Where and how do trainees learn to plan?

Let us take the two primary locations of learning here: the university (or equivalent) and the school.

At university

It is likely that you will spend considerable time exploring lesson planning early on in your course. Different courses take very different approaches and all have their advantages and disadvantages (see unit 3.2). But it is likely that you will use some or all of the following methods:

• Scrutiny of existing lesson plans, some effective, some less so;
• Videos/discussion of observation of teachers and post hoc recreation of their plan;
• Assignments;
• Practical advice about lesson objectives, questions, activities, starters and so forth;
• Opportunities to ‘practise’ in a safe university setting;
• Critique of resources;
• Opportunities for trainees to plan together;
• Reading and reflecting.

Activity 8.2.1: Developing planning through assignments

You will need to make some important decisions regarding progression and differentiation. Some of the trainees will arrive having already had some experience of lesson planning, though it may not be of a comparable type (TEFL planning is, for example, very different to history). Some will arrive not having done any at all. Some will have very secure subject knowledge whilst others may have spent a great deal of time in lessons as teaching assistants and have a more intuitive feel for the needs of pupils (see also unit 2.1).

In terms of progression during the course, opinions vary about what trainees are ready for and when. Although by the end of year, trainees should clearly be thinking about planning in a medium or even long term sense, you may decide that planning individual activities or single lessons is the first hurdle. Others might argue that it is more difficult to plan single lessons than series of lessons and that a medium term approach to planning is crucial from the start. There are many other such decisions to be made. When will you explore depth and overview? When will you focus on planning at AS/A2 level? When will you make the themes of access and challenge a central part of your work on lesson planning? Trainers of teachers are unlikely ever to agree on precisely the timing of such issues and much will depend on the structure of your course, but the important thing is to make decisions consciously based on your own rationale. Avoid placing sessions randomly during the year. A good course takes account of your own sense of what progression might look like.

At school

Experienced teachers often find it difficult to analyse the way they plan their lessons. They often find discussion about the way a lesson was taught much easier. Many decisions are made subconsciously (a teacher may instinctively plan to use a particular textbook rather than another when teaching a certain topic – but may not quite remember why) and of course, experienced teachers may no longer require detailed written plans, and thus much planning is carried out in their heads.

How, therefore, can trainees access the expertise of experienced teachers? They will observe lessons from the very beginning of the course, and this is one very important way in which trainees learn to teach. However, to get the most out of observation, trainees need some guidance. You can help here by watching videoed lessons with their trainees and modelling the kinds of questions they might ask the teacher at the end. Or you can provide trainees with a variety of lesson observation proformas (see resource 8.5.1 for an example). Aim to develop the capacity of mentors to articulate their decision-making through mentor training activities (see unit 4.2) and encourage them to plan and teach collaboratively.

Activity 8.2.2: Collaborative planning – helping the mentors

The departments with which you work will vary enormously in terms of the schemes of work and lesson support already in place. Here are three potential issues you may need to consider:

• How detailed a scheme of work does a trainee need? What do you do if the department doesn’t have a single scheme of work in place and your trainee complains about not knowing where the unit is going?
• The department has a tremendously detailed scheme of work which provides a breakdown of every lesson, including activities, questions and outcomes. The trainee is expected to follow this detailed guidance and complains that it is too restrictive. What advice do you offer the school?
• What happens when a department insists that the trainee follows the kinds of approaches to planning that you actively discourage in your university sessions?

In all these cases, it is acceptable that there should be a degree of give and take and trainees need to show flexibility in adapting to the particular styles of different departments. However, they are entitled to a minimum of consistency and it is reasonable for you to liaise with departments to ensure this is the case. Trainees need to have guidance about what they should be teaching but they also need the freedom to experiment with the kinds of approaches to planning that they have encountered elsewhere.