Planning and management  (Page 2/2)

We must think about education in the same way. For lessons we teach, we must create a scaffold - a set of steps, a structure, a setof tasks and expectations, a way of determining if we are on the right track and if the structure is sound and strong, and requires that we feed thatstructure with the materials and resources we need.

In designing a lesson, we should think about a scaffold.

• Will students see what this building will look like? If so, can the students see it? Are the directions clear so that students can imaginethat they will be able to climb that scaffold? Teachers should provide a model of what the project should look like, just as a builder creates amodel from the design. The example model should not be so ambitious orimpressive as to give the students a feeling that they could not accomplish something similar themselves.
• Is the project motivating? Will students WANT to climb that ladder?
• Will students have guidance along the way so that the scaffold is strong enough to hold everyone? In other words, is it focused enough sothat students will not feel lost?
• Will the students know how they are doing along the way? Will assessment of progress be available? Can students discuss theirprogress? Get feedback? Remain engaged in the task? Find ways of correcting themselves if things are not going well?
• Will students know WHERE to find answers? Will they have to rely ONLY on the teacher or can they arrive on themselves or books or the Internetor outside experts?
• Will the scaffold design ensure some level of success? If, after all, the students are putting so much work into the project, is it possiblefor them to feel confidence and competent? Otherwise, students will be greatly disappointed. SO, in other words, have you designed thisproject so that students will learn more than when they started? Will students be able to show their results with pride? Will their"building" look like the model you presented?
• Will students be able to accomplish this task within a reasonable amount of time? Otherwise, they will feel failure if they are not able tosee the results day by day.
• Will students ALSO learn about how to learn? Will students gain new skills as a result of this project - skills that they can apply to newproblem-solving situations?

For more information on scaffolding, click here .

For examples in practice, click here .

Basic planning

Lesson planning is not complicated. It's simply a matter of creating a clear plan around the following:

Objectives

What am I teaching?

Who am I teaching?

How will they learn?

What will bring it to life?

Selecting Learning Materials

Script the lesson.

Connect the lesson to the requirements.

Evaluate your students' intelligencs.

What are the tasks and processes, and in what order?

Organization

Prepare the props and the materials.

Vary your teaching methods to meet student needs.

Decide the level of engagement and questioning.

Discuss your plan with your students.

Evaluation

Decide what you will monitor.

Decide how students can demonstrate what they know.

Discuss with students how they did on the assessments.

The theories and practices described in Course 2 complement the above ideas while at the same time deepen the notion thatstudents are active participants in the learning process. In the next few sections you will not only learn theories and methods of teaching, but youwill have a chance to apply what you learn to your classroom experience, and discuss ideas with your global colleagues in the TWB Learning Cafe .

HOW TO GET TO THE NEXT MODULE:

Usually, you just click "Next" to go to the next page. When you finish a section, however, (as you're about to do when you finishreading these two paragraphs), you need to click on the "Outline" button, which is on the bottom, right-hand side of the page. Look underneath the bluebar and click on the word "Outline."

When you click on "Outline," a screen will come up that will show you the outline for Course 2. Look for the next section to read andclick on the first topic in that next section. For example, when you get to the outline now, look under the next section called "Instructional Theories"and look for the first topic in black lettering called "Thematic Learning." Click on "Thematic Learning."