Lesson Plans

One of the most frequent comments from building colleagues (i.e., those amazing people making up my PLN) this term has been, oh my goodness, the lesson plan requirements are intense. And, let’s be honest, those delightful, helpful, modest colleagues of mine are not entirely wrong. 

The first certification program I did was twenty years ago when goals and objectives needed to be written in SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To) terms, something which would be considered a faux pas now. Not unlike our GSC program, lesson planning was the pinnacle of all things (though it felt slightly less consuming). 

Is learning this intensive and laborious manner of lesson planning useful? Yes. Is it practical? Absolutely not. So why do we do it?

Understanding the elements of successful lesson planning is vital to becoming a competent educator, without argument. Will I be spending 10-40 hours on one lesson plan or unit prior to teaching it? No, I will not. Not because such lesson planning holds no value but rather because TIME holds greater value. However, making the most of TIME does require an innate ability to lesson plan which one can argue is only learned through developing the more tedious and laborious ones ad nauseam. Again, not entirely wrong. Knowing and understanding the components of lesson planning are fundamental to instruction. But those future hours are more likely to be used by me developing activities, graphic organizers, manipulatives and researching technology and other tools and resources so the lessons themselves are useful. 

 

Similarly, well-developed pre-assessments (formative, summative, as well) and post-assessments are a necessary and fruitful means of driving instruction. Am I going to spend hours crafting charts and guides to those charts for the benefit of someone else, someone who may not have my students? No. But will I collect and chart data for me and for anyone who may work with my students in the fastest, most reliable, and most informative and useful means possible? Absolutely. Why? Because I don’t value assessment? No, not at all. But rather because I value both assessment and TIME. 

 

While practicing all these aspects of planning is vital to helping us become architects of learning for every student, it can feel draining and futile. Coupled with our already consuming schedules in whatever role we are currently performing it can, at times, feel maddening. However, sharing them- being able to see all the creative and inspiring things others are doing- is absolutely awesome and the BEST aspect of what collaboration has to offer. 

Wishing the sharing aspect of our classes didn’t disappear as a new term’s class populates our Dashboard. In the meantime, here’s to not becoming discouraged by the need to develop lesson plans as required and taking as much as we can from the process for the future.