Effective Planning: Step 1

Lesson planning became so much easier when I started thinking differently.

Student Success is dependent on many factors, but when it comes to instruction, plan for desired student outcomes.  In essence, focus more on how my students are going to think and learn and less on the “teaching” piece.   It is essential to have clear and focused goals for our students to achieve by the end of a lesson. This evidence of student success will help guide future instruction, enrichment and appropriate academic support.

The diagram below depicts the flow and the core guiding questions effective teachers utilize when planning for instructional and learning success.

 

Each of these core guiding questions is answered by instructional decision making based on the needs of individual students, their data, desired outcomes, standards, and available tools and resources.

Let’s delve into step one and begin with:

 

What do I want my students to learn?

Let’s dispense with the basics that are essentially decided for us – the content, topics and standard set that make up the curriculum. For example – I teach Algebra, therefore the units, topics and set of standards are typically defined by each state.  The difference maker for student success hinges on the planned instructional vision for what the student will be able to do at the end of class and how will they be able to apply it to future learning.  In other words, as Wiggins and McTighe argue in Understanding by Design, you can’t start planning how you’re going to teach until you know exactly what you want your students to learn.

“Teaching is a means to an end.  Having a clear goal helps us educators to focus our planning and guide purposeful action toward the intended results.”

Clearly outlining the learning objectives based on desired student outcomes by answering the questions below is essential for becoming a Master Planner and a more effective teacher!

• What do I want students to learn?
• What do I want students to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
• What do I want students to take away from this class and apply to future learning?

Planbook Plus is a tool to help teachers make the daily task of lesson planning intuitive and more effective.  Planbook Plus gives educators the flexibility to start with the end goal in mind, allowing them to target what they want their students to learn by the end of class.