Blueprint for Delivering your Lessons Effectively
This simple guide helps teachers to plan lessons in an effective and engaging manner
Successful teachers are those who ‘plan’ their lessons and are ready to deliver lectures that are both interesting and informative. A teacher needs to have a fresh outlook on each lesson, every time he/she stands before students. It does not matter how many times you have taught a particular course. Each time has to be different; with renewed thoughts and inputs. The concepts and facts may be the same. However, you need to bring changes in delivery strategies, teaching style, and class tasks.
No matter whether you are teaching in a high school or in a college, it is essential that you develop a teaching pack including the lesson plan, lecture notes, relevant tasks, and learning resources. For each lesson, you need to prepare a blueprint for delivering the lessons effectively, in order to ensure optimized learning. Students need to get ‘complete’ knowledge on the lesson and hence teachers need to prepare a comprehensive delivery plan.
Teachers need to take care of few important things while preparing the lessons. These include-
Course requirements
This includes preparing lesson plan, learner-centered tasks, PowerPoints, discussion questions, and text book(s)/reference books.
Planning the coursework
This includes deciding on whether to give individualized tasks or team activities, planning written assignments, and scheduling deadlines. Further, it includes planning to organize seminars, debates, presentations, quizzes, or case studies as a part of assessment.
Type of Resources
Effective teaching depends on relevant lecture notes, distributing photocopies of reading materials, giving students access to internet, technology, and interesting learning apps.
Teaching aids & Smart-teaching
It is essential that teachers use smartboards, projectors, and learning management systems for making learning more effective.
Engaging Students
One of the factors contributing to teachers’ success is being aware of engaging the students in class. Teachers need to plan for appropriate class tasks, group discussion topics, short presentations, and debates relevant to the lesson.
Higher-order Learning
It is also important that teachers be prepared to engage every student in a class in an efficient manner. For example, you will have few high performers in your class, who are over-smart and intelligent. They will finish the class tasks in much less time as compared to other students and perhaps get distracted. Therefore, it is advisable to carry few extra higher-order learning tasks for those students to keep them engaged. This will help in bringing out their participation as well as prevent them from distracting the class. You can plan for creative tasks, application-based tasks, critical thinking exercises or community-oriented tasks.
Motivational Learning Strategies
Teachers may engage several motivational learning strategies to bring out the best abilities in students. Consider using social media, virtual learning, and motivating students to blog. Students can also be encouraged to develop learning apps or DIY tasks related to subject area.
Support for Students
It is essential that teachers extend support to students; particularly to those having difficulty in understanding the lessons. Support can be in terms of tutorials, peer group support, coaching, counselling, emotional and psychological support, monitoring progress and meeting parents.
Encouraging students to share their learning / achievements
Students exceptional in academic and extra-academic activities can be encouraged to share their knowledge and achievements through group class chats or WhatsApp groups.
Library Resources
In order to help students, teachers will have to make available several resources such as journals, magazines, videos and so on.
You will not be using all the above for every lesson. Depending on the lesson content, prepare a checklist using the guidelines provided here. Click on link to download the Blueprint.
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