This post introduces you to some of the basic concepts of lesson planning. This includes the meaning and definition of lesson planning, objectives of lesson planning, essentials of a good lesson plan, types of lessons, and preparation of lesson planning on various subjects like Language, Mathematics, General Science, and Social Studies. Before going to discuss lesson planning, we should try to know the meaning and definitions of lesson planning.
What is a Lesson Plan and Lesson Planning? B.Ed. Notes
Education is a systematic, well-organized, and well-planned process that modifies the behavior of the students with a definite aim in view. Education is a process, which involves various activities, which in turn, assist in the total development of personality among both the students as well as the teachers. In an educative process, various aspects and activities are interrelated and interdependent.
These may be the methods of teaching, curriculum, learning, teaching devices, lesson planning, etc., which are an essential part of education, and all these aspects are interrelated and interdependent. Once we determine the aims of education, the curriculum, methods of teaching, teaching devices, lesson planning, etc. are developed to achieve the basic goals of education.
Lesson Planning is one of the important parts of the teaching-learning process where the teacher prepares the blueprint of teaching before delivering a particular lesson. The teacher should carefully plan and prepare the lesson before the classroom teaching so that he or she can systematically teach the students for maximum benefit.
Thus, a lesson plan is a predetermined blueprint of a lesson or unit delivered before the ‘students for a particular period like 30 45, 50, or 60 minutes, etc. which contains the knowledge and experiences prepared in a systematic by the teacher through the application of appropriate methods, techniques, strategies, devices, etc. It is the skill of a particular teacher, and he or she prepares the lesson in a proper and organized manner, so it can motivate the students to know effectively, to think rationally, and to execute the lesson in the classroom in a systematic way.
Concept of Lesson Planning
Education is a systematic process where teaching and learning are essential parts. For effective teaching and learning, lesson planning is the prerequisite or the prime criterion. The main aim of teaching is to help the child learn in such a way that all his or her potentialities come out of the closet effectively. Good teaching requires careful planning and preparation of lessons so that the teacher can give maximum output in minimum time to his or her students. Teaching and learning assist in attaining the ultimate goals of education. Lesson planning helps the teacher to remain on the right track to attain the goals of education.
The preparation of lesson planning differs from institution to institution. However, generally, it is prepared for 30 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour, or 1 hour 30 minutes. The skill of lesson planning varies from teacher to teacher. Thus, lesson planning is a systematic plan, which is effectively prepared by each teacher for the greater benefit of the students. It will be clearer if we go through the meaning, definition, and objectives of lesson planning.
Meaning of Lesson Planning
Theoretical knowledge without proper planning and preparation is not effective for the proper teaching-learning situation. Therefore, proper planning as to how to deliver all the conceptual knowledge to the students with proper teaching methods, devices as well as proper skill, is necessary to make the teaching-learning process in the classroom effective and interesting. Lesson planning is a plan of action, which the teacher prepares before the commencement of the class, and where he outlines all the activities and decides what to teach, how to teach, what methods or apparatus are going to be used, etc. in a stipulated period. Lesson planning means a detailed description of a unit or unit that the teacher is going to complete within a definite duration. Lesson Planning depends upon the expert skills, intelligence, abilities, and personality of the teacher. It varies from school to school and college to college.
Lesson Planning is the foundation and key to all good teaching. It is a detailed guide for teaching a lesson. It outlines the teacher’s objective and the resultant accomplishment of the students in a systematic manner. Before planning a lesson, the first and foremost need is to identify the learning objectives for that particular class. Then the teacher has to design the appropriate learning activities
and develop strategies to obtain feedback on students’ learning. Therefore, in Lesson Planning, a teacher should give due emphasis on aspects like general aims, specific aims, previous knowledge of the students, appropriate strategies of teaching, techniques of teaching, teaching aids, the correlation between the new knowledge of the students and other subjects, teacher’s activities, evaluation of the knowledge acquired by the students, etc.
Thus, a Lesson Plan is a plan of the teacher for teaching a particular lesson for a particular class of pupils within a definite period. A lesson plan helps the teacher to organize and systematize the learning process. The activities in the lesson are well-knit, interconnected, and interdependent which ensure the continuity of the educative process and help to realize the goals of the educative process.
Definitions of Lesson Plan / Lesson Planning
To understand the concept of Lesson Planning more comprehensively, we should go through the various definitions provided by educationists from time to time. Some of the important definitions given by the educationists are mentioned below:
- According to J. K. Davis, “Lesson must be prepared for there is nothing so fatal to a teacher’s progress as unpreparedness.”
- According to Melissa Kelly, “A Lesson Plan is a framework and a roadmap which each teacher will create using an individual style.”
- According to N. L. Bossing, “Lesson Plan is the title given to a statement of the achievement to be realized and the specific meaning by which these are to be attained as a result of the activities engaged during the period.”
