The
hardest part of my student teaching so far has been figuring out how to plan. I
feel like there are days when I plan too much and days when I don’t plan nearly
enough. It’s a delicate balance and several have assured me that I’ll strike my
own balance eventually. Eventually seems to be a long time coming.
I’ve watched multiple teachers as they plan their units and lessons. I’ve seen multiple ways to plan out activities. I’ve read the research and the tips from textbooks and online sources. I have scoured articles for best practices and techniques. Marzano suggests to “start with the end in mind” and “identify declarative knowledge” (Marzano). Todd Finley suggests that I start by asking, “is the unit aligned with standards, objectives, and guidelines?” (Finley). Ellen Ullman suggests that I “come up with an active objective” (Ullman). It seems that everyone has a different opinion on how to plan effectively.
I’ve learned that no system is perfect and
that I have to create my own; a system that works uniquely for and with me. I
started to pose questions for myself about how I wanted to plan both units and
daily activities. These questions included: What do I want my students to
learn? What do I want my students to do? How does this fit into the larger
unit? And How do I want my students to prove their success? These questions
along with others have led me down the rabbit hole that is lesson planning.
To answer these questions, I’ve honestly done a lot of trial and error. The best way for me to plan is to start with the end. I figure out what I want my students to get out of the unit, the big picture, and try to plan from there. I find texts that go with our overall theme and figure out what standards I can address with them.
It seems a little backward at first, but I’m getting the hang of it. I take a lot of notes in random, various places. I do a lot of my planning in power points. And I ask questions. A lot of questions.
As I continue my student teaching adventure, I am excited to find out more about myself, my teaching style, my students and their needs, and my planning style. I definitely plan on keeping up with the questions and trying new things until I find out what works for me and my students!
