language level (beginner, elementary, intermediate or advanced) and the number of students in the class. This way teaching methods are accurately structured and presented. Planning indicates the date and the time that the lessons were taught and when/if lessons are monitored. Lastly, it helps the teacher to see who taught the lesson and how well he/she did in executing the lesson.
Since Unit 9 when I was first introduced to Lesson Planning, it made perfect sense to me. A teacher should have a plan of action in place before beginning to teach a given lesson. Personally, I enjoy receiving and providing detailed information. Therefore, I welcomed this idea of planning and felt a level of comfort in knowing, there is a way to teach/execute a lesson that can help to create an environment of learning that is interactive, takes students thoughts and ideas into consideration, encourages students to openly communicate, share and work together and ultimately, helps to create a forum in the classroom where proactive learning is occurring. The 3 main reasons for Lesson Planning are, it serves as an aid in the teachers planning process, it is a working document and it is a record. The first function, an aid to planning means that this plan helps the teacher to set the expectation for themselves as to what they want or need to teach and to set an expectation for what the students need to learn within that day’s lesson (Unit 9 pg 1). Next, as a working document, the Lesson Plan serves as a guide or point of reference for the teacher during the lesson. This way, the teacher can review what is next. It is important that the teacher doesn’t forget, the Lesson Plan is “a working document”. There should always be room for flexibility or adaptability during a lesson. This plan should not prohibit the teacher from remaining flexible. If the students are enjoying a lesson, the teacher should allow additional time for the learning process to continue (Unit 9 pg 1). As a record, the Lesson Plan can help the teacher to see what lessons the students have already completed successfully. This can help the teacher to plan future lessons, quizzes, exams, progress tests etc… In addition, this record can also serve as a helpful aid to a teacher who is substituting for a day’s class. A quality Lesson Plan can help the substitute teacher to know what direction he/she needs take while assisting for the day/week (Unit 9 pg 2). In addition to the 3 above mentioned reasons a teacher(s) plan their lesson, additional reasons for lesson planning is that it helps teachers to indicate the objective of the lesson and what the students should have learned and understood by the end of the lesson. It indicates the specific areas that the teacher would like to improve in their teaching based on previous lesson(s). Lesson planning gives teachers a good understanding of what teaching methods/activities work well for students and which ones don’t work as well. It ensures students are learning and being taught within the right context. Helps teachers to ensure they have the aids they need before starting the days lesson. It helps teachers to anticipate any potential problems that the students may encounter during the lesson. It helps teachers to ensure they are teaching the right phase/stage of a given lesson (engage, study or activate). Planning enables teachers to keep track of the time allotted for the various phases/stages in the lesson(s). It helps to clarify when the students and teachers should interact throughout the lesson. This is beneficial because it is important that the teacher does not do all of the talking. It helps to remind the current teacher (or the substitute teacher) of the class’s language level (beginner, elementary, intermediate or advanced) and the number of students in the class. This way teaching methods are accurately structured and presented. Planning indicates the date and the time that the lessons were taught and when/if lessons are monitored. Lastly, it helps the teacher to see who taught the lesson and how well he/she did in executing the lesson.
