Introduction
Teaching, just like any other profession, requires a lot of planning especially on the teacher’s side. This is to ensure that students get access to quality education. For lessons and units to be effective, the teacher in charge should be prepared well enough to ensure that students gain fully from each and every unit and lesson (Power & Elliot, 2006). There is thus the need for a teacher to come up with a high quality unit and lesson designs.
A lesson plan is vital in guiding students and helping them achieve the intended learning objectives in a particular unit. The lesson plan will describe what the student is expected to know before and after each and every lesson and unit. A good lesson plan also provides for ways in which the student will be engaged in the learning process. Strategies to be used by the teacher to assess the progress of the student are also clearly stated in the unit and lesson plan (Shambaugh & Magliaro, 2006). These plans can be interpreted and implemented in various ways depending on the teacher’s skills and competencies.
Contextual Framework for my District and Audience
For the teacher’s unit and lesson plan to be fully effective, it is important for them to first analyzes their audience to be able to deal with them at a personal level. This will require the teacher to learn about the communities’ demographics, raging from their age composition, social backgrounds, gender, and even race. The unit and lesson plan should be designed in a way that accommodates each and every student in the teaching process.
Engaging with the students will make them feel that their well-being has been taken into consideration while designing the unit and lesson plan. They will also feel that it is designed to help them in the course of their learning, rather than oppressing them (Ryder, 2001). Though it is not possible for the teacher to meet the needs of each and every student, knowing the background of most students will enable them prepare a unit and lesson plan that best suits the class. The environment around which the learning activities take place should also be taken into consideration for learning to be effective
Need Assessment
A teacher should also assess the needs of his or her students. Students are known to have different abilities. As such, teachers should try their best to accommodate each and every student in their class. The unit and lesson design developed by the teacher should be aimed at benefiting all individuals in the class. Students with special needs, such as deformities, should also be catered for to avoid straining them during the learning process (McKendrick, 2003). No single student should feel discriminated against or left out in the learning process.
The abilities of each and every student in terms of performance should also be assessed when designing the unit and lesson plan. Knowledge pertaining to each student’s capabilities will enable the teacher to cater for all the needs of the students during the lesson. This is to help them comprehend what was taught during that particular lesson and other lessons during the entire semester. This is when the teacher will be handling that particular class (Ryder, 2001).
How and When the Last Need Assessment was Administered and the Findings
Even before a teacher carries out his or her own need assessment on a particular class, it is important that they first assess the class’ previous records prepared by the teachers who had previously dealt with it. This will help give the teacher an idea on what to expect from the class (Baker & Bridger, 2001). Though it is not advisable for a teacher to make conclusions pertaining to a particular matter affecting his or her class based on previous records, the findings of the previous assessments will provide the basis on which to assess the class afresh.
Previous records will serve as a reference point for the whole assessment process. The teacher will be able to assess the trends and the abilities of the students, noting the performance of the students over time. Assessing the class may be carried out by going through the students’ records (McKendrick, 2003). Findings from the assessment are then used by the teacher to develop a unit and lesson design that caters for the needs of each and every student.
Implications of Present and Future Curriculum Development
Curriculum reform has been a matter of concern in the education sector. Teachers have to put into consideration changes likely to take place in the curriculum as they develop their unit and lesson designs. This is to ensure the provision of quality education to the students (Fraser & Fisher, 2002). A high quality unit and lesson design will ensure that the students are not disadvantaged by changes in the curriculum.
For this to be effective, a teacher has to fully understand the topic to be presented in class (McKendrick, 2003). In spite of the changes, it is important for the teacher to fully address the current curriculum recommended for the students in the lesson plan.
Full coverage of the present curriculum in a teacher’s unit and lesson plan will also ensure that students have access to education that is consistent with what is being offered to students in other institutions in the country (Osborne & Salzberger, 2001). By maintaining consistency, the education system will be standardized and no single institution will be considered to offer better education than the other. This is provided that the teachers implement a standardized curriculum.
A high quality unit and lesson plan should also be flexible enough to accommodate changes in the curriculum (McKendrick, 2003). This is important to the teacher and the students. This is given that the teacher does not have to change the entire unit and lesson design to accommodate the changes in the curriculum. This is a process that may hamper full coverage of the unit.
Presentation of Expectations for Quality Units
The quality of a unit depends on its ability to fully cover the recommended curriculum. Such a unit will ensure that the students are provided with standard information touching on the topics that are outlined in the curriculum (Hartmut, 2001). Teachers play an important role in determining the quality of the units that are taught in learning institutions. This is given that they are the ones charged with the responsibility of delivering curriculum to the student.