- According to Binning and Bining, “All lesson planning involves defining the objectives, selecting and arranging the subject matter, and determining the method and procedure.”
- According to Ryburn, “To teach, we must use experience already gained at the starting point of our work.”
- According to James Michael Lee, “A lesson plan is an organized statement of general and specific educational goals together with the specific means by which these goals are to be attained by the learners under the guidance of the teacher on a given day.”
- According to Stevenson, “Always plan out your lesson beforehand but do not be a slave to it.”
Thus, from the above definitions, it is observed that a lesson plan is an essential aspect of classroom teaching. it guides the teacher in every step of teaching and helps him to remain on the right track so that he can achieve the goals of teaching.
Objectives of a Lesson Plan
After going through the meaning and various definitions of lesson planning, it will be better if we outline the main objectives of lesson planning. The main objectives of a lesson plan or objectives of lesson planning are:
- To link every activity, teaching device, teaching resource, evaluation, and assessment systematically.
- To help the students to gain maximum knowledge within a stipulated period in an organized way.
- To prepare a good lesson so that good teaching can be imparted.
- To prevent the deviation from the subject so that the proper systematization is present for efficient teaching.
- To include all the required good elements so that the teacher can interact with the students in a meaningful way, thereby imparting the real meaning of the lesson.
- To check on unplanned curriculum.
- To observe the needs and aspirations of the students in preparing the lesson so that effective teaching is achieved.
Also Read: What is Micro-Teaching? – Its Meaning, Characteristics, Advantages, Disadvantages and Cycle.
Essentials / Qualities of a Good Lesson Plan
To make teaching more effective in the classroom, a lesson plan is a prime key through which the teacher can achieve the real objectives of his teaching. A good lesson plan should incorporate some points, which are very essential in the preparation of a lesson plan. Some of the essential points that should be noted carefully are
- The lesson plan should be written clearly and lucidly so that it can guide the teacher throughout the teaching process.
- The Lesson Plan should have clear-cut aims. It should clearly define the General Aims as well as the Specific Aims in unambiguous terms.
- The Lesson Plan should be linked with the previous knowledge of the students. The linkage between new knowledge and previous knowledge should be systematized skillfully.
- The Lesson Plan should mention the tools and techniques of teaching.
- A Lesson Plan should include the proper illustrative aids that are going to be present in the classroom.
- The Lesson Plan should contain suitable subject matter in a systematic and organized way.
- A Lesson Plan should also provide some hands-on activities for the students so that they can learn the knowledge practically.
- The Lesson Plan should emphasize the individual differences of the students. The plan should be formulated in such a way that all the students can be benefitted.
- A Lesson Plan should be flexible. There should be some scope to incorporate new information as and when needed.
- The Lesson Plan should include the evaluation procedure with illustrations of various evaluation exercises.
Types of Lesson Plan (B.Ed. Notes)
The educational and psychological research reveals that all lessons are based on the three aspects of consciousness i.e. cognition, connotation, and affection. The lesson plan is divided into three types based on the three aspects outlined above.
- Knowledge Lesson Plans
- Appreciation Lesson Plans
- Skill Lesson Plans
(a) Knowledge Lesson Plans:
Out of the three aspects i.e., cognition, affection, and connotation, the cognitive aspect of the learner’s mental activity is more active or dominant in this type of lesson plan where the result is the increase in the knowledge base of the learners. Alternatively, we can say that these lessons increase the area of knowledge of the learner such as acquiring knowledge in various subjects like history, science, geography, mathematics, language, etc.
For systematically imparting knowledge, a set of procedures has to be followed. Certain psychological units of the lesson have to be decided. Therefore, various attempts have been made to evolve the different steps from time to time. According to Herbartian steps, these are preparation, presentation, comparison and abstraction, generalization, and application.
(b) Appreciation Lesson Plan:
Among the three aspects of consciousness, the affection aspect is more dominant in Appreciation Lesson Plans. It activates the affective part of the learner’s mental activity like aesthetic inspiration to the people. The lessons develop the appreciation of the students who take an interest in various fine arts like music and arts.
The appreciation lesson aims at developing the aesthetic sense of the learners. It helps the learner to appreciate beauty as expressed through color, sound, and form. The main objective of this type of lesson is to develop emotions against the acquisition of skill or knowledge.
(c) Skill Lesson Plan:
In Skill Lesson Plans, the connotation aspect is more dominant out of the three aspects. Here, the main emphasis is given to the development of the psychomotor activities of the learner. Through the skill lessons, the creative talent of the learners is activated through which the student excels in various knowledge like painting, handicrafts, gardening, agriculture, mechanical skills, computer skills, etc.
Skill lesson helps to develop various skills based on the learner’s needs. Psychologists have proved that skill lessons not only use muscles, which are good for the body, but it is also good for the mind. Therefore, skill lessons enable the students to develop physically and mentally and help in the balanced development of personality.