What are the steps for effective Lesson Planning?

Teachers are always determined to deliver their lectures in the best possible manner to allow students to grasp them in a way they can recall whenever needed. But teachers must realise the importance of lesson planning in accomplishing their desired goals. Students tend to get bored, may find specific topics difficult, feel confused while being taught, or even shut their minds to receiving any information. Teachers must tackle these challenges to deliver the expected results. Let us see how a systematic lesson plan is built and how it helps students.

Role of lesson planning

Every academic year brings new learning objectives and sometimes even a change in the syllabus to magnify students’ learning and growth intensity. Technology is advancing, and educational institutions are preparing a modified syllabus based on the upcoming educational needs of the new generation. Therefore, a newly formulated lesson plan is essential to help teachers prepare the pace with which they need to deliver the lessons, and the students become aware of the end goal of any lesson. A lesson plan is a road map to guide teachers to 

• Deliver lectures

• Complete the syllabus on time

• Develop key performance indicators(KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the teaching method

• Balance learning activities in the curriculum along with theory 

These plans are specific to every lesson and may vary from one lesson to the other based on their difficulty level and understanding of it. By outlining the course material systematically, teachers can align their teaching goals with the student’s learning goals. The lesson plan is meant for the teachers only, wherein they understand the lesson and, based on the needs of the students, formulate a strategic process to cover every topic and execute the plan effectively and systematically. Since only a few classes can be dedicated to each lesson, teachers need to divide the time they need to spend delivering and discussing each topic into minutes. It helps in ensuring that the lesson is entirely and effectively covered.

Impact of lesson planning on Students

Educational institutions have laid down the foundation of lesson plans to benefit both teachers and students and simplify the learning process. A lesson without a plan would be chaotic, unsystematic and challenging for students to understand. Students require lesson plans for many reasons.

1. Clarity about learning goals– A lesson outline helps inform students what to expect and how to go about the learning process. It helps mentally prepare students to understand and actively participate in the activities and lectures.

2. Simplified learning– Students usually try to skip or escape lessons or topics they found hard to understand in the past or during self-studies. Lesson plans help break down the chapter into simpler bits in bullet points or a chronological graph so that students can connect the dots as a storyline and understand better.

3. Improved results– An effective lesson plan helps explain every topic to each child efficiently. Lessons delivered using visual aids, like videos, flowcharts, and PowerPoint, help students understand difficult lessons more efficiently, leading to better results.

4. Equalised learning– Every child is different and has a different learning style. A lesson plan helps incorporate all students’ educational requirements and form a particular learning pattern so that each child can benefit from it.

5. Customised learning– Lesson plans help identify loopholes in teaching or delivering the lessons as intended. If the students struggle to grasp the topic, the lesson plan can be modified accordingly.

Elements of a lesson plan

While trying to formulate an effective lesson plan, these are the essential elements it must incorporate.

• Objective– It is clear to define the subject or purpose of the lesson to formulate a well-planned lesson. The expected outcome of the lesson must be noted as the objective. This backward planning can be on multiple levels, where teachers can state what they want to achieve by the end of the chapter, personally and academically. These objectives must be fair and realistic that have a higher possibility of being fulfilled.

• Teaching activities– A section should be dedicated to dividing the activities, including delivering lectures, holding discussions, solving queries, tasking assessment tests and providing time for self-study. It helps in showing more remarkable results in the scheduled time.

• Drawing a timeline– Once the teaching activities have been designed, teachers must filter time durations appropriate for each task. It allows for fulfilling goals within the scheduled duration, which will help prevent any last-minute rushing from completing the lessons.

• Procedure– By looking at the various tasks to be fulfilled, it is crucial to chronologically align each task and filter out resources needed to achieve the tasks. Some experimental learning may require using different supplies. It is beneficial to have them prepared before going to the class.

• Post-completion of a lesson– After delivering the lesson, consider making a section to input the difficulties you faced, the results the lesson plan gave, and any suggestions that could help enhance the teaching technique. It helps in evaluating the efficiency of the lesson plan.

Steps to Prepare an effective lesson plan

A detailed and step-by-step tutorial for drafting a lesson plan can be very beneficial for new teachers or looking for a better way to formulate a lesson plan.

1. Identify the learning objectives– Be prepared for the lesson you are to deliver. The goal can be based on what students will learn by the end of the lesson or how much students memorise and recall when the lesson is over.

2. Planning activities– Delivering lectures is a monotonous way of teaching, and students may lose their focus midway. It is, therefore, essential to include learning activities that keep the students engaged and, at the same time, help their learning process.

3. Collect learning materials– Some lessons require external supplies like graphs, calculators, or anything else related to the lesson. Pre-planning helps in instructing the students in advance to bring their study materials.

4. Note down the teaching process– You may forget a few points while delivering lectures or be unable to follow your teaching methodology. Analyse the students’ learning styles in your class to form strategies that can help teach them more efficiently.

5. Organise your work– Align all the lesson plan elements using sticky notes, highlighting important and challenging tasks while leaving space for extra inputs while delivering lessons.

6. Assigning tasks– It is crucial to hold a small question-answer round, give homework and hold surprise tests simultaneously to analyse the students’ learning. It will help the teachers determine if any changes to their teaching style are needed. Keep a note of the assigned tasks to make notes on the average overall class performance.
   
7. Assessment of tasks– The assessment process helps identify the lesson plan’s effectiveness. The time taken to complete homework, the overall score, and responsiveness in class are a few metrics that support teachers. Note it down at the end of every lesson.

Approaches for effective lesson planning

By changing the approaches to teaching, teachers can make their classes more interactive and engaging.

1. Talk about current trends– Engaging the students before you begin the lectures is crucial. Directly jumping off to studies will bore the students from the start. Interact with the class about ongoing topics that may interest the students and slowly ease your way into the teaching process. It helps students lose their fear of speaking in front of the teacher or peers, making them more comfortable asking questions during lectures.

2. Involve the students– Prepare activities where every student can shine and learn about the subject in depth. It also helps improve teamwork and leadership skills and nurtures critical thinking in students. Group discussions, multiple choice questions, and quiz competitions are great ways of achieving it.

3. Grouped interaction– It helps nurture collaborative interaction between students in a group where every student can benefit from the knowledge of the others in the group. Students have fun participating in groups and help introverts open up within their circles. Students learn to express their thoughts and views and learn from others freely.

4. Guest lecturers– Studying can become more fun and less monotonous when students are exposed to new mentors who are experts in that particular lesson. It helps simplify difficult lessons and gives a refreshing perspective on topics.

By following these few steps for lesson planning, teachers can help expand students’ learning horizons through effectively delivered lectures.

SKV is among the top 5 boarding schools in India that aim to offer world-class education to girls. We have a staff of experienced and skilled teachers that help provide students with the best learning environment.