Effective lessons can be created through taking into account the various factors that can affect the learning of each individual child, and of the class as a whole. Planning a lesson is a rigorous process carried out by the teacher, where he or she analyses children and their level of capability, depending on the subject, in order to deliver lessons that can provide a valuable educational experience for all.
When introducing a topic for the first time, the teacher must first elicit the children’s prior learning, and then build on their existing knowledge by using scaffolding, relating to Principle 4. Scaffolding “consists essentially of the adult ‘controlling’ those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s capacity” (Wood, Bruner and Ross 1976:90). Teachers provide a temporary structure of support, a scaffold, by breaking down the topic into simple steps for children to understand, in order to “assist learners to develop new understandings, new concepts, and new abilities” (Hammond and Gibbons 2001:8). The scaffold can then be removed when children no longer need the appropriate guidance to understand the topic. Scaffolding has been used effectively in my own teaching, where the topic was non-fiction texts and the aim was for children to write a biography. We studied an eBook about the life of Neil Armstrong and identified the features specific to a non-fiction biography. After having looked at the grammar, structure and key aspects of the text, the final task involved writing the biography of a fictional character. Children studied the qualities an astronaut needs, ending in a lively debate over which fictional applicant should be chosen to go on a secret mission to Mars. They voted and decided on a fighter p...
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...e aware of their ability, when given the opportunity to complete the same undifferentiated task, the lower attainers performed as well as the higher attainers and wrote an imaginative biography, as the label disappeared when sitting on mixed ability tables. Setting often means that learners can become “disillusioned and demotivated by the limits placed upon their achievement within their sets” however in a mixed ability setting, the possibilities of achievement are infinite, as children are not restricted by their grouping (Boaler 1997: 592). Children in ‘low ability groups’ are often aware of the low expectations that adults have for them and streaming children creates a distance among the ability groups, whereas cooperative learning allows children with different abilities to work together effectively, and I witnessed this during the lesson (Sapon-Shevin 2005).
Most educators do not make new lesson plans they change ones by adding instructional strategies. The more ways an educator teaches the better off the students are when it comes to learning. Not all students learn by listening to a lecture. There are visual learners, kinesthetic learners (hand-on), and auditory learners. If an educator can reach out using all of these styles most if not every student will learn what is being taught. Intelligence has been separated into different parts; “linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal behaviors” (Hardman, 2011). Knowing this as an educator a lesson plan should incorporate auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners, thus covering all areas.
Van Der Stuyf. R.R. (2010). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Adolescent Learning and Development. Section 0500A, November, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.sandi.net/20451072011455933/lib/20451072011455933/RTI/Scaffolding%20as%20a%20Teaching%20Strategy.pdf
Scaffolding comprehension differs in significant ways from many other comprehension strategies offered to students in primary schools. It is an approach designed to scaffold students in reading comprehension, challenging age appropriate texts and to make knowledge about text explicit. It supports reading and comprehending of text and aims to enable all learners to read, think, and comprehend at levels appropriate to their age. Importantly, scaffolding can be used both as part of classroom practices and also to provide additional support for students with critical comprehension problems.
Scaffolding is a term that appears frequently in the field of psychology. It is a term that is used to describe a form of teaching. According to Firestone, it is a technique in which teachers show their students how to find a solution to a problem. The teacher then “steps back” and allows for the student to try it on their own. This process is done to teach independence in problem solving onto the students (Firestone n.d.). Through the use of scaffolding, students are able to work on problems on their own, without having to necessarily “hold hands” with their instructor or teacher. Scaffolding is worth examining in the field of psychology because it is useful to see the development in the growth and knowledge of a child. The results of scaffolding are worth examining as well in order to see what the most effective ways of teaching are. There are many different ways in which teachers or instructors can inform their students how to solve a problem. In other words, there are many different scaffolding techniques. Because of this, the question of “what is the most frequently used scaffolding technique?” arises.
Lesson plans are very well organized including visuals for the materials being illustrated. Academic vocabulary is addressed in many ways. For example, key concept and vocabulary words will be introduced to the students at start of lesson using building background. Students will be provided a hard copy of anticipation guide and words will be displayed on the Smart Board, too. Students will be provided with
A fundamental aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), this is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. Vygotsky, (1962) describes this as a “range of tasks that are too difficult for an individual to master alone, but can be mastered with the assistance or guidance of adults or more-skilled peers.” This can be applied to a classroom environment where students can be grouped such that the students who understand the content of the work with the students who do not (mixed ability groupings). For example, in a science lesson I have taught, I or...
