Lesson Planning

“The lesson plan is like a restaurant menu – it’s a useful planning tool, but it’s not the meal.”

(Jensen,1995: p. 89)

What is a lesson plan?

A roadmap of your path to get students from “point A” to “point B”

Provides clarity of learning

Remember:“If I fail to plan, I’m planning to fail.”

Content or Learning?

The old thought that the mind is an “empty vessel waiting to be filled” is outdated.

When planning a lesson, don’t consider “covering content,” but rather think of how to “uncover learning”

More than a plan

Lesson plans are critical to thinking through steps of learning, however:

Delivery of the lesson is also important.Rapport

Presentation skills

Learning environment

A well-designed “learning” plan:

Allows T to stay focused on outcomes

Provides T with confidence

Provides room for creativity & spontaneity

Is a place for notes and modifications

Provides a permanent record of your lessons

Parts of a “learning plan”

Audience

Outcomes / Objectives

Procedure / ProcessIntro.

Lesson

Closing

Indicator of Success / Assessment

Materials

Audience

Important to consider for developmental perspectives

Assists in sequencing procedure

Outcomes / Objectives

Should be measurable

Should be meaningful (authentic & maintained integrity)

Should match with state & national standards

Should be realistic (will students be successful?)

Objectives & Learning areas

More ways to learn something than just through “cognitive means”

Three main learning areas are:Cognitive

Psychomotor

Affective

Cognitive Domain

Bloom’s TaxonomyKnowledge (recall & define)

Comprehension (put into own words)

Application (apply outside original context)

Analysis (identify strong & weak points)

Synthesis (create from other parts)

Evaluation (compare & contrast)

Psychomotor Domain

Simpson’s TaxonomyAccuracy

Coordination

Manipulation (cause & effect)

Affective Domain

(A different) Bloom’s TaxonomyAttending (participation & commitment)

Responding (intensity & quantity of response)

Valuing (importance of)

Values expression (willingness to freely share)

Process / Procedure

The “step by step” of how you will manage the students learning

A well-thought out procedure = success!!!

Planning for your Learning Plan

Consider your planning like a puzzle:What is the best way for students to learn your objectives?

Keep in mind what we know about learning…

We don’t remember much…

From: http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/02/26/the-learning-pyramid/

But we remember more depending on how we are taught…

Accelerated Learning

Uses strategies to help Ss learn:Sensory-Rich Immersion Environment

Learner Preparation & Conditioning*

Multiple Learning Styles/Intelligences used

Student-Centered learning

Positive suggestion

Engage Emotions

Orchestrate learning to match the Ss state of mind

Barriers to Learning

Intuitive-Emotional: fear of failure, embarrassment or successCritical-Logical: learned helplessnessEthical-Moral: that learning is “hard work” or “no pain, no gain”Biological-Medical: lack of learning efficacy based from a health standpointCultural-Social: negative peer pressureInstitutional-Physical: suggestions from TV, celebrities, etc. (Ex: dislike of authority)

How to Ride a Bicycle (poor)

History of BicycleInventorsEvolution of

SafetyPersonalNeighborhoodSidewalk & road safety

Skills of RidingPostureBalanceTraining wheels

Benefits of RidingSocial Personaltransportation

Indicator of Success

Shorter lessons should include a way to gauge the understanding

Will likely be a formative measure of learning

Usually different than an assessment

Assessment

Measures a learning goal

Demonstrates understanding of learning that could be applied to a new situation

Should be a good “match” with the intended outcome

Materials

A list of what you will need AND

Where you located it

Why?For future reference

For collegial sharing

References

Hoffer, C. (2001). Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools. Boston, MA: Schirmer, Cengage Learning.

Jensen, E. (1995). Super Teaching. San Diego, CA: The Brain Store, Inc.