Is Lesson Planning Essential for Productive Learning?

 

Is Lesson Planning Essential for Productive Learning?

• Lesson planning is called the process of specifying the sequence of activities planned for a limited period of time, through which it is intended to achieve the teaching objectives set in the overall planning for a course. Thus, lesson planning is included in a larger process: curriculum planning, in which decisions have to be made about a set of elements: the specification of the aims and objectives, the content, the determination of methodological teaching and evaluation procedures; All of them will serve as the basis for organizing the pedagogical plan that corresponds to each specific group of students. Once these general principles for the design of a course have been established, the teacher must proceed to the planning of classes, that is, elaboration of the partial planning of each of the teaching-learning sessions.
• Traditionally in class planning a distinction has been made between program development (selection and grading of content) and methodology (selection and sequence of activities). Thus, in traditional methodologies, the person responsible for developing programs had to first define the aims and objectives, then detail the content, then specify what the learning experiences or activities would be and, finally, establish the means to evaluate the students and to the curriculum. However, with the development of communicative teaching, the distinction between program design and methodology is difficult to sustain, since it is necessary not only to specify the teaching objective and activities, but also the tasks or means to achieve them.
• Lesson planning as it is understood today should include: The learning objectives, in terms of what the students will be able to do at the end of the session and what they were not able to do before; what new linguistic, socio-cultural, discursive aspects, etc. they will know and how they will feel.
• The contents necessary to achieve the objectives: actions to be carried out throughout the session (read a text, listen to an audition, watch a video, etc.); Language skills to be worked on, type of practices (open, closed response activity, etc.) and groupings of students (in small groups, in pairs, individually, etc.), linguistic units (notional functional, grammatical, lexical, etc.), types of text and topics on which they will deal.

1. Sequence and timing: organization of the different activities according to their characteristics (presentation activities, controlled or precision practice, free practice or fluency), forecasting of the time necessary for their performance, etc.
2.  Anticipation of problems: Complementary activities planned in case the pace of the class is not as planned, parallel activities for students with specific difficulties or for others who finish before their classmates, etc.

• When planning classes, the following principles must be taken into account:    Variety in the activities that are programmed, in order to favor the interest and motivation of the students and Flexibility of adaptation to the characteristics of the group and to different situations in class. The sequences of programmed activities must pursue a common objective.    The objective of each of the activities must be transparent to the learner and ensure balanced combination between the different techniques, activities and materials.
• In addition, when planning classes, the teacher must consider the teaching context, the characteristics of the group of learners, their needs, their learning styles, etc.
• The planning of classes in many occasions is given by the selected manual and in that case the class plan corresponds to the lesson in the manual; But more and more teachers are planning their classes in a personal and autonomous way, reorganizing with their own criteria the material that the manual provides them and thus adapting it to their particular teaching context.

Why lesson Planning is necessary for effective learning?

• By planning the lesson, the teacher assesses the teaching difficulties encountered during the teaching and finds solutions to them. He can confidently answer the questions that arise in the minds of the students and also remove the ambiguity related to the lesson. Contemplates lesson-related matters and avoids irrelevant things.
• The child is a lesson in itself for the teacher, the preparation of which he needs at all times, while planning the lesson for the daily teaching according to the prescribed curriculum. The education triangle consists of teacher, student and curriculum. Each body is balanced based on its center. The child is central to the educational process around which the wheel of the teaching process revolves. Teacher that meets the needs of the student's tendencies and inclinations will also help in social evolution. As John Dewey believes, "Education is a social process and contributes to the evolution of society, so education must be in tune with society and the inclusion of social trends in education is essential." After getting education, social life is a field for the child where he has to fulfill his and the society's needs by expressing his abilities and playing his role in the social units. Therefore, only education that plays an important role in a child's social life is useful. According to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, “The purpose of educating a person is to put him on the right path by analyzing his innate abilities. Teaching is not really about putting something out there, but about giving the child an understanding of the universe as well as vision and enabling him to reveal his hidden abilities in life. ”Therefore, these educational goals are achieved. Lesson planning is essential in teaching. For a teacher, memorizing a lesson can be called 'lesson preparation', but adopting a strategy by which the students not only understand the lesson clearly but also become mindful, as well as develop the ability of the relevant subject. Yes, that would be called lesson planning.
• Lesson planning is essential for productive learning. The importance and benefits of lesson planning are summarized below.

1. Goal setting:

• Lesson planning makes the purpose of the lesson clear and the teacher tries to achieve the set goal by staying on his track 'lesson' instead of wandering on the lost highways. It should be noted that achieving the objectives of teaching is the only proof of successful education

2. Self-confidence:

• By planning the lesson, the teacher assesses the teaching difficulties encountered during the lesson and finds solutions to them. He can confidently answer the questions that arise in the minds of the students and also remove the ambiguity related to the lesson. Contemplates lesson-related matters and avoids irrelevant things.

3. Preparation of teaching support:

• Man learns better from observation. That is why the Qur'an al-Hakim has called for reflection in the universe. The use of audio-visual aids is very helpful for children in learning. The advantage of lesson planning is that audio and visual support for the lesson offered is arranged.

4. Links to Lessons:

• Lesson planning maintains continuity in the teaching process. In the absence of a class teacher, an alternative teacher can easily teach a lesson. This way students' time is not wasted.

5. Imagination and innovation:

• The purpose of education cannot be achieved by memorizing the given syllabus. Therefore, it is important that the child develops the relevant subject within the limits of the curriculum. The teacher can introduce new activities by running his thinking horse so that the children can understand the lesson quickly. He can also prepare questions for the review that make sense to them. It can also point out important points for children to understand the purpose of the lesson.