As teachers we plan our lessons and think to ourselves, "my students are going to love this lesson and will be able to understand what I am teaching", but sometimes that isn 't the case. You may plan a lesson in hopes that your students understand but it doesn 't go as planned. Every student learns differently and thinks differently and because of this we, as teachers must learn to differentiate our lessons. This may require us to change the way we deliver our lesson, change the activities for our lessons or even change the wording of our material so students understand. In this paper, I will be differentiating a lesson plan based on student readiness, student interest and student learning profile for content, process, and product.
In order to be an effective teacher there needs to be an understanding that we all learn differently, this means that no single teaching strategy is effective for all students/learners all the time. This makes teaching a complex process because you need to understand and meet the requirements of all of your learners. Students learn best when they aren’t asked to simply memorise information but when they form their own understandings of what is being taught. When a student has successfully learnt a new idea they are able to then intergrate this information with their previously learnt information and make sense of it. To be an effective teacher you need to work jointly with students to asses where they are at, be able to give feedback on how the student is going and ensure that they are understanding the lesson (Killen, 2013) According to Lovat and Smith (2003) students learning must result in a change in a student’s understanding of the information being taught. In order to show understanding they must be able to share this information with others and want to learn more (Killen, 2013). In order to have a deeper understanding of what is being taught they need to be aware of the relationship that exists between what they knew previously and the new information that is being learned (Killen, 2013).. Students need to be given goals that they can achieve in order to feel a sense of mastery over their own learning, this gives students motivation that they are able to complete tasks and to keep going.
Before the lesson is prepared, the teachers must have a clear understanding of the objectives of the lesson to be taught. By having an understanding of what they students will able to accomplish at the end of the lesson, the content remains focused and thorough. The teacher must then express these objectives to the students including the standards for performance. Students can then be held accountable for expectations that are known.
This project integrates the concepts of curriculum design, together with aspects of lesson planning taking into consideration the abilities, level and learning styles of the students. In addition, utilizing the practices put forward under constructivism, we aim to encourage participation and interest of students, within group and individual activities. The teacher acts as facilitator and guide, providing support, feedback and praise where applicable.
Lesson study refers to a Japanese program of developing teachers’ profession during their teaching experience. It is a translation from Japanese word Jugyokenkyo which literally means study or research (Fernandez & Yshida, 2012). Fernandez and Yushida (2012) define it as “lessons that are object of ones’ study”. It means that through lesson study, the teachers explore their teaching-based research goals through the several steps which they have defined them earlier. These steps include: collaborative planning, observation, discussion, revising, re-teaching, and sharing reflection. Also, Dudley (2014) defines lesson study as a procedure in which teams of teachers do planning, teaching, observing, and analyzing learning and teaching collaboratively.
Reflecting on a lesson plan and analyzing the effectiveness of the lesson is a crucial part of growth and development as a teacher. It is always important to adequately reflect on if instructional goals were met, if proper instructional materials were available, if the lesson procedures were motivational, and if proper assessments were given. The analysis part addresses the lesson’s effectiveness or to what extent did the students meet the objectives stated in your lesson plan and how do you know? In the lesson, “The Landlady,” I used many forms of assessment to check the student’s understanding of the foreshadowing lesson.
In the process of completing this coursework, I have realised that every teacher should be all-rounded and equipped with adequate skills of educating others as well as self-learning. As a future educator, we need make sure that our knowledge is always up-to-date and applicable in the process of teaching and learning from time to time. With these skills, we will be able to improvise and improve the lesson and therefore boost the competency of pupils in the process of learning. In the process of planning a lesson, I have changed my perception on lesson planning from the student’s desk to the teacher’s desk. I have taken the responsibility as a teacher to plan a whole 60-minutes lesson with my group members. This coursework has given me an opportunity
A lesson plan is a teacher’s detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. There are many different parts of a lesson plan. For example, there is the title, which is where one would explain what it is the lesson plan is going to be about. Then, there are the learning outcomes, which are what the students are required to be learning after completing the lesson plan. After
I have planned my lesson this way starting with the aim, goals, primary and secondary problems and ways to solve them to create a non exhaustive document that describes every classroom scenarios. Providing me with a general outline of my teaching goals, learning objectives and means to carry out them. Though I know that it cannot go exactly as planned, but I know that both students and myself will learn from each other.