For a teacher to be effective in his or her responsibility to deliver quality units to the students, he or she must first carry out an in-depth research on the topic in question before presenting it to the students (Fraser & Fisher, 2002). This requires the teacher to adequately prepare for the training session for them to be able to touch on all the aspects of the topic.
A significant relationship exists between the ability of the teacher to develop a quality unit and lesson plan and their ability to present quality units to the students. Adequate preparation on the part of the teacher will ultimately translate into quality output.
The teacher can also conduct research on a particular unit, thus improving its quality. A dedicated teacher will go further and seek information not covered in the curriculum. This is to clarify on issues that are not clear to the student (Bryant, 2000). A teacher should not restrict his or her teaching to the curriculum. They should draw knowledge from a variety of sources. They should realize that the main objective of teaching is to provide knowledge that is vital in molding the future of the students.
How Units are Developed, Formatted and Evaluated
Learning units are developed so as to enable learners meet key standards in the education system (Moos, 2001). A teacher should come up with the objectives of the unit. The objectives serve as points of reference for the teacher, even as they develop the unit and lesson design for a particular semester.
Planning for a unit will also require one to operate within the laid down standards and procedures (Fraser & Fisher, 2002). The unit must also be in line with the current education and technological trends for it to be considered relevant.
The teacher will then embark on a research mission to gather information necessary for the development of a quality unit design. After assessing the information gathered and ascertaining whether such information is adequate, the teacher can then go ahead and develop his or her unit plan.
To evaluate a unit plan, the teacher should try to find out whether the information included in the plan has fully addressed the curriculum recommended for the students. A teacher should also check to ensure that all the objectives of the unit have been met in their plan. The unit plan should also be in line with the existing technology for it to be relevant (Sanders, 2002).
The students’ understanding of the unit’s objectives and aims can be used to evaluate it (Fraser & Fisher, 2002). The plan should contain a variety of assessment tools to test the performance of the students.
Presentation of Lesson Development
Presentation is the most important part in the teaching process. The effectiveness of the presentation process highly depends on the skills of the teacher. Technology has been of great assistance in the promotion of teaching activities in the world today. The use of computers in teaching is a major milestone in the profession (Fraser & Fisher, 2002). Computer simulations are of great assistance to teachers as lesson plans can now be prepared in advance.
A teacher can also take advantage of video to develop a high quality unit and lesson plan. The video will help in improving the student’s understanding of the subject matter. They can also serve as future references and learning materials for the students.
Teachers have also taken advantage of technological developments to improve the teaching process. Technology, for instance, has improved and eased research. This is given that information can now be accessed easily from various sources, such as the internet (Moos, 2001). Such sources have also helped teachers to adequately plan for lessons. A teacher can also provide students with links which he or she considers resourceful.
How should Staff Develop Lessons?
The objectives of the lesson are the goals the teacher intends to achieve through the delivery of his or her lesson (Baker & Bridger, 2001). To succeed in the teaching profession, teachers need to plan adequately. A quality lesson plan will be vital to ensure that the teacher prepares in advance for the learning session. This is help them use the time allocated for their unit effectively. In the lesson plan, the teacher is expected to outline the topics and subtopics to be covered in class during the lesson.
The teacher then goes ahead to generate ideas on how to assess the progress of the students. The teacher must ensure that the students are fully aware of the aims of the lesson (Sanders, 2002).
A teacher is required to go an extra mile to seek and identify demonstrations and activities that can facilitate the teaching process. Demonstrations helps the students to better understand the subject since the learning process is practical (Moos, 2001).
The final step in formulating a high quality lesson plan includes integrating the lessons with the school calendar. Time is of essence in ensuring that the lessons prepared are taught within the stipulated time. This means that a teacher should be able to beat deadlines put in place. This ensures that students are adequately prepared for assessment at the end of the semester (Baker & Bridger, 2001). Through adequate planning, the teacher is able to tackle the topics within the allocated time.
Lesson Evaluation and Monitoring
Performance remains the most effective measure of success of any undertaking. This is done by assessing the students. Improved performance proves the effectiveness of the method used by the teacher. A quality unit and lesson design can be linked to improved performance by the student (Sanders, 2002). Performance is associated with understanding the topic. This means that assessing the performance of the student is the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of the teacher. Once effective teaching practices are discovered, they should be maintained to increase efficiency in the education sector.
Conclusion
The performance of the teacher in class is dependent on the level of planning carried out. The skills of the teacher also plays a great role in enhancing effectiveness in education (Moos, 2001). Teachers are the ones responsible in guiding the students. It is therefore important for them to be committed to their work. This is to maintain the confidence that people have in the education system.
References
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