Process of course planning
First of all, a teacher needs to identify the learning objectives of the course for the class, then design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful course plan addresses and integrates these three key components:
• Objectives for student learning
• Teaching/learning activities
• Strategies to check students understanding Objectives specified for student learning help in determining the kinds of teaching and learning activities to be used in class. These activities will define the achievements of learning objectives.
The detailed planning of a course is emphasized through the following stages:
Pre-Planning Stage
Before teaching, the teacher has to think about the lesson plan for a particular class. The Center of Excellence in Teaching (1999) recommends that the answers to the following questions may help the teachers proceed with effective planning:
What are my objectives for this class?
Objectives are statements of what the teacher wants students to learn. The objectives are most likely to be the same as, or close to, the goals outlined during course planning. These are specific to a particular class.
What are the objectives for this class?
Objectives are specific goal statements written in behavioral terms. They state exactly what the students should be able to do in a class, on a paper, in an exam, etc. Objectives also specify the conditions under which the students should learn the material.
Why is this material important?
The teacher thinks about the importance of the skills or knowledge being taught to the students.
What content will be covered in this particular class?
A statement of the rationale (logical reasoning) will help the teachers decide what content needs to be conveyed. Or
What will students need to know to meet the goals and objectives laid down in the course? Or
What content is most essential for them to understand?
What will the students already know?
Each learner has different knowledge, the teacher must try to assess, what it is the students already understand or are able to do. Having the knowledge of the students’ previous learning the teachers are in a better position to decide where to begin the class and how to help students learn.
What materials will be needed?
These are the items needed to accomplish the goals. The teacher decides if he/she needs equipment or overheads. Planning in advance will allow the teachers to be prepared.
The Post-Planning Stage
The teacher’s course planning process should take into consideration the need to assess whether students have learned. How effective was the course? This assessment is not a complicated or difficult task. It is very simple and informal. For instance, using part of the class to let students work on problems you have given them, or discuss issues and apply concepts, can give you a good sense of what and how much they have learned. The one-minute writing about the lesson or homework problems can be similarly helpful.
Steps in Course Planning
The plans for classroom activities to happen each day make the teaching effective. The teachers go through many steps when planning a lesson. Six steps are given below to guide the teachers in creating their first lesson plans. Each step is comprised of a set of questions:
1. Outline learning objectives
The lesson objectives are usefully stated in terms of what students will achieve at the end of the lesson. The first step is to determine, as a teacher, what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following questions:
• What is the topic of the lesson?
• What do I want students to learn?
• What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
• What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?
Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and completing the learning objectives. Consider the following questions:
• What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?
• Why are they important?
• If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
• Which ones could be skipped?
2. Develop the introduction
After determining learning objectives and specifying them in order of importance, the teacher has to design specific activities for the students. They may already be familiar with the topic; therefore, it is necessary to gather background information from the students prior to the lesson. You may start with a question or activity to assess students’ knowledge of the topic. For example, you can ask a question or take a simple poll: “How many of you have heard about this?
Raise your hand if you have,” or ask them to write comments on the paper. This additional information can help you shape the introduction and learning activities of the new concept. Develop a creative introduction to the topic to encourage thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students, for example, personal anecdotes, historical events, real examples, short video clips, practical applications, probing questions, etc. The following questions may help you plan your introduction:
• How will I check whether students know anything about the topic?
• What are some commonly held ideas (or misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with?
• What will I do to introduce the topic?
3. Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)
Prepare several different examples (ways) to explain the topic/concept (real-life examples, similarities, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of all students. After planning examples and activities for the lesson, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Manage the time for different applications or problems and the check learning and understanding of the students. The following questions would help you design the learning activities you will use in the class:
• What will I do to explain the topic?
• What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
• How can I engage students in the topic?
• What are some relevant real-life examples, similarities, or situations that can help students understand the topic?
• What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?
4. Plan to check for understanding
Up until now, the topic has been explained with different examples. At this stage, you need to check for student understanding. Therefore, you are required to plan for how will you know that students are learning. Think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding and write them down. Try to predict the answers to your questions. Decide whether you want students to respond orally or in writing. Ask yourself the following questions:
• What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?
• How will students demonstrate that they are following?
• Going back to the list of learning objectives, what activity students can do to check whether each of those has been completed? Decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about the balance between achieving learning objectives and ensuring that students understand.
5. Develop a conclusion and a preview
Repeat the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson. You can review the students’ answers to estimate their understanding of the topic and then explain anything unclear in the following class.
Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing the main points but also by making its link to the next lesson. How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming up next? This opportunity will increase students’ interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.
6. Create a realistic timeline
A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:
• Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each
• When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take
• Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and sum up the key points
• Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
• Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan.
Read this: Top qualities and skills of a good teacher.
Designing a Course Plan
There are three main elements to a course plan that most of the teachers use. There is variation among these components. All of these may not be used in every class, because some plans may spread out over two or more classes. The elements are as follows:
i) Introduction
The introduction is a way to warm up students, ease them into the class, and give them a context for what they are about to learn. Any of the following will be helpful to take a good start:
• Provide an outline of what will be done in the class. Giving a structure helps the students to organize their thoughts and integrate new ideas.
• Summarize the previous lesson if the ideas are similar to this class. Recall of previous knowledge helps the students to relate new ideas too.
• Present an issue related to the topic and ask students to generate a list of questions. Connecting the lesson with these questions will give a picture of students’ experiences, they are familiar with and be able to relate the topic to their lives. This shows that what you are teaching is relevant and draws their attention.
ii) Development
Development is an important part as it describes teaching, or “instructional methods” such as lectures, discussions, labs, collaborative learning, etc.
• Try to engage students as much as possible in the learning process. Active learning is one of the ways to engage students. It not only retains students’ attention but also helps them to develop higher-level thinking skills.
• Attempt to use a variety of teaching methods in a class. Any single method may not work for all students. A variety of methods keeps their attention and enhances learning.
• Give students the chance to apply the taught skills by using the concepts. This will help them learn and give them a chance for the teacher to assess them informally. This assessment will provide clarification of learning and the need for further practice.
iii) Conclusion
Planning of how to tie it all together for the students is also important. Tell them once again what they would learn and why it is important to them. Consider the following activities in conclusion:
iv) Ask for questions:
The last few minutes of class are an excellent time to have students raise questions and explore ideas on their own.
v) Summarize the main points and explain how they relate to the course:
Students do not always see how everything fits together. The teacher makes the link between the activities of one class to the larger course. In this way, a teacher best helps the students develop a conceptual understanding.
vi) Next lesson:
Again, this shows relevance to the lessons linked to one another and helps students develop a conceptual understanding.
vii) Recapitalize or one-minute writing about the taught lesson:
With one or two minutes remaining in class, ask students to take out a sheet of paper and, without putting their name on it, write what they believe was the main idea of the class and one question they have about the lesson content.
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